More Than Centerpieces Thursday, March 11, 2010

This photo and its accompanying blog post made my day. It's from one of my favorite photographers, Ryan Brenizer.

Mr. Brenizer is a wonderful wedding photographer based in New York. I found him on Flickr a while back and have read his blog for a couple years (as well as his photography column for Amazon.com). One of the things he does best is capture unscripted moments, often the wackiest ones.

I believe many wedding photographers fall into the trap of shooting the same moments over and over again, in the same way, at every wedding. It's easy to do -- there is a sameness to weddings, after all -- and a mediocre photographer could probably make a living out of it.

One of the reasons Ryan is so great is that he consistently rises above that. This glimpse into his photographic thought process is helpful for photographers and brides alike:


Photos like these are why I am a “moment junkie.” This is a cheerful hug between the bride, her father, and her grandfather, right after Viviana and her grandfather had a featured dance. Is it envelope-pushing art? No. Is it a picture that will have meaning for Viviana for the rest of her life? I’d imagine so. Let’s not forget that weddings are about moments like these more than centerpieces.