They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it’s a fascinating thing to realize that those words do not have to be true. The impression that is formed in the mind of the one viewing a photograph is completely under the control of the skilled photographer.
The power to control where a viewing audience will forever focus their attention is an awesome one. A photographer compels the public to look at only what he wants them to see - in the way he wants them to see it. With skillful composition, selective focus, and the use of shadows and highlights, the power is his (or hers) to exclude the elements of reality that he wants to exclude, and to force the observer’s attention on the insignificant – if he so desires. He has the floor, and anything can be believed if one is given only selected facts.
Let’s consider an example of that power. A fleeting memory of a funny experience might bring a momentary smile to the face of a grieving widow at the funeral of her departed husband. That expression of “glee” can be frozen and transformed into a commentary by the skilled photographer. Think about the impact of a photograph showing a wryly smiling widow at her husband’s funeral. In short, a photographer can distort the truth, and yes, even outright lie! Every time you look at a picture, you’ve asked the photographer to tell you a story the way he wants it told.
Your wedding pictures should be beautiful in all of their truthful glory. The goal should be that the bride and the groom feel the sincerity of the images captured. You should be able to listen to what the photographer is saying with his images and feel the comfort of knowing that he’s telling the truth; and elation in the knowledge that he’s telling it well! You should not be looking at your own wedding pictures with the feeling that you’re looking at someone else’s story. Nor should you grieve over the memory of a sour wedding every time you look at your album.
The solution is to have a story worth telling truthfully. Let the emotion be yours and real. Let your own personalities come out. Plan the affair so that it’s a joyful and tender one, and hire a photographer to tell your story “without distortion”. He should not be asked to be freezing fleeting smiles on faces in a largely dreary and sullen affair.
The power to control where a viewing audience will forever focus their attention is an awesome one. A photographer compels the public to look at only what he wants them to see - in the way he wants them to see it. With skillful composition, selective focus, and the use of shadows and highlights, the power is his (or hers) to exclude the elements of reality that he wants to exclude, and to force the observer’s attention on the insignificant – if he so desires. He has the floor, and anything can be believed if one is given only selected facts.
Let’s consider an example of that power. A fleeting memory of a funny experience might bring a momentary smile to the face of a grieving widow at the funeral of her departed husband. That expression of “glee” can be frozen and transformed into a commentary by the skilled photographer. Think about the impact of a photograph showing a wryly smiling widow at her husband’s funeral. In short, a photographer can distort the truth, and yes, even outright lie! Every time you look at a picture, you’ve asked the photographer to tell you a story the way he wants it told.
Your wedding pictures should be beautiful in all of their truthful glory. The goal should be that the bride and the groom feel the sincerity of the images captured. You should be able to listen to what the photographer is saying with his images and feel the comfort of knowing that he’s telling the truth; and elation in the knowledge that he’s telling it well! You should not be looking at your own wedding pictures with the feeling that you’re looking at someone else’s story. Nor should you grieve over the memory of a sour wedding every time you look at your album.
The solution is to have a story worth telling truthfully. Let the emotion be yours and real. Let your own personalities come out. Plan the affair so that it’s a joyful and tender one, and hire a photographer to tell your story “without distortion”. He should not be asked to be freezing fleeting smiles on faces in a largely dreary and sullen affair.
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