A true master of the genre.

While I have never wanted to make so much as one penny from taking pictures, I greatly respect those who do.

It’s a very tough way of making a living, made tougher in the digital age of “anyone can take a picture”, whereas in reality the percentage of camera owners who can do so has never been lower. Aunt Nellie with her POS point-and-shoot will make sure that the bride’s dress is eyeball searing white, not an iota of detail left in the trashed highlights and the groom’s tails will be every bit as lacking when it comes to detail in that expanse of black. Of course, there’s a good chance that everyone’s eyes will be closed and there will be a tree growing out of the bride’s head. There’s a reason Nellie’s pix are free and an equally good one why a real pro charges a great deal for his services.

Other than fashion photography where only a handful make a real living, surely one of the toughest fields has to be wedding photography. Except perhaps in Hollywood, there’s no repeat business for the most part. The stress is enormous. The photographer has to be a master orchestrator of diverse personalities on what is, for at least two of the participants, one of the most stressful days of their lives. The one trying to look her best and weak from all the fasting and exercise, the other trying to disregard the hangover. And the pictures must come out. Failure of equipment or technique is simply not an excuse. Further, everyone now expects to see the proofs at the reception after the wedding, so the photographer is running on fumes for the best part of a day. And did I mention the videos? Not my idea of fun, so when I see work of this nature done at an exceptional standard, my respect for the photographer is immense.

While it’s not a genre I’m especially into – it’s not like you search out wedding snaps to enjoy good photography – I know great work when I see it and none is better than that of Joe Buissink, a high-end wedding photographer in southern California. His work transcends the mere record which is most wedding photography and becomes art. The pictures are great despite the subject.

Here’s an example of the man’s art, taken from his web site. Cartier-Bresson would be proud of this one:

Click the picture for Joe Buissink’s superb web site.

No, you will not find ugly or fat (or ugly fat) people on his site, and for that we should all be truly grateful. His women are gorgeous, the way they should be on this most special of days in their life. His men are handsome. And the children properly dressed and simply divine.