Interaction in photos is something I strive for

What is more appealing to you? Photos that show people close and interacting, or those showing people standing and posing with no photo interaction whatsoever between each other.

I think the answer is obvious, which is why I strive to show closeness and interaction in my photos. Not every single one, of course, but I think wedding photos come to life when closeness is shown in the photos.

This thought of mine was tested lightly when I photographed a wedding last Sunday. I was taking a photo of a mother and her three daughters, one of which was the bride. I told them all to get close and touch each other. Basically, put their arms around each other and get their faces together. In other words “act like you like each other.” This is when one of the daughters said something to the effect that they are not a close family and this felt awkward. So, what do you do in a case like this? I think it’s probably best to check with the bride and groom before the wedding on issues of family closeness, which I admit I did not do in this case. Here’s what I did. I told them they will love the photo and it will only take a couple seconds. They complied and it turned out to be a great photo. I hope they think the same.

One of the photos I like to take is of the bridesmaids giving the bride a group hug. It’s almost always a very cute photo and really beats a picture of the women standing in a line looking at the camera. Granted, I take that photo as well for those wanting that, but I like to mix it up and do the group hug and other similar photos that show personal interaction and affection for each other.

If you hire me as your photographer and you don’t want these type of close photos, please let me know ahead. I don’t want to make my photo subjects uncomfortable, but I do want to give them the best photos available.