You never get to see the underbelly. That hidden part of what every photographer shoots – the unedited set of files. Looking through portfolios and blogs is like going to a cocktail party, where everyone is at their best. Dressed to the nines and at their most charming, you only see the photos that represent their best self possible. Even for any individual photographer, it’s oh-so-tempting to drink the Kool Aid, and start to believe that your best represents your norm. But how many shots can most people show on a blog post? 10? 20? Maybe 40? And forget about portfolios. They’re just cherry-picked. But there’s no question some photographers draw from a deeper well than others with more consistency and better observation.
I was clicking through some blogs the other day, and I was looking at this post from Our Labor of Love:
http://ourblogoflove.com/index.cfm?postID=538
I looked at the Bat Mitzvah pictures, and I thought “These are nice.” Then I clicked on the slideshow. And I said “Oh, these are quite nice.” Then the slideshow kept going and going and going. They weren’t just nice. They were relentlessly nice. Matt the photographer who captured it was a non-stop shooting machine, who took the time not just to capture a few standouts, but who took the time to make every shot a good one.
Now, I know that not every single shot in the slideshow is earth-shattering. But that’s not the point. Just about every shot has something to show and something of value, and they’re done with the basics – strong composition, lighting, and timing, which is the mark of true ability. They’re not pictures where someone just picked up a camera and started snapping, and they’re not a bunch of filler shots. They’re pictures where a photographer paid attention and cared. And as simple as it sounds, it’s anything but. Great photography is great observation, and great observation is not about the big and bold. That’s the easiest thing to see. It’s the ability to observe the small and subtle and still use it to make picture that communicate. The kicker is that Matt manages to find it at times where many photographers shooting a wedding just tune out.
So hats off to Matt and Our Labor of Love for a job that’s not just well done, but that I found absolutely inspiring. That’s the type of commitment photography is about.
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