| The New Art of Capturing Love Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodds 4/5 |
 First Sentence "The moments that matter most can come quite unexpectedly." |
Publisher's Description: The first guide to posing and sensitively capturing same-sex couples on their big day, The New Art of Capturing Love equips semi-pro and professional wedding photographers to enter the exciting new LGBT wedding photography market. These are exciting times for marriage equality—but capturing memorable LGBTQ portraits requires a novel approach to posing, which until now has been nearly exclusively oriented toward pairing a taller man in black with a smaller woman in white. What works for Jack and Jill won't necessarily work for Jack and Michael, let alone Jill and Louise. The New Art of Capturing Love shatters the “old standards” of wedding and engagement photography by showing how inappropriate they can be for today’s diverse couples, then shares easy-to-implement poses and techniques that can be applied to any couple (and wedding party), no matter their orientations, to create lasting memories. Featuring a collection of more than 180 same-sex portraits from 46 photographers, this guide is proudly the first—and most comprehensive—of its kind. Whether you are a wedding photographer looking to enter this burgeoning market, or a gay or lesbian couple looking for visual inspiration, these gorgeous images will both instruct and inspire. |
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Dear Reader, Let me start by saying that I am not a photographer. The appeal of Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodds', The New Art of Capturing Love however, is that you do not need to be a professional photographer to relate to the wisdom and beauty in its pages. One of the most comprehensive volumes of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) wedding photography to date, The New Art of Capturing Love appeals to both professional and amateur photographers, those wanting to break into the ever-expanding market of same-sex weddings, as well as established photographers who want to extend their offerings to the LGBTQ community, their families, and friends. This book is not only for the photographer, but for the newly engaged couple looking for information or ideas on the current trends in wedding photography, including ideas for possible settings or poses, and for the general lover of photography. The genuine and thoughtful images captured in its pages not only record the intimate moments shared between two people, but serve to inform and inspire both the photographer and potential client. With the arrival of new federal benefits for legally married same-sex couples as well as same-sex marriage becoming legal in an ever-growing number of states, the business of same-sex weddings has become a booming billion dollar industry. So why does this book matter? The book challenges the old concepts of traditional wedding photography where a tall masculine man in a black tux and smaller, feminine woman in a white dress were established doctrine captured with a stale set of traditional poses. But what if there are two brides, or two grooms? Two black tuxes, or two white dresses? No dress as a focal point, mixed genders, or a cross-dressing wedding party? And how does this change the background, lighting, posing, and overall mood of the shot? What if the traditional rituals of heterosexual weddings - staples of traditional wedding photography - are not performed or modified? What if the couple is not comfortable with public kissing or other displays of affection? The New Art of Capturing Love addresses all these questions, explains the physical and cultural differences between opposite and same-sex couples, as well as provides tips and examples for direction, posing, and inspiration to capture authenticity. The images, from various contributors, are captioned with technical specifications for photographers, and details of each couples story for the reader. The book is broken into chapters addressing the engagement sessions, photographing two brides, two grooms, wedding parties, and the technical and business aspects of same-sex wedding photography. It reinforces that as the traditional views of marriage are changing, so must the traditional rules of photography in order to embrace the exploding market of the same-sex wedding industry. The beauty of this book however, lies within the photos on its pages. Casual, intimate, reflective, and above all authentic - the images do not merely capture a still slice of the two individuals photographed, but a momentary breath at the start of each couples journey together. Photographs are not just a picture to look at while flipping through a book. A great photograph should make us pause, should make us feel something, stir a memory, capture an essence genuinely evoked, if only for a moment. The New Art of Capturing Love does just that, one beautiful couple at a time. Read on, Holly Scoville P.S. - I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. Here are a few resources about the book: The Art of Capturing Love Press Release More Info Author Bio |
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AWESOME and beautifully-written review, Holly!!!!! I hope you'll join us here again; you're welcome as often as you'd like! ;-) (Apologies that it's taken so long to read this...I'm doing a lot of catching up lately...)
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