The Defining Moment–Gearing up for Weddings

With another year of wedding photography set to begin this March, I have taken some time to reflect and look back on the weddings of the past several years. Almost invariably, as I’m editing photos or going back through them months later, there is a single photograph that for me captures the spirit of the whole day. Sometimes it is a big moment, often it is a small moment. It is always a moment that for me distills many of the themes of the day into one photograph. That photograph then also has to work on its own terms, of course.

Often, the photograph is one that others single out, for whatever reason, as being good. Other times, my favorites might be completely different than the favorites of others, and that is one of the joys of creating something–folks will take different things from different photos. My personal favorites tend to fit both my aesthetic taste and also must fulfill my criteria for being real or authentic, in the sense that they reveal something true about the subjects they display.

Sometimes I recognize these moments the instant I take the photo. Other times, it is a gleeful discovery of a fleeting moment of great emotion.

It is these moments between bride and groom, mother and son, father and daughter, that say so much about joy, love, friendship, and sorrow. Some of the moments are lighthearted, some silly, some picturesque.

I most love what I do because of these moments, these memories, these windows into moments of life lived fully. I’m so thankful for the experiences I have had, and am excited for the experiences coming up in 2014, as I will be photographing weddings here, in the mountains, in New York, and in Chicago.

I once read that Christopher Walken will take any role that is pitched to him, provided that his schedule can accommodate it. He said each role, no matter how good or how bad, is a learning experience. I have been fortunate never to have had a bad wedding day experience, but I am thankful for all the enrichment, and to have shared a small but significant piece of so many great folks’ lives.