Workshop Wednesdays Vol.XXX

Workshop Wednesdays vol. XXX

In celebration of our 30th WW… We want to reflect on what photography looked like 30 years ago… And what it may look like in another 30! 1989 was certainly an interesting year for fashion and questionable family portraits and I think I’m going to have fun researching some classic examples of this time period! (Anyone who lived through it will attest to the mortifying shopping centre mottled backdrop scenario for example!) Wedding photography has also come along way, and even though there are still trends and fads that come and go – we feel there are definitely certain styles that never go out of fashion just like Rick and Christie’s wedding featured this week.

HP Tip 1

It is my job to try and create a timeless classic – a portrait that will not date and that one would be proud to hang on the wall for generations to come. But does that mean, it cannot reflect the fashion and the time of the present day? After all, the subject will change and grow, as will the world around us. So isn’t it nice to actually capture a portrait that does reflect the time period and therefore may date, but in a good way? My tip is: be yourself, in this moment, right now. Wear whatever clothes you love right now, that reflect your personality in this time. Not to be worried that in 30 years time it might not be fashionable!

Random Fact

“Early photography was slow, and therefore staying still was a little bit difficult to achieve, but still doable if you were an adult. But kids were a different matter. Mothers managed to keep children still by transforming themselves into furniture.”  (We still do this for some newborns!)…

SOURCE

In The News

Photo For Thought

The Fall Of The Berlin Wall, 1989

After two decades of its iron separation of East and West Germany, the Berlin Wall finally fell on the evening of November 9, 1989. People gathered around the wall to see if it had actually fallen, and the border guards, who had no explicit instructions on what to do, let them through. Mass jubilation ensued.

SOURCE

Iconic Photographer:

Nicholas Nixon: Forty Portraits in Forty Years | 1975 – 2014

“Nicholas Nixon was visiting his wife’s family when, “on a whim,” he said, he asked her and her three sisters if he could take their picture. It was summer 1975, and a black-and-white photograph of four young women — elbows casually attenuated, in summer shirts and pants, standing pale and luminous against a velvety background of trees and lawn — was the result. A year later, at the graduation of one of the sisters, while readying a shot of them, he suggested they line up in the same order. After he saw the image, he asked them if they might do it every year. “They seemed O.K. with it,” he said; thus began a project that has spanned almost his whole career. The series, which has been shown around the world over the past four decades, will be on view at the Museum of Modern Art, coinciding with the museum’s publication of the book “The Brown Sisters: Forty Years” in November.

Throughout this series, we watch these women age, undergoing life’s most humbling experience. While many of us can, when pressed, name things we are grateful to Time for bestowing upon us, the lines bracketing our mouths and the loosening of our skin are not among them. So while a part of the spirit sinks at the slow appearance of these women’s jowls, another part is lifted: They are not undone by it. We detect more sorrow, perhaps, in the eyes, more weight in the once-fresh brows. But the more we study the images, the more we see that aging does not define these women. Even as the images tell us, in no uncertain terms, that this is what it looks like to grow old, this is the irrefutable truth, we also learn: This is what endurance looks like.

It is the endurance of sisterhood in particular. Nixon, who grew up a single child, says he has always been particularly intrigued by the sisterly unit, and it shows in these images. With each passing year, the sisters seem to present more of a united front. Earlier assertions of their individuality — the arms folded across the chest, the standing apart — give way to a literal leaning on one another, as if independence is no longer such a concern. We see what goes on between the sisters in their bodies, particularly their limbs. A hand clasps a sister’s waist, arms embrace arms or are slung in casual solidarity over a shoulder. A palm steadies another’s neck, reassuring. The cumulative effect is dizzying and powerful. When 36 prints were exhibited in a gallery in Granada, Spain, viewers openly wept.”

Source

Tip 2

I might revise my first tip after looking at the portraits above compared with the one below! Personality is a great thing to capture in a photograph – however, if you are wanting a timeless classic, maybe stick to simple tones and textures that are evidently ageless!

Inspiration

OK, I couldn’t help it – here are some of the funniest examples of wedding and portrait photography from the 80’s. Oh dear!!

Awkward Family Photos

Wedding Photography in the 80s

Tip 3

So where to next? What fashions and trends will we see in another 30 years? Will we look back on the photos from today and ask “What were we thinking?!” Aside from inevitable advancements in technology and the accessibility of creating infinite images, I strongly hope and believe, we will always be on a quest to capture portraits, record milestones and relive history in this vivid sense. In 30 years we will be looking back on an ear that was so much more heavily photographed than that of 1989 and even the 90s as a decade. Will the images have been stored properly to be viewed? Will they all be on USB’s when they are already becoming a thing of the past? My tip is to make sure you are preserving your favourite photographs in a way that you can be sure they will still be visible in 30 years time and well beyond.

Story of the Week

I had the pleasure of photographing Rick and Christie-Lee’s wedding in Manly, Sydney in 2015 and was blown away by the venue, the dress and amazing atmosphere. Such a fun and loving couple and so many personal details throughout the day. Imagine my excitement when I could follow this up a few years later with a very special photo shoot for their beautiful daughter Hailey on her 1st birthday. You wouldn’t know that one week earlier, little Hailey was hospital bound, unable to breathe on her own after a baffling and dangerous reaction to the cold. We all hope she stays this happy and healthy Rick and Christie… You make such a gorgeous family unit and I’m so happy for the little world you have created. X 

This weeks blog took an unexpected turn. When writing the intro, I was sure, I would be finding countless photos to laugh at from the 80’s and think what a long way we’ve come! And sure, there we have touched on that and it’s definitely a rabbit hole that you can fall down. However, when I came across the 40 portraits in 40 years (please read above if you scanned past it!), I just had to explore this and share it with you (maybe I should have waited until our 40th WW!). It just shows, that yes, there are daggy trends and certain styles will date and look shameful in years to come. However, there really is a timeless art to simple, classic portraiture that captures a person in time and documents history. What a way to tell a story!

Thank you for continuing the journey with us! We hope to see you all very soon 🙂

Best wishes from
Hannah and Olivia (and Nic and Charlie)…

CLICK HERE FOR FAMILY PORTRAIT GIFT VOUCHERS  – SCHOOL HOLIDAY AND EASTER SESSIONS AVAILABLE

Ps – just had to share this (sorry siblings!)