Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Expression in Photography



This is Susan and Glynn. I took this photo at their second wedding. I was the photographer at both events. They were both intimate gatherings of family and friends. Both took place in country settings. Both were understated as far as weddings go. Both were beautiful in their own casual country way (which I find immensely appealing). The difference for me, as the photographer, going through these photos from both events to edit them, was the expression on their faces. Particularly his face.
At the first wedding, it was all smiles, perhaps a little nervous. Both of them had been married before. Both of them had children from previous marriages. Through their expressions you could see happiness and perhaps the slightest tinge of uncertainty. Or maybe that is just me looking back on the images knowing what the future held for them, reading things into it that were not there.
When looking through the images from the second wedding, however, I was taken aback by the expressions of joyful tears on his face. I literally was brought to tears myself by his tearful expressions of love for the woman that he treasured more than anything or anyone else in the world. Did he say that to me? No. But I could see it in his face. And I think that is what makes a mediocre photo into something of a timeless treasure.