I love the photo, and would trust my first reaction ("great shot") over my considered analysis. Having said that ... I'm glad the doves are sharp, because I'm bored seeing cliched shots of birds with blurred wings. I love the way the bride is beyond the depth of field, as it paradoxically invites us to think more about her (why is she soft?), rather than taking her for granted. In a sense, we're invited to look at what she's looking at. Again, speaking as someone who is not a wedding photographer and hardly ever goes to weddings in any capacity, her treatment, like that of the doves, is the surprise option. Her framing, of course, does enough to tell us it's her big day, she's the main human interest etc. I also think, while the crop gives a greater classical balance, and the blob of sky is certainly odd, that the uncropped version is better. I love the boy's reaction, and making it all centred would create a stagey feel. The lack of balance helps the sense of spontaneity, as many other "imperfect" elements do. That sense is the key to the photo. As some others have hinted, given the spontaneity, and the difficulty of capturing birds in this way, frozen in such a nice frame around the bride, my eye/brain makes an allowance for imperfection.
Untitled
in Wedding
Posted
I love the photo, and would trust my first reaction ("great shot") over my considered analysis. Having said that ... I'm glad the doves are sharp, because I'm bored seeing cliched shots of birds with blurred wings. I love the way the bride is beyond the depth of field, as it paradoxically invites us to think more about her (why is she soft?), rather than taking her for granted. In a sense, we're invited to look at what she's looking at. Again, speaking as someone who is not a wedding photographer and hardly ever goes to weddings in any capacity, her treatment, like that of the doves, is the surprise option. Her framing, of course, does enough to tell us it's her big day, she's the main human interest etc. I also think, while the crop gives a greater classical balance, and the blob of sky is certainly odd, that the uncropped version is better. I love the boy's reaction, and making it all centred would create a stagey feel. The lack of balance helps the sense of spontaneity, as many other "imperfect" elements do. That sense is the key to the photo. As some others have hinted, given the spontaneity, and the difficulty of capturing birds in this way, frozen in such a nice frame around the bride, my eye/brain makes an allowance for imperfection.