Editing is the silent hero of good wedding photography. Shooting gets all the glory, but after the event, it’s editing that makes or breaks a photographer.
We shoot somewhere around 2000 frames at each wedding we photograph. Each monday, we spend the entire day editing a single wedding that we shot the weekend before. Very carefully, we look at each image we captured and make decisions about what should be included–and what should be excluded. A good edit elevates the level of photography–and helps the bride and groom better appreciate the images as a collection. I can’t understand why some photographers simply shoot and deliver all the frames: editing gives the photographer the opportunity to really express a point of view.
Here’s an example. The first one is the shot you’d expect.
And this one is the one we love.
It’s back and forth when we edit together. Our conversation sounds pretty much like this:
Theresa: Why did you take this one out? This one shows how pretty the back of her dress is.
John: Are you kidding? The light is so much better in the other one. You can see the dress and her sister is in the background.
Or here’s another one:
John: Why did you take this one out? I thought it was a great moment.
Theresa: It is a nice moment, but that’s the wedding planner’s assistant.
John tends to edit for composition, technical aspects and evaluates how he was able to interpret that moment. He’s looking for that certain something that is elusive. I tend to edit for continuity, making sure we’re representing important people, the beatiful details that might not be obvious. We like the chemistry of editing together.
I admit I had the wrong impression of the Church at Mt Angel. As we were driving south towards Salem, I was expecting a rustic church in the country. John and I were both astounded at the sheer beauty of St Mary’s. If not for Amanda and Wayne, we would have never known about this glorious cathedral.
A few days before the wedding, Amanda shared a story about her grandmother (great grandmother?)Apparently, Amanda’s Gram was also married at this very same church, two generations ago. At some point during the reception, the groomsmen kidnapped the blushing bride and held her hostage a few blocks away at “Tiny’s Tavern”. It fell to the then-bridegroom to locate and rescue his new bride at the beer joint on Main St. We stopped off to commemorate that bit of history with a photo at Tiny’s. (They didn’t however, pop in for some suds.)
So Amanda and Wayne, here’s a few of our favs from the day. There’s lots more we can’t wait to share with you. Thanks for being such a sport in the field by the barn. By the way, that snake was a LOT bigger than I admitted…
To see a slideshow of our favorite photos, click here.
To see all the photos from their wedding day, click here.
June 12, 2008 Posted in colors
This time of year, I hear that many brides are planning fall or winter weddings. Thinking ahead to November or December, I can’t imagine anything more romantic than red as a color inspiration. Here’s some pics from a late fall/early winter wedding. Besides the romance of it, there are other good reasons to choose red as a color theme for a winter wedding. Classic red roses are quite available all winter long. Also, a little red goes a long way and small touches will have a big impact. For example: consider rose petals scattered on white linen, a single red blossom tucked behind a chingon, ‘maids in basic black cocktail dresses accented with red shoes. Dramatic.
I was bored last night so I googled John’s name just to see what came up. Surprise! I discovered that one of his images from 2007 won a WPJA award at the end of last year. And we never even knew it…. Here’s the photo and a link to the WJPA website.
It’s a first for us that our favorites from a wedding just happen to be black and white. (don’t worry, Scott and Melissa, there are scads of color images in your set.) Based on the huge thunder and lightning in the evening, I can’t believe how lucky we were to be treated to a rainless morning and the gorgeous sunshine right after your wedding. (you must have an “in” with someone very powerful…..)
p.s. here’s proof that there’s lovely color from your day. stay tuned for more….
Maybe you’re planning an autumn wedding. For me, there’s no better time of year than September or October in Portland. There’s that one morning in September when you first feel that crispness in the air. At once exhilarating and melancholy–it reminds me that our part of the world is moving away from the sun–but also that we’ll have at least a month of perfect, perfect weather. Here’s some colors that look right to me for that time of year.
