“When the emotion of a moment becomes eternal.” This is a phrase that may well sum up the role of a wedding photographer. Particular attention can be paid to the term “for a moment.” One of the main difficulties in wedding photography is to catch the flying and at the right time the emotions. Indeed these do not be custom-controlled and trigger a second too early or too late, and remain irreparable to faithfully restore the magical moment.
Wedding photography is several disciplines at once: classical portraiture, contemporary portraiture, fashion photography, children’s photos, groups, photo reporting, knowing how to work in low light, ambient or high light, with flash and without flash, mastering the backlights, working indoors outdoors and moving from one to the other in a second! You have to anticipate, be reactive, and creative all the time. Knowing how to seize opportunities in flight is essential. You have to be responsive in all circumstances.
Marriage is quite a responsibility and that is in my opinion the most difficult technical
level. You have to be very good technically and artistically, in addition to knowing how to manage the ceremony. That’s why I react strongly, when brides and grooms entrust this mission to a loved one who has just a slightly more advanced camera, or when people want to enter the world of professional photography through the door of marriage. You don’t leave that responsibility to a novice. The wedding day is a beautiful day when all the preparations take shape, the guests are at the top and the bride and groom are thrilled.
Such moments of happiness and joy must be immortalized by a photographer specializing in weddings. He must be able to take initiatives to immortalize, sublimate the different moments of the day, capture even the most discreet emotions. Through his photographs, he knows how to revive every moment of the day. He is a professional who must be discreet, the perfectionist in his work, and fast.
Being a wedding photographer requires knowing religious rituals (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, African, Buddhist…), secular, family protocols.
You have to be everywhere, anticipate everything, see everything, know how to manage all types of lights, know how to manage chaos, and sometimes battle with guests, who also want their memories and often impose themselves with their smartphones and cameras.
In addition to technical and artistic abilities, a wedding photographer must possess relational qualities, as well as an increased sense of communication. He is able to seize opportunities to build relationships with people whose support or influence can contribute to the magnification of the images he realizes. He knows how to make sense of the fog and unpredictable moments. Naturally, he has an immeasurable sense of service for his customers. Tact, discretion, courtesy, tolerance and diplomacy are essential qualities that every professional photographer must possess.
Regarding the editing/retouching of the images, I would like to come back once and for all on the subject. The “Photoshop” side elicits a lot of reactions in wedding photography, but not only. So I will try as a professional photographer to expose my vision of things on the subject. First, we must not confuse editing with retouching. Unlike a digital compact, which is programmed, to please the general public, to release flashy photos, well contrasted and often saturated color side, any digital photo made with a competition camera MUST absolutely be edited (passage in the software of dereatrictization such as Lightroom, Capture NX, DXO, etc.). Indeed, the images made with a professional SLR, are as neutral as possible and precisely intended for post-production. It is simply digital development, which replaces the development of the films of yesteryear. We live in the digital age, so it would be foolish not to take full advantage of the options it offers.
When editing an image, we calibrate the colors, the low/highlights, the contrast, the saturation of each color, the balance of whites, then 50 cursors further, the magic works, the photographer’s paw appears, his style clearly emerges and we recognize his Work.
Since all photos are different (except when a series of images are made in the SAME light conditions), the use of scripts or copy/paste functions remains very
limited. Therefore editing 800 images requires hours of work. Then comes the so-called RETOUCHing step, which can consist of removing pimples, redness, smoothing the skin texture, erasing disturbing elements (papers, butts, etc.) if you really want a good job.
To say that you don’t have the budget to hire a pro photographer to report on D-Day is one thing, but to think that a “SLR camera” in the hands of an amateur will bring an identical result, is inconceivable.
There are certainly very good amateurs passionate, talented, but it is not the device that does all the work. Taking a very nice photo is not just pressing the shutter or adjusting the aperture of the diaphragm. It goes far beyond that! Don’t forget that by delegating the photography post to a loved one, he will inevitably miss things (as a guest, but also as a photographer). It’s best to leave this task to an experienced wedding photographer who knows how to make souvenirs!
