1993-2001 | Gallery F – Inye Wokoma • Artist

Visual Love Language | Weddings

Lodge Wedding | 1997

Weddings were never intended to be a part of my repertoire as a photographer. I began shooting them as a matter of necessity. After graduating college in 1996 I immediately began working on film and television productions throughout the southeastern states. As a production assistant I was entry level, one rung above an intern. The work kept me fairly busy, but not enough to live on. I continued my pursuit of photography, shooting when I had time and could afford to. In these post college years I intensified my independent studies, giving a lot of attention to learning what I could about the commercial and editorial photography industries. For a young man with no industry contacts in the areas of photography that interested me, I relied heavily on trade and creative journals like Photo District News, Communication Arts, American Photo, and Camera & Darkroom. I began spending almost as much on magazines and journals as film and photography supplies. The more I learned about the business the more I understood the need to invest in the pursuit. Prints, portfolios, promo cards, more intentional shoots, etc. I was committed to make a career out of photography alongside film, where my aspiration were set on being a cinematographer. This is where necessity kicks in. I had to supplement my income not only for living expenses, but to continue to pursue photography as a career.

Weddings have always had a low barrier to entry for photographers. Mainly because people were always looking to save money on the ceremony, and new photographers were always looking for an opportunity to make a few dollars. I was no exception.

That being said, over time I developed an affinity for shooting weddings. There is a predictability to the genre and can make it feel rote and uninspiring. Even so I made every effort to bring my own voice to the process. I promoted myself shooting in a looser, editorial style, focusing on the occasion as a theater of relationships where everyone involved was an important character. This gave me room to open up and look for images in unsuspected places, starting well before the ceremony and extending well after if possible. Sometimes I began shooting up to a week in advance and several days after the actual ceremony. The approach felt more aligned with my own relationship to photography than traditional wedding photography.

Weddings were my first foray into the world of assignment work. For the working photojournalist, editorial or commercial photographer, this statement may seem like a stretch, but I am thinking about what it takes to go into a situation with enough skill and openness to create meaningful images no matter what is happening. I can say with twenty years of assignment work behind me, that the immediacy and singularity of weddings makes the photographer’s success no less challenging than shooting for the most prestigious client. I banked on building emotive and documentary stories within the space of a few hours. I was successful sometimes more than others. A few of my wedding images are my favorite of all time. I am happy that there were times that I surprised myself.