Something Old, Something New...

Something Borrowed, Something Blue:

This tradition is followed all the time, but why? The consensus is that "something old" represents a brides past and keeps her tied to it and the family she grew up in. A locket or other jewelry from Grandma in the bride's bouquet would be a good example. "Something New" represents the future and good fortune. "Something Borrowed" represents the need for a young couple to have family and friends to rely upon.

Something Blue and the White Wedding Dress:

A common misconception concerning "Something Blue" is that it will cause the couple's first child to be male. Other theories say "Something Blue" represents the color of loyalty and purity. The White Wedding Dress is a relatively recent phenomenon and it's use started in the 15th Century, and only became truly popular in the 19th century.

So, why has white replaced blue as the standard for loyalty and purity? Could there be a connection between the "White Wedding Dress" and the "Something Blue"? The terms "True Blue", and "Blue Blood" have been around since ancient times and they stand for loyalty and royalty. In medieval times, white was the color of peasants. Everybody in the lower classes wore white as it was simply undyed material and cheap. When a peasant girl got married she would wear a colorful, dyed dress, to stunningly stand out. Blue, the color of purity and royalty, would have been very popular with the peasants and very standard with the aristocrats. What peasant bride would not want to be royalty for one day, and what princess would want to wear peasant white?

So, how did the white wedding dress come to be the standard color for a wedding dress. Imagine this; a princess in the year 1550 decides she wants to be different (sounds familiar?). She demands to dress all in white on her wedding day. She fights with her royal mother, just like young women fight with their mothers today. She gets her way, with one condition; The Royal Mother appoves if the Princess agrees to wear "Something Blue".

Throwing Rice and Cutting Cake:

All traditions evolve and change with society. Throwing rice and wedding cake cutting were nothing more than fertility rituals. The wedding cake was originally stacked loaves of bread. The groom would crumble the top loaf over the Brides's head. Fertility was very important in a time when child mortality was a massive concern. Famous musician Mozart's wife Constanze, for example, had only one child that survived, yet she was pregnant most of her 9 years of marriage.

The Best Man and the term Wedding:

The best man was simply the toughest, strongest man the groom could find to help him steal his bride in a time when marriages were arranged for political reasons. In fact the word "Wedding" originates from the word "wedd" which was merely a meeting for the bartering of a woman for monetary or political gain. When the groom stole his love, they would hide for a "Moon" and try to get pregnant while drinking lots of "Mead", a drink made with "Honey". Once they were with child, the family would not want her back. Honeymoons have changed a lot since then.

Many traditions are the result of fear, superstition, and symbology. On the Wedding Day, a Groom was most vulnerable to demons of the air, so he and all his men would dress the same to confuse them. The Bride was suseptible to demons of the earth, so they would roll out an isle runner to protect her.

Many rituals and traditions began as having one meaning, and then evolved to fit the times they were relegated to. Knowing were they came from can put a litte different spin on things.

Dear "Another Pro Photographer",

I want to thank you for pointing out that, somewhere on my website, I have misspelled "Copyright". I did a quick check and can't find it, but I am sure it is there somewhere or you wouldn't have taken the time to write me at 12:04 this morning from your Fenton, Michigan abode to tell me about it... and question my education because of it. I agree with you. There is no way an educated person would ever misspell any word, let alone "copyright". My only regret is that your phone number of 999-999-9999 seemed to be eroneous, as was your email address of "noneGiven@fake.com". I would have loved to thank you for pointing this out and offered your family a free 8x10 for your trouble.
Again, thank you so much for helping me make my website just a little bit better.

Randy

About Digital Retouching

We live in an age where names and nouns become verbs. We don't SEARCH for information on the internet, we "Google It". By the same token, the Adobe Program "Photoshop" has itself become a verb... we don't "Edit" or "Enhance" or "Manipulate" an image anymore, we "Photoshop It". I hear this every day... "Can you Photoshop Aunt Marge out of this picture?", or, " Can you Photoshop my brother into this Family Portrait?... he couldn't be there." This is a little misleading. Pros who know their stuff use many excellent programs in conjunction with Photoshop to do their magic. Don't get me wrong, Photoshop is a marvelous program. It's power comes from years of improvements and updates. Adobe listens to it's customers and comes out with a newer, more powerful version just about every year, sometimes twice a year. Photoshop is a terrific tool for the creative soul, but it comes with a lot of baggage. Like any tool, it is, at it's creative heart, just a tool. Some people use this tool to create wildly beautiful images and some people use this tool to butcher beautiful images. I spend a good part of every day working with Photoshop, and various other programs, because this is the core, the main engine of Digital Photography. For every project you work on, Photoshop has at least 10 different techniques to acheive the results you are looking for. The trick is to know which one is better than others. Photoshop is at it's best when it is used to enhance great photography, or employ great photography in a grander project. What photoshop cannot do is make great photography out of bad photography. It can improve things somewhat, but that's about it. Retouching the human face is an art. The end result should be a perfect image of the subject that still looks natural. That begins with the photography. Another thing to know about digital photography is that it is not the megapixels that matter, it's the Dynamic Range... it's just easier to sell MEGA(manly) stuff to men.

Just rambling today... any questions?

Wedding Photography Today

I spent some time on the Digital Wedding Forum this morning. The Digital Wedding Forum is a website for Professional Photographers... Primarily Wedding Photographers. The biggest thread ever is going on there now having to do with Denis Reggie (A Very Famous Photographer) throwing his hand in with Bella Photography(A National Wedding Mill). There are almost 1000 posts on this subject and the subject of Wedding Mills. In case you do not know what a Wedding Mill is, there are several in our area. They offer multiple services from one provider... but their true strength is that they are powerful marketing companys that operate on the theory that if they book the weddings the photographers, and other professionals will have to follow. They are large and powerful when it comes to resources and marketing. I know exactly how this works as I was employed for 22 years recruiting and training photographers for one of these companies. I am now an independant and enjoy photography again like I did when I first picked up a camera. A lot of my photographer friends used this company for volume, a stepping stone to their own businesses, or to fill in dates they were not booked. Many are out there now doing their own thing and being sucessful, many more did not and are completely dependant on the sub-wages they earn as contractors. One company I know of even requires contractors to cover company liabilities. I really can't say a lot of bad things about these companies, they provide work for some talented people who lack the ability or desire to market themselves, but I will say that the most important positions in them are in the sales and marketing departments. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Shannon and Nick

Shannon, Nick, and I spend a couple hours last Sunday doing their Engagement Photos at Wahby Park at the Blossom Heath. We had a great time. This couple is so nice, so sincere, and such a wonderful match that it is hard to describe. All 160 of their engagement photos are online, but you will need a paswsword to see them... so I am sharing the following images:

Back to the Blog

Well, I've been gone a long time. I must appologize. My website was looking more and more like a blog, so I have revamped it to a more professional, business look and will put all the Blog type posts here on the Blog where it belongs. I have no idea how I got so far off the track, but I am jumping back on and will build a business facebook page as well.

Nicole and Eric August 15th, 2009

Sometimes the news is so bad, and we get so caught up in it, that it's easy to forget that life is just an adventure. Young people are still falling in love, making commitments and looking to the future with confidence and joy. Nicole and Eric are a prime example. Last Sunday we spent a couple hours together talking wedding plans and taking engagement photos. These two are very much in love... if you can't see it in their faces, you're not looking.

We met at Good Shepard Lutheran Church, then proceded to Wahby Park at the Blossom Heath in St Clair Shores, then spent the last few minutes at the Gazebo on Lake St Clair... Behind Jefferson Marine. The weather was a little gray with a few sprinkles here and there, but the photos turned out very nice anyway.






The future of our country is still in good hands as long as wonderful people like Nicole and Eric continue to find each other. Congratulations you two! Nicole is going to be a Beautiful Bride in just a couple months, and Eric... I'm gonna keep making you put that chest out. August 15th will be a grand day to remember.

You can see more of Nicole and Eric's engagement photos in the Gallery section of my website by visiting www.indishphoto.com and clicking on the Gallery link.