A NEW WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY…MAYBE
A photo of the bride and groom taking a selfie with a wedding guest
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Beyond Photography
Although I’m a big fan of technology and have a few favorite gadgets outside the photography world, it’s anachronistic to say, but communication devices don’t really excite me.
Just as, for me, a car is simply a machine that takes me from one place to another and makes life easier, a mobile phone is no more useful than the rotary dial phone with holes to insert your fingers and rotate to send code and bring voices to your ear — so often seen in close-up shots in films as if it were something mysterious or secretive.
- Reflection on a personal relationship with technology
- Contrast between the sentimental value of gadgets and the practical use of the phone
- Analogy with cars as mere utilities
- A classic appreciation that highlights the wedding photographer’s essence, undistracted by modernity
Camera Flooding Weddings
Of course, I have my gadgets that bring me other pleasures — mostly music-related — but that’s a topic for another blog, unless the person looking for a wedding photographer also shares an obsession with living-room sound systems that resemble concert halls.
This brings me to today’s phone — pompously dubbed a “smartphone” — and what it’s used for. The only function I care about here is its role as a camera that floods our weddings. So many times, an outstretched hand holding a phone gets in my way, ruining a carefully planned shot before I even press the shutter. Or suddenly I’m surrounded by competitors for the expected shot, right where I had positioned myself for a perfect capture, forcing me to reframe and change my lens.
- Referring to the phone as a “camera” at weddings
- Wedding guests interfering with professional captures
- Challenges for photos dealing with amateurs at key moments
- Wedding photography is often harmed by poorly positioned smartphones
Wedding Photographer’s Perspective
Still, I’m not one to hold grudges or seek revenge. I follow the popular saying: “If you can’t beat them, join them.” So, given the endless opportunities, I keep an eye on the selfies (which rarely are), on outstretched arms, and on the curious peeking at their screens to see if I can capture, from the right angle and with the right lens effect, that one photo which — even if it adds nothing to the story of the wedding day — might result in a beautiful image on its own.
Thus, the smartphone has ceased to be a nuisance and has become a photographic subject in itself. May new inventions keep coming to keep things up to date. As for me — nah — I prefer my big cameras and heavy lenses. Wedding photographer things.
- Adapting to the constant presence of phones at weddings
- Opportunity to explore unusual angles from selfies and curious guests
- Reflection on the coexistence of technology and art in photography
- On the wedding day, the photographer’s focus must rise above distractions
To tell your story
As a wedding photographer, I commit to telling your story with truth and beauty, with all the dedication your wedding day deserves.