On Sunday I had the pleasure of being in the company of two of the world’s finest Wedding Photojournalists, Mr Jeff Ascough and Mr George Weir.
Jeff is a UK based photographer and is acknowledged as one of the ten best wedding photographers in the world today. He is also one of Canon’s “Ambassadors” – the only Wedding photographer amongst that very elite group.
George is a fellow Scot who emigrated to the States as a young man and is now based in New York. George’s work is simply outstanding, to the point that American Photo Magazine described him as “unique even among photojournalistic shooters”.
Sunday’s seminar was all about the mechanics of Wedding Photojournalism, covering the finer details of lighting, composition and storytelling. It was clear that both photographers were extremely passionate about their craft and it was a very enjoyable and inspiring day.
I took copious notes (which I’ll need to sit down and review), but one key thing that I was left with was a statement from George that he attributed to the father of modern photojournalism, Henri Cartier-Bresson:
“The image is good or not from the moment it was created”
In other words you either have the image or you don’t – hours and hours in photoshop won’t change that. It’s all about the eye and skill of the photographer, not the equipment or the software they use. You need to strive to find “the” image in the scene before you, and focus on that one goal.
It was a fascinating day and I came away with a lot of new ideas (and challenges) that I hope to put into practice very soon.
I’ll leave you with a favourite image of mine from Stephen and Shanita’s recent wedding which I think typifies my style as a wedding photojournalist – Shanita is a professional dance tutor, and to me this picture defines the story of her wedding day.
by Alan
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