'Instagram Wedding'...

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kluen

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Here's an interesting (possibly) one...

I did a wedding three weeks ago, during the pre wedding meet the bride asked if I could produce a set of images which looked like Instagram...

I ended up sending them two sets, one as I would shoot and process normally, and a second all 'film'd up' with selective tiltshift blurring, crazy filters all over, I had grabbed some images with these looks in mind during the day.

Funnily enough it's the first set which have spilled onto the internet via their profile pictures, Instagram accounts etc.

Anyone else found these modern social conventions creeping into their workflow?
 
All the time, a few model friends of mine all want the Instagram-esque style so I said in a joking type way ' I'll get you a tripod for your iPhone' ;)
 
I read that Jerry Ghionis shot a wedding with an iPhone (along side his SLR)

Yet to find the pics though
 
ajax_andy said:
If a client asked me to do this I would refuse and turn down the booking
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Seems a bit silly to me when all you'd need to do is run a standard action over your final processed set. Money for old rope if you ask me, but then if your busy enough to turn business away fare play to you!
 
Sukhi said:
Found them:

http://jerryghionisblog.com/2012/05...amber-select-shots-taken-with-the-iphone.html
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and has he quotes on there,

"Photography is more about the craft of lighting, posing, composition and story telling etc. than the camera you use."

They're really good photos and I reckon a lot of couples would be made up with some of them in their wedding album.

If you're good enough to be able to capture some of the images like that, why would you turn down the money?
 
You're kidding me?

While I admire him for his creativity, this is a whole different ball game!!! £150 for a full day on an iPhone, what next?
 
Why would people refuse this, out of interest? Because you don't like the style, disagree with it, or just don't want those sorts of images associated with your name?

I would have thought a varied portfolio would be no bad thing, especially as in this case you could just shoot and edit normally, then just batch process them all again.
 
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Call me a cynical old so and so but I've looked at the Gallery on that site and I have two points to make. Firstly, there aren't actually any wedding photos. A bit strange, don't you think? Secondly, the photos they've displayed look like stock photos to me.

What do people think?
 
I think they do look a bit generic but couldn't honestly comment, no exif etc!
 
a1ex2001 said:
Seems a bit silly to me when all you'd need to do is run a standard action over your final processed set. Money for old rope if you ask me, but then if your busy enough to turn business away fare play to you!
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Depends on why you do photography as to whether just running a standard action over it is suitable. If you just care about churning out any old crap for cash then it's fine to do it, if you have or are developing a specific style you are or want to be known for then it's actually bad for business to do it.
 
DrGed said:
Call me a cynical old so and so but I've looked at the Gallery on that site and I have two points to make. Firstly, there aren't actually any wedding photos. A bit strange, don't you think? Secondly, the photos they've displayed look like stock photos to me.

What do people think?
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Flightphoto said:
I think they do look a bit generic but couldn't honestly comment, no exif etc!
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Assuming that you're referring to the "brown coin" website, then the gallery pictures are contained in a directory which strongly suggests they are stock from getty.

e.g. _app/28702/en/simplemedia/gettyimages/gty57281971_m.jpg

Also, the website itself does not suggest someone who is really looking for business. There are no real contact details, no indication of areas covered, and no examples of original work.

I suspect that someone is just playing with web design tools. It's possibly even a student's project work. (in which case they should lose points for the misspelling of definitely on the landing page :D.) Or maybe it's a spoof page to trap the unwary.
 
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I started to think that Dave, it just didn't add up too well and judging by the aspects of the people in those images, I don't believe the iPhone's lens was that capable close up etc!

SLR's all the way for me, can't stand the idea of wasting the fun by using a touch screen phone when dials feel more precise :) (And I bet the women on here agree that it's better to twist something that's strong and long)
lol :p
 
ukaskew said:
Why would people refuse this, out of interest? Because you don't like the style, disagree with it, or just don't want those sorts of images associated with your name?

I would have thought a varied portfolio would be no bad thing, especially as in this case you could just shoot and edit normally, then just batch process them all again.
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because I don't know how to do the processing
 
ukaskew said:
Why would people refuse this, out of interest? Because you don't like the style, disagree with it, or just don't want those sorts of images associated with your name?

I would have thought a varied portfolio would be no bad thing, especially as in this case you could just shoot and edit normally, then just batch process them all again.
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Would you ask Picasso to paint like Van Gogh?

It really comes down to finding your own style and people buying in to that... photography is a creative vision that you bring to life through photographs, and part of that creative process is in the editing of the images.

This doesn't apply to everyone though, some just shoot for the cash and don't have that ethos or feeling for the art form. They would happily churn out any old crap as long as there's money involved.

Personally I'd hate to be associated with Instagrammy images just for the sake of a quick buck, and would rather be known for my own style and people book me because they like it
 
It reminds me a bit of a mate of mine who is in a band. They are all proper musos, play multiple instruments, all of which are to a high standard and have done all the relevant grades. They're Ok as a band but they're never going to 'make it'.

It makes me laugh when they get all angry when a new band comes on the scene, playing great songs with 'inferior' equipment. Especially when they are 3 chord or power chord songs.

Or another example is of a friend who went to a fancy restaurant and ordered a well done steak. The chef refused to cook it and even came out of the kitchen to tell him he didn't know what he was on about and didn't deserve to eat in his restaurant.

It's Ok having you're own style but the customer is always right. Most people wouldn't know the difference between a technically sound photo and one that's a little off. But they know what they like and if it's an instagram style photo, so be it.

As long as you're charging the same money, what's the problem. You don't need to add it to your portfolio if it makes you feel dirty. :)
 
I'm completely with Andy on this - you're being paid for your vision of their wedding, "As long as you're charging the same money, what's the problem" rather reeks of a lame excuse for engaging in prostitution when you're actually a stenographer......:D
 
ajax_andy said:
Would you ask Picasso to paint like Van Gogh?

It really comes down to finding your own style and people buying in to that... photography is a creative vision that you bring to life through photographs, and part of that creative process is in the editing of the images.

This doesn't apply to everyone though, some just shoot for the cash and don't have that ethos or feeling for the art form. They would happily churn out any old crap as long as there's money involved.

Personally I'd hate to be associated with Instagrammy images just for the sake of a quick buck, and would rather be known for my own style and people book me because they like it
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Wedding photography is not an art form. It is a service provision. If you rely on it as your sole income and are not busy IMHO you are stupid not to put food on the table just to claim you are an artist with a vision etc. etc.
 
Afgha said:
It reminds me a bit of a mate of mine who is in a band. They are all proper musos, play multiple instruments, all of which are to a high standard and have done all the relevant grades. They're Ok as a band but they're never going to 'make it'.

It makes me laugh when they get all angry when a new band comes on the scene, playing great songs with 'inferior' equipment. Especially when they are 3 chord or power chord songs.

Or another example is of a friend who went to a fancy restaurant and ordered a well done steak. The chef refused to cook it and even came out of the kitchen to tell him he didn't know what he was on about and didn't deserve to eat in his restaurant.

It's Ok having you're own style but the customer is always right. Most people wouldn't know the difference between a technically sound photo and one that's a little off. But they know what they like and if it's an instagram style photo, so be it.

As long as you're charging the same money, what's the problem. You don't need to add it to your portfolio if it makes you feel dirty. :)
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Unless the chef was also the owner then I think I'd have had a strong word with the proprietor. If the chef did own the place I'd have happily left a place due to what I can best describe as an ignorant attitude.

Personally I don't see a problem with people wanting an instagram style. When we got married we looked for a photographer that not only seemed to have a style we liked, but that would also listen to what we wanted. I'm not a fan of this instagram style but think it's unfortunate some people seem to look down on it just because it's not 'their thing'.
 
stu.artd said:
Unless the chef was also the owner then I think I'd have had a strong word with the proprietor. If the chef did own the place I'd have happily left a place due to what I can best describe as an ignorant attitude.

Personally I don't see a problem with people wanting an instagram style. When we got married we looked for a photographer that not only seemed to have a style we liked, but that would also listen to what we wanted. I'm not a fan of this instagram style but think it's unfortunate some people seem to look down on it just because it's not 'their thing'.
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I'm not going to name names but he was a so called 'celebrity chef'. Not sure of his ownership in the restaurant but i guess he'd have a big investment.

A few words were exchanged and my mate left without paying for the drinks or starter. :p
 
To be fair, it depends on the type of steak. If you ask for a well done fillet you're an idiot. The whole point of a fillet steak is that it's especially tender, but you largely lose this with heavy cooking. You may as well get a cheaper cut if you like your steak well done.

If I was the steak chef I might have cooked it but I'd have probably come out first explained why it was a bad idea and said "you know you're wasting your money right?". Also the chef has his reputation to look after. If someone orders a steak done contrary to the chef's wishes & goes away saying "had a steak from that steak joint that's meant to be amazing but it wasn't all that great" then the chef has a frustrating problem.
 
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stu.artd said:
but think it's unfortunate some people seem to look down on it just because it's not 'their thing'.
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I think Instagrams are a silly and very naff fad, and wouldn't want to be associated with them - I'm not in favour of being pretentious about prostituting our art for money, but you have to draw the line somehwere - many moons ago you'd get the occasional prospective bride who'd say "I love those misty pictures ("softed"), and that one with the couple in the champagne glass" -that was the time to smile sweetly and say, "not really my style, suggest you go to see my friend Ray, he specialises in that sort of thing" - knowing full well Ray would send clients who wanted "reportage" in my direction - that way everybody's happy - the punters get what they want, I didn't get the reputation of doing such things, and I'd kept in with a fellow photographer..........:cool:
 
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ding76uk said:
Wedding photography is not an art form. It is a service provision. If you rely on it as your sole income and are not busy IMHO you are stupid not to put food on the table just to claim you are an artist with a vision etc. etc.
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Those who do wedding photography as a 'service provision' have their place in the industry... It doesn't mean everyone who does weddings sees it as that, some see it differently and therefore look for and attract a different type of client. As a photographer who sees it differently artistic vision does matter and developing a consistent style is key to long term business success.
 
ghoti said:
To be fair, it depends on the type of steak. If you ask for a well done fillet you're an idiot. The whole point of a fillet steak is that it's especially tender, but you largely fortunatelyith heavy cooking. You may as well get a cheaper cut if you like your steak well done.

If I was the steak chef I might have cooked it but I'd have come out first explained why it was a bad idea and said "you know you're wasting your money right?". Also the chef has his reputation to look after. If someone orders a steak done contrary to the chef's wishes & goes away saying "had a steak from that steak joint that's meant to be amazing but it wasn't all that great" then the chef has a frustrating problem.
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Love the tangent this thread has gone off on.

If you ask for for a well done fillet steak, you are an idiot. Just the same as someone who is willing to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds on instagram style wedding photos. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you're looking for easy money) there's plenty of idiots about.

You made a good point that the chef should have explained my mates ignorance of well cooked meat. He could have also refused service because he can probably afford to and if the same applies to you as a photographer then fair enough. But if you aren't rich enough to turn but do so for artistic reasons, you are cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Especially if you're good enough to pull off great photos with these methods there are plenty of idiots who will see them and be potential customers who you can then show them what you can really do.
 
The thing is this discussion already took place a month or 2 back... I know because I started the thread.

There's a couple of togs I can think of here who I would class as 'top wedding photographers'... Rdh & radiohead (probs a few others too). Go ask them if they'd risk their rep and change the amazing consistency they have in their style to suit one customer and do an Instagram style to a set of pics. I bet you any money they wouldn't... Yet they are charging justifiably a lot of money for their services... So would they be wrong to refuse?

According to this thread yes... But that's because some of you are wrong ;)
 
ajax_andy said:
Those who do wedding photography as a 'service provision' have their place in the industry... It doesn't mean everyone who does weddings sees it as that, some see it differently and therefore look for and attract a different type of client. As a photographer who sees it differently artistic vision does matter and developing a consistent style is key to long term business success.
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Every wedding photographer is in the service industry. You provide a service for customers who pay you to do so.

I agree developing a style of your own is key to business success and I think a personal style is important, but styles get modified depending on trend. Hence why it is not (again IMHO) art. Very few set trends, most instead copying the work of others.

In the wedding arena there are very few pushing any artistic boundaries, just similar shots being redone by a different photographer to varying degrees of success. The reason? Because clients do not want to explore artistic boundaries, they want their wedding capturing a certain way, defined by current trends.

If the key trend in high end weddings becomes Instagram style effects, then several high end photographers will be shooting that style, possibly while claiming it part of their artistic vision.
 
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ding76uk said:
Every wedding photographer is in the service industry. You provide a service for customers who pay you to do so
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So where do we draw the line? If we extrapolate this to it's logical conclusion, instead of having our own style, and passing on this "Instagram" stuff to other photographers who offer that type of thing we'd find ourselves doing things we'd really rather not do (hardly conducive to giving your all) and producing work that would be identified as "ours", when we really don't want to do that sort of thing, or to be identified with it.
I happily (politely) turned down brides who wanted "softs" and naff superimpositions, and at the end of the day I reckon it did my reputation no harm at all - by sending them elsewhere, they got what they wanted, I didn't have to squirm doing things I loathed..........

I tried an analogy earlier, I'll try another - I want a pencil sketch of my Staffie, so I go to an artist who does pencil sketches of dogs in the style that I like, and commission her to do the job, I don't go to a water colourist or user of oils and demand that they do me a pencil sketch "because they're in the service industry":D
 
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Organnyx said:
So where do we draw the line? If we extrapolate this to it's logical conclusion, instead of having our own style, and passing on this "Instagram" stuff to other photographers who offer that type of thing we'd find ourselves doing things we'd really rather not do (hardly conducive to giving your all) and producing work that would be identified as "ours", when we really don't want to do that sort of thing, or to be identified with it.
I happily (politely) turned down brides who wanted "softs" and naff superimpositions, and at the end of the day I reckon it did my reputation no harm at all - by sending them elsewhere, they got what they wanted, I didn't have to squirm doing things I loathed..........

I tried an analogy earlier, I'll try another - I want a pencil sketch of my Staffie, so I go to an artist who does pencil sketches of dogs in the style that I like, and commission her to do the job, I don't go to a water colourist or user of oils and demand that they do me a pencil sketch "because they're in the service industry":D
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But in your example if the oil painter was not getting any work due to everyone wanting pencil drawings he has 2 options, either stay true to his roots and starve, or learn to sketch with pencils and make that part of his style.

My point being look at any wedding photographer on these forums. Find another who shoots in the same style (and preferably, the same price bracket). Compare the work. It most cases it will be very similar and the same shots will be repeated with different couples in different locations, but the actual photograph will be the same. This to me is not art in the same way that a painter trying to recreate a Van Gogh isn't art.

My point being that as a service that delivers what the client wants wedding photographers do not dictate style. This is done by a select few at the very top end who it then filters down to.

If every bride wanted to do Instagram weddings and every wedding magazine was filled solely with this style, the high end guys started doing it it would filter down and the styles of a lot of photographers would change to accommodate this.

Think about fashion and how trends are dictated. We all think we have are own sense of style, but who would wear the clothes they wore in the 20 years ago now? Fashion trends, like photographic ones, change over time dictated by an elite few.
 
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I didn't go into photography to be a slavish follower of naff fashion - where's the challenge, the passion in such an approach? - To give of your best, you have to believe in what you're doing - be a trend-setter, not a follower.........:D
If I'd been prepared to compromise, I might as well have given up and studied accountancy......
 
The guy we chose to shoot our wedding was not quite a "normal" wedding photographer but it was the style I wanted. I think that is the bottom line buy what you want its your money and somebody will be able to deliver it.

Danny
 
I didn't become a photographer to then go and ruin my work by adding filters and PP after the initial shot ;)
I'm a firm believer on getting the shot right in the first place so that I don't spend hours away from the Mrs adding false touches to a photo, even if I do anything i.e. levitation photography, you won't catch me adding whacky colours to the whole scene, it's supposed to depict real life with a believable twist - not a lord of the rings scene! :)
 
Flightphoto said:
I didn't become a photographer to then go and ruin my work by adding filters and PP after the initial shot ;)
I'm a firm believer on getting the shot right in the first place so that I don't spend hours away from the Mrs adding false touches to a photo, even if I do anything i.e. levitation photography, you won't catch me adding whacky colours to the whole scene, it's supposed to depict real life with a believable twist - not a lord of the rings scene! :)
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To be fair...

"it's supposed to" illustrate how the maker intends it to look.

If the photographer intends a scene to resemble LOTR then rate is what it's supposed to.

Personally I like a bit of variety in my life. Sometimes I go for as he scene was, sometimes I really want to go to work with my PP, there is no law in how a shot should or shouldn't look :-)
 
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