“Wedding Photojournalist – what does that really mean?” asked one of my clients during a recent consultation “I see that on many wedding photographers’ websites but not on yours, why?”. I answered “because I am not a PURE photojournalist. My style has a few different elements in it, I wouldn’t be very accurate if I said I am strictly a wedding photojournalist”. “Well…” said the bride “I don’t really care what it’s called, I love your photos but when browsing other photographers I noticed that I am drawn very much to all the websites that said the photographer IS a wedding photojournalist, so…what does it mean?”. It means that you are not altering anything at all during a wedding shoot. It means that you are trying to be as invisible as you possibly can while shooting so that no one really pays attention to you (because you want your subjects to be camera unaware). It means that creating your photographs involves anticipating the moment, knowing your equipment and its limitations inside out, relying on your instincts to be at the right spot at the right time. It means keeping your eyes and ears open and your reflexes fast. It means capturing things as they happen, freezing real moments in time, without re-enactment, repetition and second chances. If you fail for any reason – the moment is gone. There will be a hundred more, true – but the one you lost is probably not coming back. It’s hard work when you take into consideration everything that you have to pay attention to at any given second (let’s see how many I can come up with, somewhat in order of importance: am I shooting in good light (if not what light modifiers should/can I be using right now to make it better), do I have the right lens for the shot, are my settings correct (ISO/aperture/shutter speed), should I turn around and change my position, maybe the scene will look better from a different angle, am I in the correct focusing mode, is there enough space left on the card to fire off a fast sequence and another one right after that, am I in somebody’s way, the batteries are still good right? haven’t changed them in a while…
…so…yes, the satisfaction is huge when you get it right! It’s a feeling uncomparable to anything else. When you know you got THE shot you are the king of the hill, the master of the universe, the winner of the race, the monkey with the biggest banana in the cage!
“Could you show me a few that you think are your best photojournalistic shots ever?” asked the bride again. “Here’s a few I really like…” I replied.
, just how far we have come as a group. It really goes without saying that each of us has progressed along our own individual paths; some of us have contributed to or published books, more than a few of us have answered a demand for public speaking and sharing our insights and experience with other photographers.
