http://michelleposeyphoto.com/blog

Old posts will still be available here on WordPress as well as on the new blog, but updated content will be hosted on my own domain, so I can post more and better photos.

It was surprising. The two concepts of “Wedding” and “Photojournalism” have been, well, married, for quite a while now. Yet most people still seem to be unsure what this relationship is supposed to be. There is a lot of misinformation about what wedding photojournalism is and what wedding photojournalists do.

Wedding photojournalism implies not just a style of photos, but a different way of taking photos — an all-around different approach to photographing a wedding. Whereas most traditional wedding photographers do a lot of directing and posing of photos, wedding photojournalists get the best photos from events as they unfold naturally, without doing much directing, if any. Photojournalists are practiced in the art of getting great photos without attracting attention. The best of them fade into the wallpaper and get awe-inspiring photos of the most personal, emotional moments of life.

I think this makes a difference in three ways: you have a different experience on your wedding day, you have different photos, and you have a different album.

On your wedding day, you can expect that a wedding photojournalist will keep posing to a minimum. Of course, there will be the group photos (it’s a myth that wedding photojournalists do not shoot these photos) but beyond that you can expect that the photographer will be close to you, following you and shooting photos, but not telling you what to do. Almost every couple I have worked for has said “It was so relaxing working with you,” or some variation on that theme. While I’d like to think that this is a sign of my amazing personality, I have to admit that it’s more likely the style I choose to shoot: a style that frees the couple up to just enjoy their day and not worry too much about the photos.

Which brings me to the photos. You don’t have to pose for them, but you give up something, right? Actually, no. When people are having fun and enjoying themselves, they take better photos. Given the choice between posed photos and natural photos (I have been known to sometimes pose a couple of photos!) couples usually choose the natural photos, hands down. So even when I am shooting portraits, many times I try to get the subject to laugh, to have fun, to play or dance around. When you and your guests are simply having fun, the most beautiful photos result, as long as you have someone around who knows how to spot and capture those impromptu moments!

Most wedding photojournalists also take lots of different photos, from the hair salon in the morning to the sleeping children at the reception. When I’m shooting a wedding, I never stop looking for photos, which means the photos I send my clients go way beyond any shot list. After all, who would think to put “four year old ring bearer break dancing” on a shot list?

This photo of flower girls following the bride around holding her train was the result of continually looking for sweet moments during the wedding day. The photo was taken as the wedding party was walking back to the reception after taking group photos, normally a time that a photographer would expect nothing of importance to be happening.

And of course, the photos are the key ingredients in the album. Sorry, album designers, but I have to say it. Photos, not backgrounds, not layouts, not fancy picture shapes or frilly borders. Photos are the main event, and if you don’t have great photos, no amount of PhotoShopping or fancy wrapping paper-looking background is going to save that puppy.

Just recently I decided to include albums with all of my packages because I felt that, if you are going to have storytelling photos, you should be able to have them in a book. But I believe the opposite is true as well. If you are going to spring for a gigantic wedding album, then you should have a story (in photos) to make it worth your while.

Next post: More Wedding Photojournalism Myths: Exposed!

Avery’s cousins joined her toward the end of the session for some sweet photos of all three girls.

(Sharing her sno cone with mom.)

I had a great bride and a great group of bridesmaids who wanted to do something fun, so we did a Charlie’s Angels pose. I’m sure none of these young women were even born when Charlie’s Angels originally aired, but it’s nice to see that the legacy survives.

And, not to leave anyone out, my tribute to Michael Jackson:

Bridesmaids dance to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

I’m almost sure none of these young women were born when “Thriller” first came out in 1983, but they sure knew the moves from the music video. Whatever you may think of either of these stars, it is certain that their legacy survives and transcends generations.

It’s just a coincidence that I have two different photos from two different weddings that reference the two famous people who died today. I really don’t do a star tribute with every wedding I shoot.

I didn’t do anything to the photo except add the watermark — it is straight out of the camera.

My husband gave me this miniature rose plant for our anniversary a couple of years ago. I call it the Lazarus plant because every time I think it’s dead, it manages to come back to life again.

Usually in this situation I’d surf the Internet a little, but mom and dad have dialup, and even that wasn’t working after a big thunderstorm last week. So I had to fall back on checking out the little quirks of my computer that I really had never cared to even know about before.

Who knew that the computer’s built-in camera would become a source of artistic inspiration?

Don’t ask me what that white thing is over my shoulder because I sincerely do not know. Maybe an angel.

Another thing I have been doing is cleaning off my hard drive, burning DVDs to make room for all the photos I will be taking this weekend. Of course I came across photos of my kids that I had previously not posted, including this one that I did for my husband’s Facebook page. It’s been a big hit among our family and friends.

I had beautifully lit photos from this set; I had photos that were thoughtfully composed. But this wild, out-of-control moment of my husband trying to corral the two boys is the one that floats my boat.

After a meeting with some other professionals this week, I have been in a kind of funk. I keep finding that pros in my industry have an inclination to turn every meeting into a gripe session.

As part of today’s sermon at Unity Church of Little Rock, the Rev. Juhlie Fancher mentioned a woman in her previous church who decided to apply Unity’s principles to her life. But, it was hard, it was scary, because she would have to be very different from everyone else. Specifically, she was having problems dealing with the people in her workplace who did a lot of complaining. At first, she just decided to say nothing, to not participate. Then, she started mentally (silently) affirming what she knew to be truth while others around her were complaining. Coworkers started asking her opinion, and she started answering them with positive instead of negative comments. Pretty soon, they were asking her opinion more often. Then, they started coming to her with personal problems. At her memorial service, several women came forward to say how their lives had been changed by this one woman deciding not to complain.

This put me in mind of another story. A couple of decades ago when I started in photojournalism, twin brothers Peter and David Turnley were some of the most talented photographers on the scene. At one time they were both finalists for one of the highest prizes in photojournalism, the World Press Photo photo of the year. David worked for a newspaper and Peter was a freelancer. I once took a photography class from Peter Turnley. This was at a time when David was winning tons of awards, and was regarded as being one of the best newspaper photographers in the nation, if not the world. Peter Turnley told us about going to visit his brother at the newspaper. All the photographers were sitting around (you guessed it) griping about how there were no good assignments that would produce great photos. “Where is David?” Peter asked.  Where else? David was out producing great photos, assignment or no assignment.

To me photography is all about loving what I do. I also have the heartfelt belief that to do anything to the limit of your understanding and ability is to not only glorify God, but to meet the Divine where you are most likely to be open to some kind of divine interaction. God is everywhere, but when we are operating at the limits of our understanding we sure are a lot more likely to be open to the prompting of Spirit. So, I try to always stay a step ahead of my own game.  It’s so easy to fall into the gripe trap, and that’s where most of us spin our wheels sometimes through entire careers. Whatever our job or wherever the daily grind finds us, we have the ability to get out of the mud and rise to our highest potential, as long as we are giving everything we have to what we do.