Remember the bride on the staircase and her cathedral length train?
This portrait of a groom on his wedding day is the perfect expression of the need for recognizing what is standing there right before you.
It's also similar to the engagement photo of the couple under the tree and the bride's idea to shoot that photo there.
Here right before us is a man who is sure of his identity.
Not all grooms feel this way of course, which is why this personal recognition by the photographer is so essential.
This print won 3rd place in the 2014 WPPI 16x20 Annual Print Competition in the Bride or Groom Alone: Wedding Day Category.
Like many wedding days where the schedule is running behind, I realized I did not have a portrait of the groom by himself yet, and there were five minutes to go before the ceremony.
Huddled with his groomsmen in a room with only one window, I suggested that we take at least one individual picture of him for his future wife.
Isolating the clutter in the room using a long lens to narrow the perspective, I intentionally placed him slightly on the left-hand side of the frame to create a feeling of tension.
His pose is exactly how he presented himself. Indeed, one of two things typically happens when you take a picture of someone.
Generally speaking, when someone first stands in front of you, as the Artist, you decide if it's easier to refine what they are naturally doing or start from scratch and rebuild the pose.
While his feet are not shown in this shot, long experience has taught me that the foundation of any great pose starts with the lower body.
In this particular moment, not only did his pose perfectly express who he is, but it also reflected how he saw himself. This print is an example of the Artist recognizing what's right in front of you as a photographer and using your talents not only to influence or instruct but to capture the image artfully.
The tension of the composition here is not to suggest that he is standoffish, but merely accentuate how many of us actually do feel when we look at someone who is self-confident.
To this day, he still uses this very quick portrait as his profile picture on Facebook.
Location: First United Methodist Church Dallas.
1/250; f/4.0; ISO 640; 135.0 mm.Copyright 2002-2024 David & Luke Edmonson All Rights Reserved.
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Edmonson Photography is based out the Dallas - Ft. Worth Metroplex, Texas.
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