Wednesday 4 March 2009

Photographic embellishments

I have mentioned the need for emotion in portraits. You want to see the person but you also want to see the character. What are they wearing? What is in the background? Do the clothes and the backgound add to the picture? Do they tell us something about that person't character?

Last time I wrote about the leitmotiv in my wedding photography of a buttonhole flower. The flower is a rose and over the centuries certain flowers have acquired meanings. It just so happens that a rose has developed the meaning of love and happiness, so it is quite apt for a wedding.

There is a debate about whether music can be romantic. Can we hear the sound of the sea if we listen to Debussy's La Mer? I don't think it takes much imagination to hear the sound of waves. It is the same with photography. It does not take much to link a sepia photo or a vignette with artistic embellishment, and this can often give the photo a romantic feel.

Happy snapping

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