Tag Archives: Documentary

One Image – Wedding Photography – Louisville, CO

What can we learn from a single image? A lot, if we look closely.

From the setting we can tell that this was a home wedding that was held outside. From the bride’s dress, it’s pretty obvious that the wedding was held on a warm day. From the direction of light we can tell that the ceremony took place late in the day. Dad’s hair is blowing a little bit, so it was probably breezy, but the bride’s vale is staying pretty still, so it wasn’t too bad.

Finally, let’s look at our subjects’ faces. They tell us all that we need to know about the emotions of the day. Our bride is happy and excited, but also appears to be a little nervous. Probably because she is about to step off the deck, but on some level, she may be realizing that the next time she walks through that door, she will be a different person. And what about dad? To me, he looks happy and sad. As a father of two daughters, I can certainly understand.

Are there any details that I’ve missed? I’m sure there are. Everyone who views a photograph brings their own set of experiences and expectations and can spot different things.

Thanks for reading.

Bright Shining Faces, or Maybe Not – Documentary Portraits

I was going through my archive looking for images to add to this site, and came across this one…

I love it!

It’s certainly not traditional, but it is real. The hat, the bib overalls, the messy face, the expression, even the out of focus cup in the foreground – I had totally forgotten about this day, until I saw this picture. Then it all came rushing back. That is the power of a documentary portrait, it doesn’t just capture what a person looks like, it captures who they were at that moment in time. Beautiful – no matter what is smeared all over their face.

Info for any photographers out there:
Sigma SD9
Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro
Manual exposure, 1/180 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, Compensation: +1/2
Check out the detail (Click on the picture to see it larger). When this camera gets it right it is really right. Unfortunately, when it gets it wrong, it is really wrong. There is no safe middle ground.