FAQ: Jumping the Shark

I feel like I'm picking on Ryan & Donna but it just so happens that their wedding was a great example of how I love to work. Laid back and with a fun group of people. 

What this post is about is the "jump" that has at once become one of the most cliche shots in wedding photography and the most genuinely enjoyed shot by many couples. It's a great example of a shot, once done at a few weddings becomes passe to a wedding photographer but like selective coloring before it, and countless subtle or not so subtle techniques before that, continues to be requested by brides long after the photographer's interest in doing it lives strong.

That said, WHO CARES about what has or has not been done before. The bottom line here is to have fun and when Ryan said he wanted to chest bump, well by God we did a chest bump shot... and to me it is fantastic. I NEVER tire of shots like this or any other that loosens up the day and gets people out of their shells a bit. This is YOUR wedding, not my last wedding, your sister's wedding or your best friend's wedding. Also, who's to say the PERFECT jump shot isn't the next one I do?

I think the heart and soul of my wedding photography is a careful blend exploring the ideas of my couples (including the jump) and my own sensibility of trying something new. 

The bottom line is that I FREAKING LOVE jump shots, don't mind doing the occasional selective color treatment to an image and nothing is passe to me if you want to give it a go. 

If the choice is between just standing there looking at the camera or flinging yourself in the air with reckless abandon...well I choose abandon 100% of the time :)