In my recent post, I briefly discussed the Act Of Symbolism. Actually, the act of symbolism is a topic I acquired during my photography class. My goal in taking the photography class was to enhance my skills as a photographer. However, this particular class was slightly different. It didn't focus on how to adjust the camera or lighting to make photos look appealing, but rather on how to create a mood for a model that aligns with our intentions, conveyed through the gestures we make.
The Act of Symbolism itself is quite challenging. I can say that I couldn't master it in just one try. Conveying the gestures requires a lot of practice and observation of the surroundings. There are numerous types of gestures, ranging from hand gestures, shoulders, faces, legs, and so on. Each gesture can depict various moods, such as anger, sadness, or happiness. When combined, they can be referred to as emotions. As a photographer, the question is whether our photos have emotions, whether they can speak, thus conveying the messages within the photos to the viewers. I believe this is the pinnacle of a photographer's skill.
Speaking of the Act of Symbolism, it's mostly applied during wedding photoshoots. In wedding photos, there's typically only one message we want to convey to the viewers: the joyous feelings of the couple. But have these feelings been conveyed to the viewers? Without going too far, do the couples themselves feel that their photos are lively? This is quite difficult to achieve.
I've been observing wedding photos for quite some time, and only a few photographers' works seem to come alive. When I see these photos, I feel joy, and I feel the urge to capture photos like they do because I myself have struggled to capture lively photos until now. Do those photographers who capture lively photos direct their clients? The answer is yes. They direct the couples, conveying happiness through gestures, and it takes a long time to understand all these gestures.
Some other photographers' works seem quite templated, like photos with umbrellas when it's not raining, or photos with hands raised as if to block the sunlight when there's no sunlight to be blocked. These are the crucial things we discuss in the class—photos that look good but lack emotion or a story in each frame because they don't understand the direction and purpose of the photos.
There's a story from a professional photographer, "Once, during a pre-wedding photoshoot for his client, the couple had been experiencing problems in their marriage for years and were considering divorce. But when they sat together and looked at their wedding photos, printed large on the wall, they realized the happy moments they had during their marriage and opened their wedding album. Right then and there, they made peace and abandoned their plans for divorce. They tried to relive those happy moments and began to rebuild their once broken relationship."
Based on that story, it means that the happy moments during a wedding are very significant. The photos bear witness to all the moments on that special day. So, as a photographer, we don't just provide good photos to our clients; we provide photos that can bring back their beautiful moments. Hence, it's reasonable for a photographer to command a high fee because photos are the capture of memories from all the moments of the wedding.
I seem to have gotten carried away with my storytelling. Here are the results of the photos from the Act Of Symbolism class that I attended:
What feelings do you get when you see the photos above? I won't tell you what emotions they contain because I hope the photos can tell a story when you look at them. The key to the shooting process is simple: make the model imagine the message you're conveying to them. Whether it's a message of happiness, sadness, or anger. Once they can imagine it, their facial expressions and gestures will change automatically. Because, unconsciously, in our daily lives, we often use gestures to express our state of being.
I hope that by sharing this knowledge, it can be beneficial for anyone who wants to try it, because, once again, emotions in photos are crucial, as photos can tell a story because they hold emotions within them. I myself still need to learn a lot to apply this knowledge, sometimes many people are still reluctant to express themselves in front of the camera, even though it is very important.
I hope this knowledge truly proves to be beneficial, and I hope you enjoy it. And of course, I ask for your support in always supporting the work of photographers here. Because doing so will make us more enthusiastic about sharing our work and sharing our knowledge. I also want to express my heartfelt thanks for your support up to this point.
Warm regards from me.