A New Wave That I Admire!
Tuesday November 21, 2006 by David Beckstead
I had my first computer built for my business in 1997. The Internet was starting to really shape small business and I knew, living in such a rural area as I did, I needed to reach out and witness what was happening nationally. Websites from wedding photographers were often basic and not that creative. Yet along with a marketing shift to the Internet, wedding photography began to radically evolve. Photographers like Dennis Reggie and Gary Fong were pounding the pavement giving national seminars, helping to create a “New Wave” of virtual marketing and an ‘openness’ to discuss business. Pro forums like Jeff Caplen’s DWF and other websites were breaking down the traditional walls of secrecy and pairing established studios with novice photographers in a free-form environment (everyone has something to learn and everyone learns that you receive when you give). You could feel the electricity of passionate wedding photographers trying to rid themselves of the stagnant way the ‘wedding photography field’ was viewed by the general public, and by other photography fields. Imagery began to stylize with each individual photographer, as opposed to the ‘one style fits all’ mentally of the past. These new styles of imagery popped up all over the Internet and I was a willing learner and observer.
If you talked to any bride or her parents, they all had horror stories about ‘this’ wedding photographer or ‘that’ wedding photographer and what ‘they’ did or did not do. This was a big impetus for me to help dispel the attitude that wedding photography was a necessary evil at every wedding. I was compelled to be more creative, document the full wedding day (instead of the whole day being one portrait session after another) and create the aura of being an ‘Artist’ instead of a vendor. On the top of my list of reasons to be a wedding photographer was the possibility of developing a creative style that would appeal to certain brides and enable them to foresee their own wedding photographed in my specific manner…thus generally matching the personalities of the bride/photographer relationship perfectly.
Over time, I started seeing all this unfold on the Internet and I wanted to be a part of this new wave in our industry. I learn so much better on my own (than in a controlled school environment) with a book, magazine, home study material, and best of all, the Internet. I learn much better in a visual context and the wedding imagery I was seeing develop right before my eyes was astounding! Imagery from around the globe captured my creative juices and helped launch my new direction—Artistic Wedding Photography. I am not saying that anything before the Internet was not artistic, but certainly not on this grand scale! Every new image on the forums was evolving and set free from the stiff bonds of old rules and concepts. I was learning at an extremely accelerated pace as I studied the imagery. The great rules of composition were being followed and then broken and it was all so exciting!
There are photographers that amaze me. Some for their business skills and some for their imagery style, yet when it came to the pure art of learning, the study of the individual image dominated my endless hours of Internet surfing. Quick interjection: I learned from others yet developed my own style. I never copied or replicated what I studied. When a photographer copies and takes the easy route, it is a form of stagnation. Art cannot flow when one is preoccupied with doing what others are doing, and in the exact same way. End of interjection!
Once in a while I would see and experience an image that blew me away! This image might not even score well at WPPI or the local PPA organizations, yet I was so excited by that image, I asked to buy a print to place on my office walls for inspiration.
Now I am being blown away almost every day. Our industry is changing at lightning speed and I am energized to be a part of it. I totally admire all this synergy of excellence, difference, and stylistic impact free flowing on the web. I am ecstatic for our future in the wedding industry!
One particular image from Jose Villa sparked an idea in me;
why not collect my favorite images from other photographers in one website? Wow, what a cool idea! I won’t put a single image of my own in it! I’ll just search the web for images that I love…and take submissions for possible inclusion on the site. I called Jose and asked him if he wanted to be the first one. He happily accepted and a website was born. When I first saw Jose’s image I was stunned! The simplicity of the composition, the radical amount of negative space, bold colors, minimalist concepts, the wild abandon of what you would think normally fits into a camera’s rectangular world all came together in a creative image-statement about how high and wonderful this new wave of wedding photography has become. At least it did for me. And that is my statement. “Admired by Beckstead” is a site dedicated to images that “float my boat”, “Pump me up”, “knock me out”, and excite me to shoot a great wedding next Saturday.
We often hear about the abundance of new wedding photographers coming into our industry. We also hear negative-talk about our devalued copyright and the coming downfall of the pro-photographer; however, the photographers I represent are forward thinkers with the best boards to ride the highest wave all the way to the sand. These are the kinds of photographers that bring up the creative standard, help make our art more valuable, and give us opportunities to experience the joy of having the “Dream Job” of a lifetime!
We go to seminars, read instructional books, watch DVD’s of forward thinking photographers, all not only to learn, but also to get excited! To get our creative juices flowing!
I offer www.admiredbybeckstead.com as just this: a place to motivate you to grab your surfboard and ride this wondrous wave of creativity!
Knock yourself out!
