Art in Wedding Photography

This has been a topic of discussion among my collogues for many years. How do we maintain our artistic integrity while working in a commissioned field. Is wedding photography art? Are the images only historical documents that record an event? I think both; it’s a commissioned job that can be as diverse in it’s success as the clients that hire photographers. When I am at my best at a wedding I leave with images that accurately document the day as it happens and images that tell how the day felt. Sometimes if the conditions are perfect, I leave with images that are a direct nod to artists that have come before us. As the photograph fights to maintain relevancy the connection with past artists attaches us to the dreamscapes time has been teasing to uncover. If you know my work you know that Rodney Smith opened me up to a photographic visual language that was brimming inside. His influence is strong in me and in addition to him there is a strong desire to know what other art forms are declaring. The story of art is what draws me in, yes it must be good.. but, after hearing a bit of what’s behind some incredible work it sticks with me. A boldness that literally uncovers.

Below are a couple of times this visual nod has come to life at weddings. The first is a nod to John Singer Sargent’s Madame X. My client Margaret wore the most beautiful dress to her wedding in Aspen; it exemplified her graceful character, her elegant sense of style, and her lightheartedness. Every once in a while the spaghetti strap would fall from her shoulder and she would gracefully replace it. It actually led to sweet photographs of her similar to the whimsy of a bride calmly brushing the hair from her face, a simple moment but when frozen is made into art. I noticed that happen couple of times and it made me think of Madame X and Sargent’s decision to leave something “wrong” in a image to push boundaries and add truth and character. So I asked Margaret if I could make this portrait of her on her wedding day in the hallway of the Hotel Jerome in Aspen and she obliged. It’s simply and easily one of my favorite portraits of a bride I’ve ever taken. It combines the truth of Margaret’s experience with where I was artistically and stitches it to the image makers that have come before me. It’s art in its own way.

Here’s a link to the repainted Madame X portrait

The second set of images is from Katie and Ben’s wedding in Washington Sate. Katie’s friend owns a flower farm and while Katie was getting ready I was able to walk through it. Towards the back of the field was a pasture of wild poppies and it swept me away just like the Klimt’s Poppy Field painting did the first time I saw it. I didn’t expect it, but it drew me in and asked me to stay a while. I photographed the field for quite some time. I felt lucky to be there, I felt connected to Klimt and wanted to share the feeling with a nod to his painting with a poppy field of my own. Cheers to Klimt, may way get swept away and enveloped.