Something honest.

Today we want to share something we have been feeling for a long time. We have been feeling it, and welovepictures finally put it into words. Travis and Maike (from welovepictures) are two of our dearest friends, and we love being alongside them on this adventure that is wedding photography. We often discuss what it means to photograph weddings in a meaningful way, and they continuously inspire us, both in the exceptional quality of their work, and in the example of love and generosity that they set for us. We are both blown-away, and incredibly humbled that they would use our work as an example of ‘honest’ wedding photography. This is what we aim for with every wedding we shoot; that the images we make would be a real and honest reflection of the day. We truly believe that  ‘honest’ photos are the ones that will mean the most to a couple after 1,5,10,20 or 50 years of marriage. We know that these are the photos that we treasure most from our own wedding.

(The below images were taken by Lizelle Lotter at our wedding)

The following article was taken from the welovepictures blog.

This thing called ‘The Wedding’  (written by welovepictures)

After seeing a recent wedding on the Love Made Visible blog we were again reminded of a topic which we often discuss but have never found the time to write about. It’s not a serious topic but it is an important one to us as photographers.

Wedding photography like this, call it candid, natural, documentary, call it what ever you want,  will continue to become more popular with modern couples just because it is real. You might almost have been at the wedding yourself, looking through these pictures. You are able get a sense of how this day really unfolded. How the guests felt. How they celebrated together. Sometimes how they even fought together. If you document, you document what actually went down. Thankfully a wedding is almost always a happy affair.

There is nothing wrong with pictures that show off the lifestyle, decor and beauty aspects of a wedding. The thought out, styled images, often described, perhaps unfairly so, as “posed”. They are an important part of showcasing the “look” of a wedding. But sometimes these pictures are a small part, getting a lot of the attention. With some photographers, unfortunately, all the attention. In truth there is no one true “way” and every photographer is an artist with their very own approach. We respect that.

The wedding industry and in particular wedding photography has overcome its former reputation as the western worlds ultimate example of kitsch. Style and creativity have found their places and we’re grateful for it. But like everything in our culture it is driven and held captive by trends. The “must have” attitude is hard to shake and perhaps some don’t even care too. “The Wedding” is now a product and products require patterns and moulds so they can be accurately re-produced, over and over again. But is it right to cookie-cut moments out of a unique story? Are they really unique then?  In the end it just depends on whether you want your own version of something or the product off the shelf. Neither is wrong. They are both options available to couples. It’s up to them to make the choice that is right for them.

All images below by the insanely talented, welovepictures