Perfectly Imperfect Photography

Shit, or The Shit?

This article got sparked by a debate on Facebook. Or a lot of debates on Facebook. A larger debate in the photography community, if you will.

But to frame it – It all centers around a book released by a Wedding Photographer called John Dolan called ‘The Perfect Imperfect’ – it’s available on Amazon if you want to get hold of a copy

I personally love John Dolan’s approach to weddings. He arrives and tries to meld in like a guest, he doesn’t tend to overshoot. He loves simple cameras and analogue film and has his own style. He seems like a very chilled guy and I think we’d have a lot in common.

Where people are divided though, is that John likes to use blur and out of focus shots as part of his visual language. Some photographers are inspired by this looser approach – it actually reminds us of the medium of photography and can give photos an authentic snapshot feel. Other photographers say things like “I could never deliver these to my clients”, “These look like the photos I’d throw away at the end of the shoot”. I think both of these points are totally valid. At the end of the day it’s about the clients a photographer is attracting and shooting for – and what they want from their photos.

Blurry Wedding Photos

There’s certainly been a trend recently for blurry wedding photos – especially in the editorial wedding photography style.

I think this comes from a lot of people looking back at fashion photography and the more artistic photographers who’ve worked in it over the last century. There was an Exhibition called Appearances: Fashion Photography since 1945 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The accompanying book has found its way onto many wedding photographers bookshelves.

A lot of these images played with movement in the clothes, or just reducing shapes and colours to their bare essentials, rather than showing a true visual representation of the clothing. And I think a lot of photographers were inspired by that.

Personally, I do like to use blur in my own photography. I’ll intentionally use slow shutter and let things – but I usually use it to indicate movement and tell a story (see image below). It doesn’t make sense to me using it for still stuff (but never say never, as I do tend to make every artistic decision on the spot, rather than premeditate stuff)

I also find blur is part of the process using instant cameras and analog film

A certain type of client

I love the work of York Place studios – in the past I’ve bought their book, approached them about mentoring that never came to pass. But I was talking to another wedding photographer about how they’re who I’d book for my wedding and their nose shrivelled in disgust – No! Why?

I think it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. One persons wonderful, authentic art is another persons reject pile. One photographers beautifully composed style is another persons cheese. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

So yes, John Dolan is attracting a certain type of client, and making sure they understand his work before they sign on the dotted line. As he’s said himself, he just needs to find 10 couples across the world who are interested each year.

Many of us photographers don’t have that luxury. Or haven’t created it for ourselves. That luxury to colour outside the lines.

And maybe it takes a certain type of photographer / personality to create that for themselves

Ian Weldon – Not A Wedding Photographer

Pushing it to another extreme, Ian Weldon is definitely the sort of personality that can create that artistic space for himself. Again, a lot of people would baulk at the sort of work Ian creates. It’s certainly not middle of the road wedding photography. Indeed, as Weldon himself says “However, he is a photographer who photographs weddings, albeit not in the typical way.” His website is also typically brutalist and idiosyncratic (even more so than mine!)

Weldon’s imagery is more in the spirit of Martin Parr or Bruce Gilden. I think everything Ian Weldon does he can point to the history of photography and say, this is my interpretation of what photography should be. Whether it’s genius or the kings new clothes is totally in the eye of the beholder.

So can I get away with this imperfectly perfect / blurry / outlandish approach to wedding photography?

I don’t know, can you?

Because I know we’ve touched on two photographers here, but I could probably reel off twenty more who are just off doing their own thing. And if people like it, they book.

I’ve had photographers say to me that they’d love to do documentary photography, or do something more artistic and alternative, but their couples wouldn’t have it.

I think often the trick is to show more and more of the work that you do want to create and gradually work your way into that new market. But some photographers are just square pegs and aren’t going to fit in that round hole anyway – and their work will always reflect that.