I have a colleague across in the US who last year came up with an idea of having his own Wedding Photo of the Year competition. He went through all the weddings he’d shot over the year and whittled all the photographs down to a final 10 and then he posted them all on his website and invited everyone to vote for their favourite. To be honest he only came up with the idea because things were quiet being right at the end of the year and he’d decided to have a brainstorming session, lol. Anyway it was a resounding success and all the family and friends of the couples in the final selection had great fun voting in keeping up to date with it all. So this year I thought I’d try it myself.
Well I launched the competition just a few days ago on January 8th, posted the images on my photographer Edinburgh portrait website, and emailed the couples who had photographs in the final selection. Well what fun its proved to be! Before I tell you a little more about it I’d just like to thank everyone’s who has taken the time to visit and look through the images and then vote with their personal choice. I’d also especially like to thank all of you who left such nice complementary comments about the photographs, too.
I have been involved in judging many photograph contests and competitions over the years for several magazines and organisations but this is the first time I’ve done it with my own pictures. What I did was look back through every wedding I’d photographed in 2009 and selected my favourite image from each. This in itself was hard enough as there is around 200-500 photographs for every wedding. However, having got them all into a final selection came the task of whittling them down to 15. I know my colleague went for a final 10 but as there was so many good pictures I gave myself a bit of leeway and allowed an extra five, its my competition after all, lol!
Selecting the final shortlist was based on a few differing factors. From a photographic point of view I wanted images that not only had visual impact but also variety between them and also, as the winning photograph will be printed and mounted for the relevant couple, I wanted it to be a picture that not only did I like personally but would be something the couple themselves would be thrilled to hang on their wall. I believe the final selection portrays this nicely. I’m going to just go through half a dozen examples and tell you why I selected them just to give you an insight into my thought process…
The shot of Lucie and Ryan is simply photojournalistic photography at its best, capturing what was literally a split second yet crucial moment of their wedding day that portrays their happiness, love and affection in one single moment of time. Kelly and Nick’s photo is simply a timeless, romantic picture that will never date. The image of Katrina next to the wedding car outside the cathedral is just so stylish, showing off the elegance of her dress, the car and the oldy worldy Edinburgh setting. With Alyson and Duncan I shot a series of images beside the pond at Shieldhill Castle, all of which were good enough for the top 15, but most of them I know already hang on their walls but I don’t recall seeing this one, so if it wins they’ll have a new addition! Leigh-ann and Jonathan, well I don’t think I need to say anything about this one, it speaks for itself! Jenna and Casey is just a good, fun, contemporary image that I know any magazine editor would die for. A simple, uncluttered background and a natural, fashionable pose that suits black and white perfectly. Jenny and Duncan and Anja and Daniel are both great examples of staged classic photography that makes the most creative use of their location and has plenty of impact.
I’ll run the competition for two weeks and keep you up dated here on the blog. I can tell you that it is a very very close call at the moment, the three leading photos being (in no particular order as they would say on X-Factor, lol) Leigh-ann and Jonathan, Lucie and Ryan and Jenna and Casey. However, I’ve had a couple of emails this morning from couples who have only just got the competition email I sent out so I’m sure things will hot even more over the next few days!
To see all the fifteen photographs click the link in the second paragraph above and it will take straight into the competition gallery. I also have a few exciting promotions at the moment, both for weddings and portraits, so please keep a regular check on the News pages of my wedding photographer Edinburgh website as well.
Btw, the snows beginning to thaw as you can see in the pictures! Brrrr!
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