IN & OUT: Photography Trends

June 15, 2015

As event planners, we are constantly collaborating with top vendors whom are truly experts in what they do. Not only are they knowledgeable and creative, they have a viewpoint unlike any other noting the trends that come, that go… and creating brand new trends themselves! This week our ‘IN & OUT‘ series will hear from a few of our wedding professional friends. We can expect to hear the down and dirty truth about what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’ as we begin the summer!

David Turner :: David Turner Photography

Over 15 years of wedding photography experience.
Photographing commercial, weddings and portraits.

 


What’s OUT for Summer 2015?

I’m definitely witnessing couples shying away from theme weddings–especially the “retro” and “DIY” trend–and gravitating towards the traditional event; there seem to be fewer and fewer “Mason jar and tandem bicycle” weddings and a return to elegance. The reason, I think, is because a seemingly breezy and carefree retro/DIY wedding–however fantastic these wedding photos appear and are represented on Pinterest–is, in fact, far more work and far more stressful to create than those who attempted them without the help of designers or coordinators dreamt of. (Want a shot of you and your husband riding a 1970’s tandem bike? A. Find a 1970’s tandem bike; B. Learn how to ride a tandem bike; C. Figure out how to arrange your dress such that the resulting photo appears natural–good luck if you have a mermaid dress or one that flows and, thus gathers so much material that if you don’t bunch it up on your lap you risk it getting caught in the chain; D. Try to look naturally and genuinely happy while muddling through the seemingly simple yet genuinely complex operation of riding said tandem bike while controlling your wedding dress. None of the above is as easy as appears on Pinterest!) When such weddings are managed by professionals who know how to create an event based upon a theme, the results are splendid; but I think too many couples believed that they could manage them on their own and either got burned out by the work involved or didn’t quite have the expertise to pull the theme together fully and were left with simply random vignettes that didn’t make sense. Couples have enough on their plates to deal with during the months leading up to their wedding, so leave themed weddings up to the pros.


What’s IN for Summer 2015?

My answer piggybacks the previous question: My couples appear very educated/knowing of what and can’t be achieved and instead of saying “We saw this on Pinterest and love it” are saying, “We hired you because we love your work.” I appreciate Pinterest as I find it serves as a wonderful template that builds a bridge between me and my couples who are not models who reside in front of the camera on a regular basis–which are most brides and grooms–to find common ground on style, on posing, and on what is and what is not possible to achieve given our limitations. My couples who come to me with Pinterest boards are no longer asking if I can replicate shots but instead are saying, “I like this pose; how do we achieve it?” and I’m able to say, “You’ll notice the bride’s shoulders are at a 45 degree angle to the camera and her hips are pointed in another direction and her face is directed towards the front…on your wedding day I’ll say “Open your shoulders to me” and this means keep your feet and hips planted and twist your waist towards the camera so your shoulders are more prominent.” There seems more a desire on the part of couples to collaborate than in the past few years, and I believe this generates a wonderful energy between couples and photographers in particular.


Recent Photos from David Turner Photography

David-Turner-Photography-Wedding-Chicago

David-Turner-Photography-Wedding-Chicago

Pin It on Pinterest