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Hmmmm.... well, how about I describe it
and you can see if it fits into any definition
you know of. Over time, it has evolved a
little and the techniques we use have changed
a bit, but at our core, I think our style
of capturing a wedding has remained fairly
constant regardless of all the industry
buzz-words that are used to label photographers.
Since day one, we've always combined formals
with non-formals. Our formals have always
been targeted to be efficient and not intended
to see how many unique combinations we can
generate from 20 people (that will about
send me over the edge). Sometimes "wedding
formals" can be frowned upon
if enough damning articles have been read.
Unfortunately, I think that's a byproduct
of all the "wedding photojournalism"
hype in the late 90's that had literally
every bride thinking she wanted zero formals.
In reality, 99.9% of brides do want some
formals. They just don't want them to turn
into a painful day-long session.
To me, a well-done formal of a bride is
one of the most gorgeous images I know of.
I believe the industry has come full circle
now and also recognizes that clients DO
need and want formals, only now they tend
to have more of a commercial flare than
they did last time around. I think that's
awesome and I love what's being produced
out there by some rockin' photographers.
I mean... anything is good that doesn't
deny that formals are an important part
of capturing brides, grooms, and their families
during this important part of their lives.
Our non-formals are images that we capture
during every part of the event other than
when we're doing formals. They're images
of what is really going on. I strive not
to interrupt the flow of things for a non-formal
image. I'll almost never request someone
to stop and pose outside of doing formals.
That being said, I'm not so hard-core that
I don't interact with people while shooting.
We love our clients, their families, and
their guests. Interacting with them is some
of the most valuable "people time"
we experience, and we've met some incredible
people along the way. I believe that interaction
later contributes to getting great images
of those people.
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