What does it take to create a powerful and strikingly beautiful "Love" story?
One that moves anyone that sees it & one that makes anyone feel like they are not only there but actually a part of it even if they are completely foreign to the process of the more then Sacred event that is a Wedding Day?
A story of "Love" that feels real because it absolutely is.It's more then real in fact I truly do believe that it is beyond it.It's more then a Fairy Tale.A story that looks like a movie or a magazine.A story that is intended,crafted & created to feel,look & be a cross between the both of them.A story that is truly unique,well rounded,sound & complete.Last but certainly and definitely not least a story that feels Magical because it is Magical.We are dealing with "Love" here ladies and gentlemen and if you don't believe that Love is the most magical thing on the planet all I can hope for is that someday you will.I'll always hold on to the hope & my biggest hope is that you understand and feel it when you do.
The simple answer is that it takes takes a person who knows exactly what they are doing with an acute ability to achieve a highly crafted vision.
It Takes A Real Artist.
I've had a camera in my hands pretty much every day for the past 15 years.To say that I'll proabbly leave this earth with one in my hands is an understatement. Throughout this time & throughout my personal creative quest I've learned a thing or two.Please excuse me and allow me to just keep it real with you.I've learned proabbly more then a million things about the magical and mystical medium that is Photography.That being said I don't know it all.I'm forever a student of the light and my profession is one with an infinite level of knowledge.There is no top however Knowledge is still everything.
Aside from the many many things that I do as a creative artist with my cameras I'll say that my wedding photographs are a true reflection of everything that I have learned and everything that I know as a Photographer.
It's amazing how chasing the sun, whether it be the sunrise in South Carolina or the sunset in Santa Barbara exploring the landscapes, walking cities & traveling the entire country feeds right back into the my ability to create a powerful and strikingly beautiful "Love" story.In a lot of ways I love all that because I know it's going to feed my most beloved ability.
When I first started out I photographed about 50 families a day.I traveled all around the entire midwestern states for a traveling portraiture studio and that taught me so many things.My gallery years of hosting parties and art events working a large space & crowds of people.Even my commercial and magazine work.My street photography work, my presidential work, my Chicago St. Patricks Day Parade work.All of my personal work.How creating a photograph of a mountain feeds right back into my ability to photograph something as simple and what most would consider mundane and unworthy as a champagne glass.How being hired to photograph living legend Iron Mike Ditka taught me how to deal with the most belligerent of in laws of a stranger. Ha I'm seriously only joking about that one. How photographing some of the worlds most talented musicians backstage at Lollapalooza helps me finding he scenes on the dance floors, in churches, fields, and everywhere else for that matter.
I realized a long time ago that everything I have done feeds right back into everything that I do & at the end of the day it's about my ability to connect,feel,& see a moment.For what it is, for what I think it should be & for what & how I think it should feel and look like.My cameras are tools of illumination & like the worlds tallest,greatest & most modern buildings - tools are nothing without a blueprint & the blueprint is me. It's the way I think, the way I see something & the way I know something could look and feel like.It's my ability to know exactly how to make it happen.It's my ethos.It's everything.I am an Architect.
To create sound,emotional and purely authentic moments one must first understand and know how to create them.This has been my philosophy ever since the day I started. Like anything in life the more you do the better you get. I've come a very long way from my very first wedding 10 years ago.Not even my first wedding but my first image much longwe before that. Like I said everything I do feeds right back inot everything else.I believe that a great & powerful Wedding "Love" Story consists of many types & kinds of photography.My approach has always been based and rooted in the power of something real and pure. That being said my approach is rooted in a photojournalistic approach.
What do I mean by the word "Photojournalism"?
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of material that employs images in order to tell a story. It is now usually understood to refer only still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video.Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g., documentary photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by complying with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling a solid and sound story.Photojournalists create pictures that move and srike with emotion and realness.
Like a writer, a photojournalist is a reporter.
(side note) In high school (Mount Carmel High School - Chicago, Il) - one day in the middle of English class I was pulled out because they wanted me to join the newspaper. From there I became the photo editor for not only the newspaper but also the yearbook. I even became the first student in my high school's very rich 100 + year history to design the cover of the yearbook. (I painted oil paintings for the front and back covers). I also became a writer and contributed in the form of the written word as well. I definately respect this approach. The approach of a "reporter". Another side note.I even acted in a role as a reporter in the famed Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies" and was directed by Michael Mann. If you ever see the movie check me out in the Crown Point, Indiana jail scene. There I was with my top hat and my pencil and paper smoking a lucky strike alongside one of the worlds greatest actors playing one of the world's most notorious gangsters.
I appraoch wedding work in my own particular way but it's also very open in the moment. It's kind of like playing jazz.It's incredibly FREE. I feel that it must be.it's comforatble but definately a very defined comfortable.It has taken me years of my pursuit of photographic excellence to finally understand on how to make it happen each and every single time with total ease for all involved.I love making very intricate things and processes incredibly easy and simple.
I must first be open to the magical moment before I am able to sense,see & capture it.Jazz legend Buddy Guy can only play how Buddy Guy can play. He has his own set ethic,talent,& approach.It's a different sound then let's say Louis Armstrong or BB King & certainly a much stronger sound then the very inexperienced 2 week beginner down at the corner who's biggest dream it is to rock houses full of the Blues Like the pros.
In my Mind I feel that there are 3 parts to a Wedding Day & a "LOVE" Story
PART 1 - The Beginning
Every time I photograph a wedding. It's all by design. There is a reason behind every single thing I do as an artist. That being said I'm always there and a part of the magic for at least 8 hours. Very very rarely will I photograph and be there for less then that while other times I photograph for 10 and sometimes even 12 hours.I want to create a solid,sound,& a complete visual tale of the day.It's all up to whoever hires me. At the end of the day it's their day,their time,& their money. My job is to create the best that I can no matter what.
The beginning of the day is always filled with amazing moments. The whole day is but this is the start of the story it is what leads to the rest of the day. I'm always with the both the bride and the groom while they are getting ready amongst their family and close friends. I find these moments to be some of the most powerful moments because these moments are the moments the lead to the absolute best & most important moments of people's Lives.
In the coming weeks I'll be breaking down my personal approach to each part of how I create a powerful and striking Wedding "LOVE" Story. For now I'll just define them and keep them short and sweet. There is so much more to be talked about & shared.
PART 2 - The Middle
This is the before the ceremony part, the actual ceremony part & the more styled after the ceremony part. Again I'll be breaking everything down in far much greater detail in the very near future so please stay tuned. I want to help you understand exactly what I do as an elite professional wedding photographer & honestly I want to help you to start to prepare for your big day, or if you are an inspiring photographer I want to help you become better.This middle of the day is the heart of the day. The actual moment, right before , during and right after a man and lady become husband and wife tied Forever in the LOVE that brought them together. I'm not trying to sound cheesy this is all very serious stuff & just how I feel about it.I am all heart.
PART 3 - The End
It's the end of the day. The reception, the dances, the details, the party and the fun celebration that closes out the most magical day in people's lives.
I look forward to explaining,sharing,& showing you much much more.At this point I feel like I have so much knowledge and I feel that now is the correct and right time to start sharing it all with you, a fan of art, a soon to be bride, a past client, a new client,a future client, an aspiring photographer, an appreciator. Everything will be honest, unfiltered, pure and all about trying to show you how and what my world really is as a Professional Photographer.
Until Next Time.
Take it Easy & Take Care.
Ryan J. Bolger.