[Leica] Re: Wedding Photography

["Les Bonser" <lbonser@worldnet.att.net>]

Brian,

I'm not married myself (never have been, no current prospects :-< ), but I
have been to a couple friend's weddings, mostly very informal here in Las
Vegas. But I have other friends and acquaintances that show of the hugh
wedding album of photos. Even after viewing possibly hundreds of photos,
this is the first time I can say I understand the concepts.

Your concise explanation was much appeciated!

Les Bonser
Writer and Photographer
http://home.att.net/~photodoglv (Home of the PhotoDog!)

> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 08:40:50 -0700
> From: Brian Reid <reid@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Wedding photography
> Message-ID: <200005171540.IAA06115@riverside.haddockseyes.com>
> References:
>
> Most of the photography that I do is portaiture, either formal or
> informal. I've done a lot of weddings, though none in the last 20 years.
>
> Here is my perspective on the posed vs unposed issue.
>
> Weddings are complex symbolic events. If all you want to do is become
> married, you can do this in a courthouse with one witness. If you have
> a wedding ceremony and party, it has social and symbolic purposes as
> well as legal purposes.
>
> One of the symbolic purposes of weddings, especially church weddings,
> is that they are cultural links to the past and future. It's not just
> that someone is getting married, it's that they are getting married
> using an ancient ceremony that their ancestors used, and that their
> desendants will use. It's part of the link to their cultural identity.
> It ritually joins the couple not just to each other, in a vacuum, but
> to the larger context of the society in which they will be living.
>
> Posed wedding pictures are part of the tradition, no less so than the
> flowers, the clothing, the music, the spoken words, the rings, and the
> cake. It's not just that the pictures are posed; there are traditional
> poses. When I ask the bride and groom to pose with their mothers for
> Traditional Shot #5, "Bride and Groom and Their Mothers", I am not just
> asking them to pose. I am asking them to show the world, by their
> willingness to participate in this ritual, that they subscribe to the
> traditions of the culture in which they are getting married. There is a
> clear hierarchy of ten posed pictures for the wedding day itself:
> #1: The bride in her dress, without veil
> #2: The bride and groom in their formal clothing
> #3: The bride and groom and their witnesses
> #4: The bride and groom and their witnesses and attendants
> #5: The bride and groom and their mothers
> #6: The bride and groom and their fathers
> #7: The bride and groom and their parents
> #8: The bride and groom and the groom's entire family
> #9: The bride and groom and the bride's entire family
> #10: The entire collection of people in one big picture
> In some religious ceremonies we add #2a: The bride and groom and the
> religious leader who married them. Then after these 10 or 11 ritual
> pictures, which are as much a part of the tradition as the exchange of
> rings, various people and family members can take advantage of the
> photographer's being there by posing for other shots.
>
> Some people choose to get married without subscribing to the tradition.
> That's fine. It's not for me, but it's fine for them if that's what
> they want. The posed formal pictures are just part of that tradition.
>
> Brian Reid
>
> ------------------------------