Looking at the title, you might be taken aback at the apparent “hostility” and “unfriendliness” of it.
But a blog is supposed to reveal the blogger’s inner thoughts, especially if it’s a photography or wedding blog, or worse still, a wedding photography blog! Sometimes, I am tired of reading generic blogs that only says the politically correct stuff, or whatever that sells (guilty as charged). “Recently, I had the honour to photograph ABC’s & XYZ’s beautiful wedding. I was touched by their love for each other and fortunately, I have those precious memories all documented with my camera” blah blah. Either it’s cut & pasted from a template, or from another photographer’s blog. 
When I was managing my own Greymatter blog (which has since been dormant and feared dead), I could write anything I wanted, be it happy or sad, good or bad. Now that I am part of the Tinydot team, I thought I should show a bit of restrain because whatever I say might have repercussions on my team members. However, me being me, it’s quite difficult to gag me for long because the cynic in me sometimes just has to break free and speak.
There are a lot of myths in the wedding photography industry. One of them is the myth that there must be chemistry between the couple and the photographer. I don’t quite agree to this. Hello? If there’s chemistry, the bride would have called off the wedding and elope with the wedding photographer! That’s a joke, obviously, because nothing like that ever happened….to me…..yet.
I don’t know what chemistry is. When I order my dinner at a restaurant, I don’t need to have a reaction with the chef (now the pretty waitress is another story). I chomp on the food, my stomach digests it, and I happily pay the bill and leave. If I like it, I’ll return to the restaurant. I don’t have to know the chef’s first name, or what kind of equipment he uses to cook the food. If I am really impressed, I’d then probably ask who the chef is and thank him/her either personally or via a message.
It’s a different story when it comes to the photographer. We need to be on the same frequency as him/her, share the same sense of humour and better still share the same hairdresser. It doesn’t help that many photographers buy into this idea of selling an image or a personality and try to play up the idea of having “chemistry between the couple and the photographer”. When the food is mediocre, focus on the restaurant’s decor, the ambience, the wine list, or the good looks of the chef. Many couples don’t really know much about pictures or photography. They think they do, but most don’t. So don’t talk about how clever the composition of the pictures is, or how well they are timed. Talk chemistry, man.
Which brings me to the story of Faith and James. I like this type of clients because they don’t talk much. Like me.
I don’t have to put on a game face to impress them. They did their homework, knew what they wanted, and short listed some photographers. When they came to my office, they just sat down and talked a bit about their wedding, and we went on to watch a few wedding slide shows, quietly. They are a couple of few words, but eventually what they said really encouraged me:” We’ve been looking around and so far, none of the photographers’ works stood out. But we felt that your pictures are what we were looking for” (not exact words…I might have exaggerated it a bit to sound better).
At the end of it, I still don’t know much about them, and likewise they about me. Did it matter? I felt that there was something happening between us. It’s not a friendship bridge. I don’t think it’s chemistry either. Like what Robert De Niro said in “Meet The Parents”, it’s what I think a “circle of trust”.
I don’t need to be your friend. Just trust me. That’s easier said than done. So, back to chemistry lesson.
More photos can be seen on facebook HERE.
