Humour in wedding photographs

[akertesz]

recently, i had a discussion with one of my clients, who commented: "one thing i find missing in wedding photographs is the lack of humour." we went on to define what humour is, and we agreed humour is not "hilarious" (bordering slap-stick, eg. gate-crashing antics, making funny expressions in front of the camera); humour, it seems, is the moment when 2 or more seemingly unconnected elements at one instant connect to evoke subtle feelings that make you want to smile. it's a bit more sophisticated, and definitely hard to pin down. it can hardly be replicated cos it exists only for that moment.

it's made worse when people have different sense of humour.

it set me thinking and i must agree with him. where's the humour in my pics? does it take one humourous person to take a humourous pic? when/how do i recognise humour? it's damn difficult, and i can hardly find any in my recent library of pics. somehow i pulled out a couple and throw them to you, and see if you have similar difficulties and also check whether what brand of humour appeal to you.

hope to see some of yours.

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My 1st time inserting images. hope i get it right. pardon me.

 

[GanS_n_PoserS]

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Thats my camp mate.. I didnt know his married.. :bsmilie:

 

[jesser]

got this on my recent wedding shoot.......

 

[adamgrapher]

nice photo.. could call it candid.. correct me if i m wrong.. hehe

 

[rayshade]

 

[akertesz]

most of the above can be considered good candids, but not necessary humourous. i think a good source is www.wpja.com. there are various contest categories and one of them is humour.

 

[Hosea]

This is a great shot... no smiles or laughing expression but
the curious expression of the girl wondering whether her partner was too tired
till asleep ( during the wedding session)has unfolds the hidden humour of this "clever" shot.

 

[pixelArtwork]

yeah, i agree with akertesz that humour is lacking in wedding photos. however, it seems the culture here isn't really receptive to having humour injected in their wedding photos.

 

[shinken]

yeah, i agree with akertesz that humour is lacking in wedding photos. however, it seems the culture here isn't really receptive to having humour injected in their wedding photos.

Actually, I think the culture isn't really averse to humour. Maybe it's my very limited experience, but my clients seem to love them

 

[akertesz]

i think humour is not going for the obvious, but rather things out of the ordinary. sorry, i don't know how to explain it, but if you look at elliot erwitt's photos, you will know what i mean. attached are photos i came across, taken by a US-based photog Huy Nguyen. i think they are humourous. he can see it, when most of us would probably have passed it. http://www.f8studio.com/f8/html/viewHuy.html
(so sorry abt it....still getting the grips of postings)

 

[+evenstar]

if these are not your photos, you should just post up the link.

downloading and uploading to your clubsnap gallery is considered leeching

 

[iamasaint]

Hi... honestly, from your first post, i thought the first few pics were yours too! Anyways...here's my contribution...=) I believe that humour in wedding pics/albums are very much appreciated. Most of my clients love shots like the following...it brings a smile throughout the dinner halls when the wedding highlights are shown.

 

[akertesz]

hi, the pics in the 1st posting were mine, but not the one by huy nguyen. i have edited it and insert a link instead, as instructed. if you look at huy nguyen's pics, they are humourous.....it's more than one layer, not so in your face, but on deeper look and scrutiny, you can't help but admire the timing and....what else, the humour!

the objective of this thread is to encourage photogs to look more into this aspect, so as to increase the depth of wedding photography in singapore. it might give you an edge over the others.

 

[akertesz]

the following pic are taken by me and the critique is all based on my personal opinion and sense of humour. this one i consider humourous, because it's more than just a pic with a funny expression: the hand is actually not the groom's but the bride's. she's helping him scratch, but it looks like he's doing the scratching. it's not every time i can get this kind of shot, and on a deeper level, it shows the kind of closeness between the couple.

this one i think it's a very common pic. it may be funny/hilarious, but i am not excited by this kind of shot. it is considered superficial, i see it, i smile without having to use my brain. that's what i meant by no depth.

instead of just a pic of the bridal car arriving, you see a half naked uncle peering curiously out from his window. i think it has a sense of humour. again, it's not every day you get this kind of timing and comic effect. that's why i like this.

this is another common shot, a candid moment, which might draw laughs from the audience during the slidehsow playback. but again, it's nothing to be excited about. it's an unprepared moment when everyone let down their guard and the expressions tell all. funny?yes. humourous?no.

i like this one, but my wife and perhaps the rest of you too, may not think much of this. i like children's pictures, and this one tickles me because she's very young to understand what's written in the mass program. the adults are doing it, so she follows suit and tries to read like them. but the milk bottle and her "height" form a contrast and gave her away. that's why i classify it as humourous.

well, very lor soh....but i am happy that we are at least trying to have our own definition of humour. work on it, just like elliot erwitt (i love his witty pictures), and i think it can bring wedding photojournalism to a higher level. let's all keep trying, and see where we'll be in 1/2/3 months' time?

 

[igpenguin]

the following pic are taken by me and the critique is all based on my personal opinion and sense of humour. this one i consider humourous, because it's more than just a pic with a funny expression: the hand is actually not the groom's but the bride's. she's helping him scratch, but it looks like he's doing the scratching. it's not every time i can get this kind of shot, and on a deeper level, it shows the kind of closeness between the couple.

this somehow reminds me of erwitt's stuff. i have collected only his Museums book, but it has some nifty pics where seemingly unrelated elements are placed just perfectly in harmony.

IMO (and my limited breadth) erwitt is my favourite photog for his humour.

 

[akertesz]

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and the pic above by kelvin has just won a prize in the quarterly wpja contest. congrats! now at least some foreign judges acknowledge local sense of humour. you can see more winning images at www.wpja.com

 

[canturn]

Something I took in 2003....

And one from a shoot just last week:

Before the procession...

 

[catchlights]

Took this two weeks ago.....

 

[rickygck]

Thats my camp mate.. I didnt know his married.. :bsmilie:

Oh look familiar too. From which Coy one?

 

[canturn]

KC: Your first photo reminded me of one from last week's wedding

A tribute to Streetshooter