Woot

JON LOWENSTEIN COMMENTS ON JUDGING THE Q1 2008 CONTEST

“The photographs that I gravitated towards in each category displayed a unique style and voice, composition, light, style, etc, but also made me feel something for the people in the moment that the photographer captured. So many of the pictures were similar yet a few in each category rose to the top as quite distinct and unique and I enjoyed that aspect of the process of judging this category. I felt a bit disappointed when I looked through the pictures and saw the same thing over and over, yet at some level that's what photography is, especially when we are paid to make a couple look good on one of the most important days of their lives. Therefore there are some inherent parameters that we must work under. So having that in mind I tried to pick photographs that illuminated the moments that elicited some emotional response in me. The wedding day is an emotional day and I looked for photographs that also showed me special moments within that space. Again, I have to emphasize that I looked for photographs that made me think a bit more about the photographed moment.




Photo by Jen Capone, Pennsylvania

So a good example is the first photograph in the Getting Ready category. It was a photograph of a woman crossing the street carrying a dress carefully, almost daintily in her arms. To me it looks like a combination of classic street photography from the 1970's. It looks like a Joel Meyerowitz photograph when he left his job and hit the streets. So many photographs of the wedding dresses are hanging on the wall, the closet or somewhere in the window and the photographer makes a picture that looks like many others, but this photograph transcends the scene and really stuck with me. It seems that the dress is being treated with such respect that it makes me think about the woman who's going to go and wear it. And it's not a complex photograph, but the moment is just right. The woman has a hop in her step and she seems genuinely happy about being the dress's caretaker. Excellent shot. The photograph shows a strong way of seeing that put me in that moment.

I also have to say that there were many photographs that relied too heavily on wide angle lenses, strange angles and funky looks that to be honest, I think often distract from the moment and the impact that the photographs can have. There were many pictures that also put the people directly in the middle of the frame and looked like the photographer let the auto focus sensor choose where to focus instead of the photographer. In simpler terms, many photographs had the main subject directly in the middle of the frame and often combined with a too wide focal length, diminishing the impact of the subject. So vary your compositions, but please don't rely on these wide-angle zoom lenses that really bring down the quality of the photographs.

I did think the overall quality was quite strong and I was quite impressed with the work. Lots of fun to look through the work. Thanks for letting me look at the work and comment on it.”