I have what may sound like a funny question for you. What do you see when you look at photographs?
A bride or groom, a beautiful location, a moment frozen in time. Yes, and there’s potentially so much more.
When I look at a photograph I try to see things that may not be in plain sight. This is where symbols and metaphors come in.
Placing symbols in imagery is by no means a new concept but it’s also not talked about too often in the wedding photography world.
Something I love to do is sneak in a few metaphors when I have the opportunity…visual cues that tell you, the viewer, there’s more than meets the eye here.
One of my favorites are the hands. I love how they interact and how they represent us as humans. The convey age and mood, and connection incredibly well.
When the opportunity arises we can place a long road in an image to represent the journey that’s about to be embarked upon.
And my personal favorite, sunlight. How I use the sun represents how bright this current moment will always be in your memories and as a symbol for the bright future you have ahead of you as a couple.
Or when we get lucky…we get combinations.
These are just a few examples of what I see and how I use visual language. The beauty of this is, each image may be interpreted differently by each person that views it. Your life experiences bring a unique meaning to the symbols that sneak their way into each image, in turn giving each image a unique meaning.
I hope these subtle messages come through when you see them and if they didn’t before maybe you’ll see another of the many layers I try to incorporate into each image.