How do you think the emotional value of your wedding photos is going to change in five years? How about ten?
This is a question I often ask couples who come to me to discuss photographing their wedding. The most common response?
“That’s a really good question.”
You see, most people are not thinking deeply about what their wedding photos will mean to them down the road. Of course you want a beautiful record of your wedding day. You want photos of your friends and family having an amazing time. You want to hold on to those memories and make sure they are documented.
But that simple record of what occurred is what you are looking for in the immediate future. How about ten years after your wedding? How will your feelings about your wedding photos change? Will certain photos mean more to you as the years go by?
I think sometimes we fool ourselves as to why these photos will mean so much to us later on. And I am certainly guilty of it too.
“Why did they pick that photo?”
I often see social media posts from other photographers talking about clients picking ‘bad’ photos for prints or albums.
“Why did they pick that photo? I don’t understand it. It’s not a great picture. I’m not even sure why I delivered it.”
Photographers tend to look at things from a technical standpoint. How is the focus in this picture? Is it too grainy? Is the exposure perfect?
This type of thinking can distance photographers from what is truly important about these photos. The emotions behind them and the emotions they bring up in the viewer.
“This is my favorite photo…”
I find it very interesting to see which photos couples choose for their wedding albums if they order them immediately after the wedding versus if they wait a year or two to get a book.
There is a distinct difference in the types of photos they choose.
And there’s an even bigger difference in the type of pictures people order prints of five or more years after their wedding.
And there is NOTHING wrong with your feelings changing over time. Your relationships with the people in the photos change. You may even lose some of the people in those photos.
The emotional qualities of a photo contain far more than can be described in words. They are what tugs at our heart strings. Their weight is beyond measure.
Empathy is a My Greatest Tool
I have always thought that one of the most important aspects of my job is to empathize with my clients.
I get to know you so that I can know what is important to you. I do not do this from a mere aesthetic standpoint, or to know what might make you laugh during your portrait session on your wedding day.
I learn about you so that I know what will have emotional value to you not only when you first see your wedding photos, but ten years after your wedding.
I know that photos of you and your best friend since you were five years old contain a lifetime of memories in the laughter you share.
I know the picture of that hug between you and your mother is going to mean a lot more when she is no longer with you.
I know how important these photos are to you now, and how important they will be to you later.
Do You Want Emotional Wedding Photos?
Are you looking for wedding photos that not only carry emotional value to you now, but increase in value as the years go by?
Yes? Feel free to reach out to me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter – or click here to jump over to my contact page and tell me about your wedding so we can start discussing your wedding.
What are you waiting for? Click here to get in touch. It only takes a minute.
