I feel the world has become so saturated with the whole Wes Anderson kind of kitschy, very whimsical world. You can’t stay stagnant- it becomes too stale. I’m curious to see how it evolves. - Rebecca Schmidt-Rubensaal, Matchbook Magazine
Iron and Wine, along with indie-folk contemporaries like Conor Oberst, Devandra Banhart, and Joanna Newsom, have all enjoyed mass amounts of critical success and popularity in this period of folk eruption. However, the bubbling of the indie-folk scene is fading into a simmer, and just like every culture trend that evaporates, another trend will quickly fill its place. [...] The typical artist can see his career come and go with any minor shift in the musical weather vane. There’s a reason artists like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan didn’t disappear into the horizon like their peers Joan Baez and Donovan (crowned the “British Bob Dylan” at the time) when the folky 1960s came to an end. Instead, their musical growth has never ended, and neither has their influence. - Eric Vanvalin, RELEVANT Magazine
[warning: This post is gonna be a long one. Succinctness is not my strong point.]
The past few days, I’ve stumbled across several things on this beautiful thing we call the Internet that have really prompted some soul-searching. Many of the things I’ve been thinking and feeling and talking about for months now seem to have all converged into this one moment of realization, and honestly, I’m not quite sure where to go with it, or if it’s just the beginning of a conversation that will be had for a long time to come.
I guess I should back up. To October, I think it was. I was in a frenzy of submitting every wedding I had shot so far that year to various blogs, and I was finding myself getting really frustrated. First of all, don’t get me wrong: I think the recent proliferation of wedding inspiration blogs is wonderful, and I love browsing through them myself to be awed by the talent and genius that exists in our industry. And I love the ladies whom I’ve had the privilege of being in communication with about publishing my images. They’ve been nothing but encouraging and supportive. However. Can I just say how tiring it is, as a photographer, to try to stay ahead of the game and on top of the latest trends when it seems like nearly every wedding being published is an outdoor, Southern California, vintage Anthropologie-inspired affair? Or a styled engagement or bridal shoot involving a field, some antique furniture, and a vast assortment of vintage props (you know- the suitcases, bicycles, balloons, typewriters, record players, books, etc.)? It’s. Been. Done. And I’m one of the thousands who has done it! Two or three years ago, the entrance of Wes Anderson-style whimsy and irony (mustaches on sticks anyone? anyone?) and kitschy-vintageness into the wedding world was super exciting. I was already a fan of his aesthetic, which, when coupled with my long-time love for all things old (thanks to a childhood spent antiquing and watching I Love Lucy and The Wonder Years reruns), just felt like a perfect match for me. Heck, when I was planning my own wedding after we got engaged in 2007, I knew immediately that I wanted it to feel like a “vintage Southern picnic.” My words exactly. Of course, back then, I was hard-pressed to find a short 50′s-style dress or a birdcage veil in stores and so my mom made them for me. Now, you can find them at David’s Bridal. Honestly, I’m thankful I didn’t have all the resources at my disposal that exist today, a mere 3 or 4 years later. I would have been utterly overwhelmed. And I would’ve felt an intense amount of pressure to outdo everyone else, to have the most unique, most creative, most feature-worthy wedding. And I feel like that would have robbed me of some of the joy of wedding planning, and of the wedding day itself. At the time, I wasn’t aware of anyone who was doing what I was doing with my wedding… I’m sure there were plenty of people out there who were doing something pretty similar, but because I didn’t have access to photos of what they were doing, all of my decisions felt like a fairly organic representation of my style. Now, I almost feel sorry for all my brides who are planning their weddings while looking through gajillions of blogs for “inspiration.” Despite the fact that they may have loved Wes Anderson films seven years ago, and have been shopping at Anthropologie since high school, and have had a prized collection of vintage cameras since childhood— if they incorporate those elements into their own wedding, it will look like they’re just jumping on board with everyone else and becoming part of an amorphous blob of “vintage DIY weddings.”
I’m truly not trying to be cynical. I love Anthropologie and vintage stuff and Etsy as much as the next girl. But I guess what I’m saying is that I feel like we’ve reached this point where it’s all become so trendy that in a few years, we’ll look back and say “What were we thinking?” [ETA: Irony of ironies, as I was typing this, Anthropologie announced the impending unveiling of its new line of wedding gowns. I can't help but think they should've done this a couple of years ago and maximized their time in the spotlight! Then again, if I were a bride, I'm sure I'd be one of the crazies waiting for the website to go live on February 14 and buying the first dress I saw.] Of course, on the one hand, maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. I love when wedding photos of decades past 100% reflect the styles and trends of the time. I guess what I fear is being typecast as a particular type of photographer who is known for her vintage-y, whimsical, Anthro-inspired imagery, which is what I think a lot of other photographers out there have done to themselves. And while their work is beautiful, will they be able to evolve when no one is doing these kinds of weddings and shoots anymore? I guess the dilemma is, how do you stay true to you and to your style while also being aware of and adaptive to the changes that are constantly happening around you? I don’t really have an answer to that question. And I would love to hear what you think about it all.
There is also a lot of debate happening about the fine line between real weddings and styled shoots, especially as it relates to the blog world. Junebug Weddings recently received some criticism for including non-real-wedding images in their “Best of Weddings 2010″ list. In the conversation it sparked, many photographers and brides expressed frustration with hawking styled shoots as real weddings and using them in your portfolio. On the one hand, I’m really excited about an upcoming styled shoot I’m working on for a hairstylist who wants to build her portfolio because I know it means we will have limitless amounts of time, resources, and models on hand to really push our limits and get creative. But on the other hand, I know it won’t be a realistic representation of what real wedding day photos might look like, because let’s face it: we’re not all models, we don’t all have a ton of money to spend on decorations, and we certainly won’t have three hours on the wedding day designated for portraits. But you know what? That’s what I love about shooting weddings. I love all the challenges and surprises. I love the real, raw emotions. I love being the paparazzi for ordinary people, if for only one day of their lives. I love making them feel like models, and shooting their weddings and the result of all their hard work and planning in a way that makes it look like it belongs in a magazine. So, while I can understand the desire to use styled shoots to push ourselves creatively as artists and show our clients what we’re capable of, I think it’s misleading to real brides to see those images and think, wow, my wedding will never be like that. And THAT’S OKAY! My wedding had plenty of imperfections of its own. I think all the best weddings do! Why bring along a vintage typewriter to your engagement shoot if it has nothing to do with your relationship with your fiance or your own hobbies and interests? That will just make your images feel contrived, and worse yet, you might look back at them years from now and not even like them because they don’t really represent who you were at the time. Trust me, in the past, I’ve totally been guilty of this. And I’ve even openly encouraged the use of props and styling in engagement shoots. I think my efforts were a little misguided though, because while I want each couple to make choices about locations and outfits and yes, even props, that 100% reflect THEM, I also value the sweetness and simplicity of images where the focus is on the two of you. And that’s it. I think I got so wrapped up in “getting published! published! published!” that I lost sight of what’s really important to my clients, and that is to have authentic, beautiful, artistic images of themselves, in love. This really clicked with me when I shot Anne and Chase’s engagement session back in October. It was just me, and them, and their love, and glorious nature surrounding us. No gimmicks. And I had resigned myself to the fact that it wasn’t the kind to get published because there weren’t a thousand random props involved. That is, until I stumbled across Ever Ours. I was so impressed with how Lydia featured such a wide range of sessions and had expressed her desire to feature un-styled shoots along with the rest. So I wrote to her and thanked her for relieving some of that pressure off brides and even photographers, and she was so sweet that she ended up featuring the session.
In thinking about how to dissect my own style down to its very core, stripped of trends and fads, the three words that continue to resonate with me are fun, colorful, and authentic. I am most drawn to images that convey emotion or capture a moment that may have been missed by everyone else in the room. In particular, I love when the emotion conveyed is pure, unadulterated joy. When combined with color and vibrancy, and the truth of the moment, well… I love that. One of the images that always stands out in my mind as being truly reflective of who I am is this one, of one of my brides Susan (at Sarah and Orion’s wedding):
So with that in mind, my goal for the next few months is to shoot intentionally, with those three words constantly rotating around in my mind. Fun. Colorful. Authentic. And to turn off my peripheral vision, which is always straying toward what every other photographer is doing and what kind of weddings the blogs are publishing and what’s so hot right now in the wedding industry. It’s time to start focusing only on the art and on the relationships. Just because the world wide web is there doesn’t mean I have to spend every waking minute of my day on it, trying to gauge where I stand among my peers and how much I do or do not suck. It’s like I posted at the top from Relevant magazine… Bob Dylan survived the trends his career grew roots in by remaining true to himself as an artist and being willing to evolve as the industry moved forward and changed. So that’s what I intend to do.
To end on a light note, I also had to share this video posted on Design*Sponge this morning. It’s a hilarious look at what happens when a trend goes terribly, terribly wrong. In this case, BIRDS. Again, makes me wonder… what’s around the corner for us?
And please, feel free to weigh in! Brides and photographers, do you feel like wedding blogs are inspirational and helpful, or do they hinder your own creativity and add unnecessary pressure to be “perfect”? Do you plan your wedding or shoot with the intention of being featured, or is it just a nice perk/afterthought when all is said and done? What are your thoughts on including or ignoring trends? Please feel free to comment below or shoot me an email! I’d love to hear your thoughts! :)
christina moodie - You are so right! I love all that stuff and I think every person that does thinks that they are so unique and different but now it is becoming a huge trend. I love that you have reminded me to strip it down and focus on what while last and not the latest trends. Thanks Morgan!
Alej Keigan - nice post! not a wedding photographer - i do portraits, but i see lots of stylized portrait shoots done the same way. i really, truly love looking at them and think they’re pretty and quirky and fun….but i would never do one as the photographer or as the client b/c it’s so fake and to me appears like one big ball of trying too hard. i mean, they really are fun to look at, but i love the simplicity of making what’s real look as beautiful as possible, without a bunch of distracting elements. the stylized stuff seems great for photos in something that changes frequently, like magazine spreads. but to spend a lot of money to capture a once in a lifetime event (wedding) or even a once every few years event (if you don’t get portraits done every single year) that you’ll revisit year after year, i myself would want classic. so that’s what i give the most of.
popular shooting styles go in and out of style enough as it is without even considering how certain props would date the photos. :)
Jennifer - Morgan, I completely agree with you! I love a styled shoot as much as the next photographer, but not all of my clients would be on board with acting like they are on safari for the sake of a cutesy session. The styled sessions do make me feel some what pressured for my own creativity and the fact that sometimes it makes me think that I’m a photographer AND stylist/coordinator of a wedding or engagement session. It does, however, inspire me with posing techniques for different body types and so on…
I do not agree with styled sessions being published as a real wedding, but I don’t have a problem with a styled session being published to showcase the photographer’s talent and vision as long as it is noted as being a styled session. I think that is only fair for brides everywhere.
I think this is a great topic for photographers to think about, and I loved the video. :)
Tweets that mention On Trends, Blogs, Peer Pressure, and … BIRDS. | Morgan Trinker Photography | Birmingham, AL -- Topsy.com - [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Christina Moodie, Morgan Trinker. Morgan Trinker said: trends, blogs, peer pressure, and BIRDS. on the blog. http://bit.ly/egBhTh [...]
Kristin Nicole - Amen to that. I felt the push as someone new to the industry, and it is just now after about a year of being on wedding blogs and sites everyday that I have really felt the need to go back to who I really am as a photographer. I am going back to what drew me to photography in the first place which is very simply love. I want to document love, if that means that we can throw in a prop here and there great, but if it is just the couple I think it shows even more the artistry of bringing out emotion in a photograph. I know I have just gone through redefining my “three words” and changing my brand to something more simple and me. Just recently read about your branding process and glad I am not the only one who went through the fads until I landed on what is really me.
Lorraine - oh Morgan, for whatever reason, I REALLY needed to read this! I think as a photographer, you are an artist who must also remain relevant to clients and the industry, but as the bride, the plethora of “handmade/vintage/detailed/DIY wedding” blogs tempt you to choose things which seem personal but are not. and what day could authenticity be more important than on your wedding day? (not to mention, those handmade, detailed weddings can drive a budgeted bride to the brink).
And, I think some of the best shots you ever took were weddings where you had the least distractions from the individuals (a la the bridal party on the trampoline in the sky, AMAZING). I think a lot of it has to do with the client that you attract, and I think as long as you keep attracting Chase and Amy’s, you’ll always be ahead of the game, regardless of what the blogs are after.
I comment too much! but you always have the most interesting topics :)
Jenn Valluzzo - Ah Morgan, your post is so timely for me, as usual. It’s so hard to ignore the trends because trends sell! And they’re fun. I think you’ve always done an incredible job at balancing trends and timelessness. I see it in newborn shoots - so many popular photographers string their babies up in cocoons, mini beds or in the newest version of a basket. You can go waaay overboard with the props, and they are pretty cute. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing sweeter than a very simple picture of a dad holding his new baby, or a sleeping baby on a blanket. They don’t need to have THE latest and greatest hat from Etsy. Their simple sweetness is enough. But it’s definitely tough when the market is saturated with props. I’m striving for that balance!
Morgan - Thank you guys so much for all your feedback! I really am so thankful to know that I’m not the only one who struggles with this. Back to basics we go! :)
Elisa - GREAT post…I think this is a perspective that’s helpful outside of weddings and photography. I think we ALL try to, in some way or another try to outdo or perfect everything about our lives, and in so doing, rob ourselves of the joy of just being. :) Also, when I saw the title of the video, I immediately heard Beyonce singing “If you like it then you shoulda put a bird on it!” I’m a little disappointed that some rendition of that didn’t accompany the part of the video with REAL birds wreaking havoc in the shop. LOL
carly - Thanks for having the guts to talk about this, Morgan. I think it’s something that definitely needs to be spoken out against. Not that I have problems with the styled shoots but the fact of the matter is, the chemistry between two people is what I find the most attractive thing in a photo. It kills me that more “wedding inspiration” blogs don’t accept more “love shoots” that simply exemplify true love in it’s purest form; when it reads in the photos perfectly, without antique dressers or book cases with fake birds and apples or oranges in the palms of their hands. It’s just excessive… And the thing is, I have NEVER been good at styled shoots. I’m not a designer. And most of my clients, while artistic and totally crafty, aren’t usually designers either. They don’t think, “I want our photos to get published.” They just think, “I want to love my photos.” And that should be inspiration enough for publishers to want our images because we all know there are a lot of people who call themselves photographers out there, but we know that finding quality isn’t always easy, especially when you don’t know what to look for. So thank you for sharing this. I think it’s an idea that will spread. Trends seem to follow you, Morgan, so maybe you writing this will curb the ideas of what people find “publishable.” :)
Gemma - Morgan, you’re a breath of fresh air to this industry! To me, photography is a record of an event, not a production. It’s the small things that count in life and in photographs - smiles, intimacy and love. Capture that and my job is done.
Megan Merkl - I just have to say, thank you for being so aware of who you clients are and embracing all of their individuality. Every photo shoot you’ve done for our family has always looked and felt like us. Even down to Brandon’s heart shaped battle wound after the run in with the bike and a busy road. ;) I love that you are always thinking and planning ahead, its what is going to keep you current and ahead of the curve. You are fabulous Morgan Trinker!
Courtney - OK, so I realize that I’m neither a bride or a photographer, but whatever. ;)
You had this aesthetic long before it became “trendy” - its so YOU, that comes through in your personality. I feel confident that because you are the way you are & so intentional & genuine with your pictures & the couples you photograph, that you will be able to showcase them in a style that fits them & you. You’re wonderfully talented & a wonderful person in general.
Kelly Cummings - I’m definitely sick of scouring wedding blogs for inspiration. There are so many “great ideas” but anything new will feel old within a year or two, and while I am obsessed with the details, I really just want fabulous photos of the couple and their emotions, their movements.
I think working with what already exists is a great challenge for a photographer, and much more interesting than planning out every detail of a shoot that no longer has anything to do with who the people are.
I’m sick of trying to please magazines or stay ahead of the game. I want to spend more time on relationships, building friendships with my clients and other photographers and wedding vendors.
Rachel - I have nothing to add about photography, though I feel like this kind of feeling of restlessness and “omgosh we need to move on” pervades every single industry that is marketable in terms of fashion and fads. And I think it’s a positive thing to articulate this for yourself + others.
AND I love that video. So sick of birds and mustaches and beards and vintage (even though I adore vintage). I’d like a room to smash up (though without the real bird please).
Jennifer Hayslip - Hi Morgan, I just stumbled upon your blog. I’ve been reading your website and blog for almost an hour now. LOL!! Your site and work is fabulous!!!
I am NOT a photographer, however I am an artist. I am a mixed media assemblage artist and sell my work on Etsy. I’ve been in my industry for 5 years, and even tho’ Im not a photographer for a living, I must take excellent quality photos to promote my artwork. I’ve been fortunate to have been published in my industry magazines and books.
However, I must say the competition and constant pressure to stay up on the art trends is exhausting. Blogs are everywhere! I’ve been blogging for over 3 years now and I feel like it’s gone thru a cycle. It’s almost too overwhelming. I worry too much about what other artist are doing and not paying attention to my work and staying true to myself.
Again, we are different artist but I it’s the same scenerio in my field as well. :)
Kudos to you for being so open and honest about it!
One last thing I would like to share that I share with my artist girlfriends is this quote.
“Try not to compare yourself to others. It’s the kiss of death. It stifles who you are and makes you unhappy. We are each on our own path, and the more I pay attention to mine, the happier I am.”
Your work and style is breathtaking!!! Best of luck!
Jennifer
Jan - Green Tree Photography - can not agree with you enough on this post! You go girl! Love it =)