Photography is everywhere. We can’t but take pictures and post them for the world to see, or send them to people thinking that they are private. The interaction with photography has so significantly changed, that I find it remarkable how throughly transformed we are by it in a matter of decades. I think there are two interactions people have with photography- first is the daily interaction and then the second is the portrait, or more precisely with the professional photographer. In the daily passive category I lump the ubiquitous cell-phone selfie and thumbing through Facebook or through the latest copy of Vogue or National Geographic. I do this only because most of us take photography for granted, its expected that whatever we are interacting with would have a photographic quality to it, either we take pictures of it or we see pictures with it. Its in the experience.
That really leaves the professional photography experience as a novel interaction for the majority of people. Both require good chunks of cash for proper photos and many people just don’t have that money. Its quite incredible to think that in America there are people who haven’t had their pictures taken professionally since they were in grade school or high school.
Getting your pictures taken professionally is an experience. You pick an outfit, you get haircuts or do something to beautify yourself. You go in and someone directs you on how to take your picture. If you really splurge then there will be a stylist and some sort of cosmetics situation involved. Its a bit of pampering that most people in the US can’t afford. So you see prevalence of the cell phone selfie culture, and not all cell phone cameras are created equal, furthermore not all cell phone camera users are proficient in properly using a camera.
That brings me in a long winded way to the fact that one of my first opportunities to do wedding photography came during my cousins wedding ceremony which was held at my Uncles house. It was a family affair, intimate and detail oriented. I remember bringing the Nikon D90 and feeling out of place. Surprisingly though I got some pretty decent pictures that day, pictures that I actually look at today and wonder how I was able to capture them since I was working with such limited knowledge, largely driven by my gut on how I wanted to capture the moment(s).
It was fun, but not fun enough for me to volunteer my services to be the official photographer for their reception, plus they had a friend who was a professional wedding photographer that they wanted to hire. I posted some of the pictures I took from their wedding ceremony, its my way of celebrating three years of their marriage, and I only hope for the best for them in their future together!
Corner Office Shaikh 