bbourizk wrote:
Ripper mate...Would have liked to see a bit more of the bridal party but it looks like you were limited by the space available.
Yep, I'm totally with you. Would have loved a more spread out area. The first thing I did was scope the background to where I would insert the dinosaur. But that left me very little space to spread the bridal party out. Time was a factor as well, as we were already over the allotted time for the outdoor portraits.
And look! I won the Featured Thread of the Week! Wow! I've never even come close to winning that before. Thank goodness Lisa didn't post anything in this time period!
Just because it has been done before doesn't make it less fun or meaningful for the couple. Wedding themes have been based on everything from historical periods to favorite movies. I am glad you did it and shared it here.
Chuck Eklund wrote:
Just because it has been done before doesn't make it less fun or meaningful for the couple. Wedding themes have been based on everything from historical periods to favorite movies. I am glad you did it and shared it here.
I would have at least acknowledged the original idea, I mean it was viral over millions of views, news stories, Facebook etc. Totally understand the need to fulfill a client request, but this isn't your creativity at work, just a send up of someone else's. I would have maybe done something different then a dinosaur, if not scrap the idea.
I'm not even sure if that's the first time that shot has been pulled off. In all of wedding photography history, you really think that's the first time someone's done that shot? That one went viral, so a lot of people saw it. I saw it. So am I supposed to do research and credit whichever original one I find? How much time should I put into that research? How many years back should I go?
I didn't plan on this shot. When the couple mentioned they'd like to do it, it just sounded like fun. As for the dinosaur, I looked for a lot of things to use, including shooting one of my kid's dinosaurs. In the end, I found what worked for me, and it all worked out. The couple was very pleased.
And that's the thing. I'm not here to please you guys, just sharing a shot that my clients like. In my OP, I did mention that the shot was a cliche, and that's a pretty strong indication that I'm saying that this isn't an original idea by me. Nowhere do I claim that. And I don't have time to try to find the originator of this shot. But I'll lay money it's not the one you guys are attributing.
I get what you're saying, your clients requested 'the dinosaur shot' or whatever, and probably linked you a Pinterest image or something, and put you to task if you could recreate it. Linking the original artist may be difficult, but saying 'saw this already, here's my take' or something..I don't know.
Maybe it just is personally irks me, and I have no right to complain? Probably, wouldn't be the first time. But I find it upsetting that you attribute "..half of the shot is the bridal party getting into it" (though it was their idea to recreate someone else's idea originally), while I would argue 95% of it is the creativity of the original artist who did it. To let yourself be lauded with all of this praise for your creativity and not mentioning source material is one thing, but it blows my mind that you feel this is par for the course and doesn't deserve acknowledging those who shot it prior. Who knows? Maybe in this age of Pinterest brides and Instagram everything, that's true. But it grinds my gears when I think of people like Tony Hoffer, who popularized the modern 'backlit rain' shot (yes, possibly done elsewhere somewhere by someone)...I see his work get passed around, edited, tagged with bad slogans, "re-interpreted" (often, downright ripped off) credit-less..and it's all because they share a similar "Oh well" attitude.
And that's the thing. I'm not here to please you guys, just sharing a shot that my clients like.
That's silly..we don't post on forums because we don't care about others opinions.
And I don't have time to try to find the originator of this shot. But I'll lay money it's not the one you guys are attributing.
Jeremy, they didn't link me a Pinterest image. I had just finished the group shots, did some fun things with them, and the bride or groom -- for the first time -- said, "Hey, we'd like to do that "running away" shot." I didn't have time to confirm that the shot you guys are talking about is the same one they were talking about. I didn't have time to get on Pinterest and evaluate the shot. I just said, "Okay, that sounds like fun" -- because to me, that does sound like fun. Evaluated the area I had to shoot in and coordinated the bridal party the best I could. That bridesmaid really got into it, and that really really helped make the shot, no matter who originated the idea.
Do you ever get inspired by something and then do your own version of the concept a month later, a year later, a decade later? What if you can't remember where your inspiration came from, and you can't credit the originator? By your attitude, we shouldn't post the picture because we can't attribute the originator. And by your attitude, almost every picture we take needs to have a disclaimer on it because it's been done before.
