Authentic Timeless Wedding Photography

What does it mean when we talk about timeless wedding photography?

A lot of people might have the idea that for a photo to be considered timeless it must also be boring.  I disagree.  I think timeless is just the opposite of trendy.  
Couple at the Alter
What do I mean by trendy? Trendy photography incorporates the current fads.  That doesn’t mean they are all bad, but fads tend to make an image look dated. Wedding photography fads are often brought about with advances in technology. For example, when Photoshop became widely available in the 1990’s we started to see the selective color fad.  No wedding album was complete without a picture of the couple in black and white with the bride’s flowers in color. The fads didn’t start off with Photoshop. In the 60’s new camera’s made is possible to superimpose more than one image on the same piece of film.  We started to see weird images of couple’s disembodied heads floating above guests in the church, or looking towards each other inside of a champagne flute.
 

Modern fads consist of everything extended “fashion” sessions, to vintage post production effects.  I can’t help but wonder how couples will react to those photos in 25 years?  I can’t imagine they will be looking back at them with any more fondness than the couple with the church photo containing their disembodied heads do today. And will couples really say, “I am glad we spent 5 hours taking pictures instead of spending time with our guests?”  Somehow, I doubt it.
 

So what is timeless wedding photography? Think about your favorite photos from twenty or thirty years ago. How many of them incorporate photographic trends of the time? My guess is none. When you see a timeless photo you see beauty and emotion, you don’t notice how great the special effects are. When I work to create timeless wedding photography, I try to make images that my clients will love just as much on their 50th wedding anniversary as they will on their first.
 

Take a look at the images below.  They don’t involve a lot of post production tricks. They were not made on five hour long shoots.  In fact, I try to keep all the portrait work I do on a wedding day to less than an hour. I hope what they do convey is real and honest emotion. Also notice that only a handful of the images are actually during the ceremony or the portrait session.  The majority were made while couples were getting ready or relaxing during the reception. The reason all my packages include a full day of photography, is because all those moments outside of there ceremony on the wedding day are so incredibly important to have photographs of.
 

Enjoy
 

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