Great wedding photographers come in all shapes and sizes. Recently, Rangefinder released their 30 Rising Stars of 2016 in Wedding Photography. As I went through the list, I started to check everyone out. I started to see what it was that each and every single person or duo had to show. As a photographer, I appreciated where many of them came from. Personally, I don’t care too much for awards. As a whole, photo awards and competitions are usually nothing more than someone else’s opinion. That’s it. I have no qualms with Rangefinder or any other photographic recognition in the industry, wedding or otherwise.
“Great wedding photographers come in all shapes and sizes.”
I digress. As I continued to look through all of the websites of these great wedding photographers, I started to notice some things. Not necessarily a common ground among all, but different things that overlapped with other photographers. Here’s what I saw.
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Imperfections
Now there are many photographers that are out there that will preach day in and day out that everything has to be perfect for an image. The composition, the lighting, the focus, the…well, you get the idea. This is something that I noticed from the get. Great wedding photographers don’t care about whether or not the image fits in the “box”. From my point of view, it seems as if emotional images are the key. Moments that are captured (as cliche as that is) are paramount.
“Great wedding photographers don’t care about whether or not the image fits in the ‘box’.”
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Film
Though the film industry is at a low, there are plenty of photographers that are out there keeping it alive. It is a medium that is hard to replicate. Now, these photographers aren’t all using film as their primary way of photographing a wedding (though some do). What they are doing is using it at some capacity. They are making sure that they keep their photographic eye in check. See, film is permanent. Sure you can dodge and burn all day long, but an improper exposure will be hard to save if things aren’t good. Film is a way to slow down and think about what it is that you truly want to capture in your exposure.
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Composition
I know this goes against my first point, but every single one of these photographers have the ability to properly compose an image. Composition is a rule. It’s there to keep photographers in line. At the end, those rules are there to be bent and broken. Great wedding photographers know when to follow the rules and when to break them.
“Great wedding photographers know when to follow the rules and when to break them.”
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Style
Each and every single one of them has a unique and amazing perspective on the world. This is something that I personally deal with to an extent. I’m always trying to find some weird angles and experimenting to try new ways to photograph a couple. When I’ve been to a wedding venue and worked there multiple times, it’s hard to keep things fresh. A short thirty-minute session the day before where I walk around and see opportunities to photograph couples is a great way to keep things fresh. No matter what they say, there’s always something that can be done differently.
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Positive Mindset
Personally, this hits home for me. I’ve talked to a couple of the winners of the 30 Rising Stars from Rangefinder and one thing that is in common is that they all have a positive outlook on the community. Many people chime community over competition, but it’s nice (more so great) to see so many amazing wedding photographers being recognized that are also have a positive mindset.
“Great wedding photographers know when to follow the rules and when to break them.”
It’s funny. A friend of mine shot me a text right after the list of the 30 Rising Stars went live. She said that next year we’ll be on that list. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d fall into that category. I’m my own guy. Marta is her own person. We have a (sometimes) unified vision of what this all should be. Being on that list isn’t important to me. Honestly, most of the photographers that are there didn’t submit their name or pursue the nominations. I’m just saying, focus on the art, see what others don’t, and be true to yourself. Great wedding photographers always do. Others will follow and recognize. They always do when hard work is put into it.