The trend right now is for newbies to get lens flare from the sun in their lens on purpose. Never mind if it blocks out the face of the family in the shot… it’s cool, right?

And of course… let’s photograph the little boys in the family and “capture the moment” by cutting off their heads and showing only their lower bodies. And why, oh why, photograph a engagement couple from the thighs down?

Ooh. And yes, lets put a chair somewhere unusual. How about in a field? Better yet, let’s put a couch out there. Maybe on the railroad tracks. Oh, let’s put it in the road!

Note to beginners: The tilty, tilty, tilty stuff you think looks artsy has been down since Hitler’s time… used heavily by the propaganda film makers.

Once the beginner has their tilted, lens flared shot of a family sitting on couch in the road showing nothing but their legs… finish it off by making it black and white and color nothing but their blue jeans! Now we’re trendy!

This weekend Keith (on the left) and I met tons of nice brides-to-be at the Wedding Festival show at Carolina First Center in Greenville.  This is us at our booth. Hopefully you’ll remember us and contact us soon about any wedding plans.  My other assistant Megan also had a display too. Between the three of us booking weddings together (and separately) and the upcoming classes, it is going to be a crazy year. I will certainly have limited availability, so don’t wait too long!

I saw a fellow on TV the other night talking about playing the piano. He showed what it might sound like the first year… the second year, the third and fourth. Sure enough he sounded better as he pretended to have more experience.

I ran across a blog about time, practice, and patience. I agree with the point made. The blogger indicated it takes 10,000 hours to master something. The theory is apparently based on research by Anders Ericsson. After my years of practice and study I am still getting more and more comfortable every year. I don’t know if I will ever truly master my craft… but how on earth someone with a camera for Christmas could feel they are there. I just dunno.

How much experience should a bride, a family, a company look for in a photographer? It all depends. How important are the photographs? How important is time if something has to be done over? How much money is available to be spent? You do often get what you pay for. Do you really think a Craig’s List photographer or a bridal store/wedding mill photographer getting paid $400 is going to be as good as someone working at their craft for 5 years, 20 years?

Bruce Lee is supposedly quoted as saying “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” A photographer may not be great due to 10,000 hours of experience or a million photographs taken, but it might be safe to say they’ll be better than a person with a camera who never had a class, never learned the guidelines of good photograpy, and maybe just got their camera for Christmas.

Then there was something I just don’t get. Photographers cutting off peoples heads. Pictures of people from the thighs down. Lots of pictures with no faces.

Showing just the legs is supposed to be artsy or something?

There were pictures of grooms from below the neck. People holding hands… and not a face to be seen. I guess one photographer sees it and copies it because they think it’s cute or something.  And then there were shots of couples who were waaaaaay off center in the picture. Interestingly, when I learn the background of the photographer, I find out they usually have no training in composition, lighting, or equipment use. Oh my.

Because you have a nice piano doesn’t mean what you try to play will sound nice.  It doesn’t mean you need to play at weddings. Just because you have an ear for music doesn’t mean you need to play recitals or at weddings.

Who would hire someone to wire their house just because they owned a screwdriver and a pair of plyers? I guess I’m old school or something. I figure you should learn think inside the box before you try to think outside the box. Monte Zucker, the great portrait photographer once told me that some photographers like outdoor portraits because they don’t know how to pose people and they don’t know how to use lighting, so they just shoot things that happen. That takes very little skill. It takes a lot of skill to produce a nice portrait outdoors in indoors. Outdoors can be more forgiving. And that’s a good thing for newbies.

One other thing to rant about. Duck Lips. I couldn’t believe that I saw a bridal portrait at the show that had Duck Lips. And it was all tilted too. See the post below about being all tilty. What are Duck Lips? It is that fake pouty look you get when you poke your lips out not so much like a kiss… but more like a duck. This silliness supposedly accents cheeks and and makes you look like a Kardashian or something.

But, Duck Lips. No. No. No. Don’t ever do Duck Lips for a picture. Don’t let you bridesmaids make Duck Lips.  Heaven help us if the guys do it.

There is a whole website devoted to this topic. You’ll see lots of pictures of people with Duck Lips. Afterwards, I am sure you’ll never want anyone doing it for your wedding pictures. Beware, the language is a little rough in places. I guess the website guy must really hate Duck Lips.

But, like I said, there is a photography style for everybody. I don’t  understand why photographers think missing faces is artsy. I guess I’m opinionated. I’m not saying we’re better photographers than some of the others. I’m not saying they’re wrong and we’re right. There is a style for everybody. If grainy, splotchy, splattered, underlit, fuzzy pictures with missing faces is what you like, we aren’t for you. All that being said, I admit I might do a tilty shot and cut off heads and shoot just the legs… but only if the bride is doing Duck Lips!