Fashion Weddings

The beautiful Natalie

Over the weekend, my photography group got together to take a look at lighting. I used between 3-4 off camera strobes. Our model was the beautiful Natalie Symanski. Fashion photography is natural for me, the style and the look are part of the way I learned. I looked at fashion advertising and media when I needed inspiration for photo shoots. My wife gets a kick out of our magazine subscriptions today, she loves Maxim magazine and I love Vogue. She hates ads, I love them.

I am attracted to fashion photography like a moth to fire and I have found that it is definitely a niche of mine in the area. Fashion has a look that a lot of people can’t get down and can’t figure out. For my style of fashion photography, I move fast, I use a minimum of three strobes and I try and create dramatic shadows. I’ll shoot through objects like a plant to throw shadows across my backgrounds. I like to visualize myself as a viewer of the fashion, a critic of the situation in front of me instead of as a photographer. I try and think of a scenario that involves the camera being a participant… the camera might be a voyeur in the closet, it might be a stranger on the couch, a shoe… I try and create a scenario that puts me in a different place in a different state of mind.

I love shadows... pianos are a plus.

I apply fashion photography and photojournalism with a unique twist for wedding photography. I approach a bridal preparation session like a fashion event of a major designer… looking for dress and shoe details, details in the room and exploring the area involved from a scenario point of view. I love to come into the room and think about a story I can tell from a different point of view and I love to hide my strobes around the room as I work, moving them as I move. Usually when I first walk in.. I look for a closet and start there… as a piece of clothing or a shoe or a hanger… I will move around the room imagining the motion and evolution of what is happening to the bride.

Weddings are treated as runway shows for me. The unique look of high end fashion photography applied to weddings is amazing to say the least. First, every person coming down that aisle is a story. Using long, fast lenses I am able to remain outside of the limelight and shooting the procession as if they were each their own part of a greater story. That’s what a wedding is, it’s a story. A story you only get once. As I shoot in a fashion style, I also get all the traditional shots that everyone loves to have. The combination of fashion and photojournalism in weddings is one that makes weddings look incredible. Wedding photography is not a competition, I always ask brides to find a photographer that has a portfolio they love. When a bride comes to me, she is usually looking for a fashion edge in her wedding photography. A lot of wedding photographers have the same look and a lot of brides like that same look… and they can save a little money. This isn’t about money, this is about a fusion of art and memories.