Wedding Photojournalist Association

I am a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association or the WPJA.com for short. There is a certain ethos that goes into being a photojournalist and also being in the WPJA. In short, the WPJA only accepts 15% of their applicants. They are not a fee based advertising site. Every three months the members of the site have a contest, and this establishes the order the photographers appear on the site.

Why do I mention this. Because there are rules to being in the WPJA. The rules are -

Images manipulated through the use of toning, increased saturation or desaturation, selective sharpening and/or blurring, dodging and burning, cloning, blemish removal, correcting or reducing distortions, or adding film grain/noise are not eligible for entry. However, cropping and color to black & white conversions are acceptable as well as slight adjustments to levels/curves.

In other words, minor adjusments are acceptable but the photo needs to be "As Is". This really makes a photographer be more of a "Photographer" than just a Photoshop junkie.





Granted, these are the contest rules and knowing an extensive amount of Photoshop techniques is very important for every photographer. I know my fair share of PS tricks. Many times I just want my photograph to be a photo instead of a piece of graphic art.

My first blog post

I have been focused on wedding photography. I really love weddings. To me it is a photographic study of love. One of the apex moments of a person's life. A commitment to love and bond with another person.

The pageantry of a wedding is amazing. Everyone is dressed to the nines. Children are running around. Multiple generations of a family are represented. It is a ceremony that brings out nervous and happy emotions that spill into a celebratory party atmosphere. I can think of no better photographic experience than being a wedding photographer.

But, being a wedding photographer mean you need to have a wide array of skills. It is like shooting a sporting event, a fashion shoot, a portrait session in a photojournalistic environment. The photographer has to think fast, be entertaining, and cordial. Most of all the photographer has to always be present and observing the action in every corner of the event. At any moment a 5 year old may step over to the cake and dip their fingers into the frosting just for a quick taste.