I'm just going to come out and say it:
I think traditional photography gets a bad rap.
Most of us think it's just posey-posey in front of fake backdrops and canned smiles.
But what if, with the right eye and a skilled hand, it was a nod to the beginning of our artform when men (because, of course, they were the first to navigate the science) stood with clunky metal cameras and hid behind a curtain to view their subjects. Their subjects who happened to be posed, set within some particular context that may or may not have personal meaning, and might have - if you were lucky - smiled. Though, it doesn't seem smiling was popular in old-timey photos.
So even if I don't market myself as a traditional photographer, I can't help but love a family that knows what it wants. A family that wants the kind of pictures taken of them that bring together the best of tradition with a nod to the present. Who take the kind of pictures you would never mistake for some other kind of picture than a family portrait. Classic... timeless... and still beautiful.
Like these family photos taken for the Parton and Markiewicz families this Christmas.
They remind me of the photos I remember hanging in my great-grandparent's house in Brooklyn. Their stairwell was supported by walls blanketed with these types of photos. Wedding pictures. School pictures. Military pictures. Holiday pictures Pictures that, to me, spoke of so much history and significance that even now I am filled with pride for the stories they tell of where I have come from. And without any abstract angles, action or what many modern photographers mistakenly call "life" they are full of meaning and beauty.
And I am honored, no matter the style, that Pat and Bruce, and Paige and Steve and the boys would entrust me with taking the sorts of pictures their family members will one day look in that the same way.
I think traditional photography gets a bad rap.
Most of us think it's just posey-posey in front of fake backdrops and canned smiles.
But what if, with the right eye and a skilled hand, it was a nod to the beginning of our artform when men (because, of course, they were the first to navigate the science) stood with clunky metal cameras and hid behind a curtain to view their subjects. Their subjects who happened to be posed, set within some particular context that may or may not have personal meaning, and might have - if you were lucky - smiled. Though, it doesn't seem smiling was popular in old-timey photos.
So even if I don't market myself as a traditional photographer, I can't help but love a family that knows what it wants. A family that wants the kind of pictures taken of them that bring together the best of tradition with a nod to the present. Who take the kind of pictures you would never mistake for some other kind of picture than a family portrait. Classic... timeless... and still beautiful.
Like these family photos taken for the Parton and Markiewicz families this Christmas.
They remind me of the photos I remember hanging in my great-grandparent's house in Brooklyn. Their stairwell was supported by walls blanketed with these types of photos. Wedding pictures. School pictures. Military pictures. Holiday pictures Pictures that, to me, spoke of so much history and significance that even now I am filled with pride for the stories they tell of where I have come from. And without any abstract angles, action or what many modern photographers mistakenly call "life" they are full of meaning and beauty.
And I am honored, no matter the style, that Pat and Bruce, and Paige and Steve and the boys would entrust me with taking the sorts of pictures their family members will one day look in that the same way.
1 comment:
Those really turned out great!!! Awesome job!
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