Why I Like This Picture (plus it won an award!)

I wanted to start up my series of Why I Like This Picture posts again.  I always liked doing that, but got too busy and it stopped.  Now, though, I have a theme with the series and that is to go through each of the images on my website and talk a bit about why I like the picture and what went into making it so you have an idea of my thought processes when it comes to not only shooting but selecting images for clients and for display.

So, today’s installment of Why I Like This Picture is brought to you by Jeni and Robbie’s wedding.  I not only like this image, I love it.  And for a number of reasons.  First, it’s kinda hilarious.  It’s not often that your garments are ironed after you’re wearing them, and that’s funny.  I love funny.  The ironer is a close friend of the bride and an accomplished seamstress who handcrafted all the bridesmaids’ dresses and was just an all-around tailor, etc., at Jeni’s wedding.  I made multiple images of this scene, from different angles, high/low, left/right, trying to get everything aligned just the way my obsessive compulsive brain likes things, and to also have just the perfect expression, etc.  That’s the thing about making pictures – it’s not just see, react, snap.  In fact, that’s rarely it.  It’s usually more like, oooh, I think something good is going to happen here, I’m going to figure out the best place to be and wait for it, wait for it, waaaaaait for it, then workitlikemad, snapsnapsnap from this side and that side, until all the elements are perfect.

Oh, and this image also won an award on Fearless Photographers.  For those who don’t know, Fearless Photographers is an amazing group of photographers who have no fear when it comes to making images.  Not ones to be beholden to cliches, but those who strive to create something unique for their clients.  I’m proud to be a member and even more proud to have had this image win one of their prestigious awards.  I say prestigious because each round has literally thousands of images submitted for consideration.  And, in the round this image won (and one other I won), only 171 were chosen for awards.  So, to have two images win out of 171 awards given from the 8000 images submitted this time is, well, pretty stinkin prestigious, even if I do say so myself.

F a c e b o o k