Interview: His And Her Photography

1. What is your profession?

Photo Ninjas

2. How does story/narrative play a role in your work?

Narrative is the essence of our work.  We use photography, and in some cases writing, to tell our client’s stories.  Storytelling is what we love to do.  When a client looks through the images we’ve created together, they see not just a collection of photographs but a visual story showing the reality, emotion, and passion of their experience.  One of the most inspiring bits of feedback that we’ve received from past clients is that “the photos will help to preserve our memories”.  In a way, we feel that that’s exactly what photography does. 

3. What do you mean when you talk about your passion for storytelling and photography being rooted in balance? Please say more.

We associate balance with harmony and connection.  We find that the philosophy of balance is multidimensional.  While photographing, we seek to find equilibrium with each other as partners in storytelling; simultaneously, we seek to find balance with our clients and their guests.  We are able to find this balance as a result of our pre-planning and attention to detail.  We meet with all of our clients prior to their celebrations, which allows us the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with the folks that we’ll be photographing. 

We are also able to develop a detailed outline and timeline for the events that our clients have planned.  This makes it possible for us to choreograph our movements so that we are able to anticipate moments unfolding around us and so that we are
photographing from complimentary perspectives.  Seeing an emotion filled moment from different perspectives is the catalyst that transforms a handful of images into a balanced story. 

Of the genres of documentary styles, we strive for a blend of poetic and observational documentation.  While the very act of our presence influences the event, our aim is to be as unobtrusive as possible.  Here is where we must align ourselves with the energy and flow of our clients, their guests, and the sometimes delicate nature of their celebration. 

When we photograph together and connect with that harmony, the results are humbling and inspiring.  Realizing that balance with each other and with our clients, we feel as though we’ve become a part of their celebration; this allows us to be able to capture decisive moments – moments that become preserved as still images and when viewed together – tell a beautiful and personal story. 

Working together has brought incredible insight to our photographic styles, approach, and aesthetic.  Jai’s background is rooted in fashion photography and portraiture while Drew’s background is heavily based in photojournalism and capturing candid moments.  In that sense, we bring balance to each other.  We have both been able to grow individually as a result of the other’s perspective. The constructive dialogue that we have regarding subjective issues, such as aesthetics, has helped our partnership to blossom and has infinitely strengthened our ability to tell stories with photography. 

In the final results, the images we deliver to our clients, we see balance in those stories resulting from our differing approaches to photography and knowing when to be shooting in the middle of the action and when to remain around the periphery. 

4. How do wedding photos tell and preserve the story of the event?

Have you ever found an old shoebox full of photos or a photo album that you haven’t looked at in years?  Looking through the photos you might be re-living experiences that happened 10, 20, 30 years earlier.  And, although you haven’t thought about those things in a long time, the images help to revitalize your memory.  Because of a few still images, you start to recall people’s names, words that were spoken, emotions felt, and experiences shared – all with astonishing detail. 

Human memory is strongly tied to imagery.  On a biological level, our memories are stored as complex proteins. As we move, through space and time, away from the moment and place when that memory was created … the tendency is for those memories to become degraded – especially as we get older.

Still imagery is simple and beautiful in its ability to form a tangible link between our personal memories and our shared experience with others.  Photographs help us to stay connected with our memories. 

Wedding photos tell the story by visually establishing a sense of time and place and who was interacting within that framework: the family and friends who have come together, the details and decorations that reflect the style and unique expression of a couple, the location, the flowers, the food they choose to serve, etc.  All the details captured in moments throughout the day compliment and add context to the human interactions we photograph.  Often times, these photographs become the most effective vessel for communicating that story to generations yet to come. 

Where do images fall short? Where do they excel?

We only wish we could be in 10 places at once! There is so much going on at a wedding, perhaps images fall short when they fail to record everything that is happening. 

Also, there are times when we are part of an experience that we know would make for amazing photographs – though something in the moment suggests being a bit more discrete. 

One recent example comes to mind.  We were photographing a wonderfully intimate celebration earlier this year.  The ceremony was atop a small peninsula surrounded by sheer cliffs falling away hundreds of feet to the deep blue Pacific Ocean.  It was an amazing setting.  The light was perfect; an angelic mist rolling in off the ocean cast a golden hue over the young couple and their guests. 

The guests were all seated in a circle, with the bride and groom in the middle – which presented a challenge photographically.  During their vows, the bride and groom shared a very emotional and powerful exchange of feeling and sentiment. Because of the size of the space and the small number of people in attendance, we decided to back off a bit.  We captured the moment, and then let the remainder of the exchange unfold – sometimes it’s very necessary to know when your presence as a photographer will compromise the integrity of a moment.

As for excelling … hmm.  Well, we have had a number of clients this year refer to us as their personal “photo ninjas”.  If our clients don’t notice us taking photographs, then we’ve done our job well. 

5. What are the elements of great photographic storytelling?

First is establishing context and a sense of place.  So important.  Of course, aesthetic decisions such as framing, exposure, and point of view all carry great significance and should be taken into consideration when thinking about how that particular image will fit into a story. 

Also, the details are very important.  In a way, details (flowers, shoes, decorations, etc …) help to compliment and connect the human interactions and people photos captured throughout the day. 

6. You have a section on your website suggesting tips for creating an organic wedding. How does sustainability affect the photographic storytelling process?

Ecological sustainability … that is, living and acting in the world in a way that will preserve the integrity, stability, and diversity of the biological community for future generations … is at the essence of our being. 

We live our personal lives by these tenets and could not imagine running a business any other way.  It is amazing and inspiring for us to find more and more of our clients commenting on how they are planning their celebration or wedding to be ecologically friendly - while striving to become more sustainable in their day to day activities. 

A couple that values sustainability will want to highlight that value as a unique expression of who they are together.  Sustainability becomes a shared value between our clients and our approach to photography.  This connection helps to build a foundation of trust – after all, what and how we photograph is a reflection of the way we understand our selves and our world-view.

We were meeting with a couple recently to talk about their wedding plans and discovered the bride was an avid gardener and she and her fiancé were devoting much of their free time together working in a community garden space they had helped to establish. 

We are both gardeners and find great happiness in connecting directly with the living soil to grow and nurture food.  In this way, eating is a very sacred act.  Not to mention, eating food grown locally is very sustainable. 

In a way that is difficult to quantify, this connection with our clients helped to establish a rapport that lead to very real and very beautiful images.  During the ceremony the rabbi spoke about the importance of growing living things, of the importance of gardening, and this couple chose to symbolize that with organic mint sprigs they had harvested from the community garden they worked on together.

The images came to reflect our shared values in that they helped tell the story of living, acting, and wedding sustainably. 

7. You mention how memories get tied to photographs. If the narratives created by a photograph don’t come to mind without seeing the photo, does that mean that stories are stored in the photo or in the mind?

The story the photo reveals for a couple may be one of a grandparent getting a kiss on the cheek from a grandchild - while the couple was visiting across the room with old friends.  When viewing the image later, although they did not see that moment being played out, the feelings experienced by seeing guests enjoying themselves will come to be associated with that image.  So we think the stories are reinforced by the image, though stored in the mind and the heart.  Also, the memories we carry with us are preserved and fortified by the narratives told by the still images. 

Are they linear or non-linear?

The stories the images tell are linear, as they are documented in the order of the day.  However, the feelings they recall and the connection that they inspire are not linear.  In a way, the stories become cyclical as they are passed on to new generations, who are in fact manifestations and embodiments of their parents. Woah. 

8. What advice do you have for upcoming photographers looking to tell stories with images?

Connection and balance are very important.  Get to know your clients and/or your subjects.  Sometimes this means spending time with them or in a place for extended periods of time without taking a single photo.  Sometimes additional research is required to better understand the historical or cultural significance of an event or location or people.  Pre-planning is crucial.  Establishing context visually is so important. Also, it helps to understand discretion.

Last, know your equipment.  When things are happening fast you need to balance the technical aspects of your gear with the interpretive aspects of what is happening around you. 

His And Her Photography
Drew Burdick and Jai Soots
Portland, OR USA

www.hisandherphotography.com

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