F-BoM April 2009: Voltron of Awesomness
by Miserere
Featured Blog of the Month: Voltron of Awesomness
To paraphrase Clint Eastwood’s character in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, there are two types of wedding photographers—those who record events at a wedding, and those that make Art of them. Jeff Newsom is the latter.
In his bizarrely-named blog, Jeff shares some of those wedding shots with his readers, as well as some other curious pics he might be working on in between wedding gigs. If you like talking about “looks”, then Jeff should become a topic of conversation at your next photography party. It’s not just the colour or heavy contrast, even his subjects have a definite Voltron look. How he achieves that with people that are not professional models, I don’t know, but I’ll be sure to ask him when/if I interview him. I’ll also ask him how he struck a deal with the faeries for photos such as this:
There is also an underlying irreverence (which sometimes isn’t so well hidden, as in the pic below) that makes his photos seem fresh and cheeky. Oh, and did I mention that he loves his tilt lenses? If I were his significant other, I might get jealous. As it is, I am now pining for a tilt lens. Damn that awesome Jeff Newsom!
All photos: ©Jeff Newsome.
Related posts:
- F-BoM May 2009: Pixelated Image
- F-BoM March 2009: Captured by Carrie
- F-BoM July 2009: PhotoCritic
- F-BoM February 2009: Shutterfinger
- F-BoM August 2009: Urban Creative
Tags: blogs, F-BoM, Jeff Newsom, Photographers, Photography
Very interesting photographer here. The style is of great fine art with an interesting perspective through his lens.
That last photo is nothing short of amazing.
Is this gimmick-photographer-of-the-month? Looks like it.
Newsom’s got a business, and he needs to find a way to distinguish himself from the competition. So he develops a gimmick, which seems to be mostly a very simple (i.e. cheap) blur-vignette. His portfolio is full of simple radial gradient blur masks without an attempt to produce any sort of decent cut-out on the subject. Very cheap, and no-doubt very effective for those who aren’t aware how cheap they are.
Well, good for him. If that impresses the punters and gets them to pay extra for his services then he’s hit on a winner. God forbid that anyone with a bit more sense should think that this constitutes something they should emulate, though. Get your own gimmick goddamit!
Alternatively, try connecting with your client and producing photos that are about the subject rather than the gimmick…
Charles,
Like all Art, you either like it or you don’t. I happen to like Newsom’s wedding photography, not so much for any gimmick, but because of the way he depicts his subjects. Indeed, unlike you, I actually think he does connect with his subjects and shows them in fun, interesting ways that the subjects enjoy. I’ve been a groom at a wedding, and I wish our photographer had been as engaged as Newson is. I guess that’s why I don’t enjoy looking at my wedding photos that much (although my wife looked gorgeous, no matter who photographed her).
The “gimmick” you talk about is not a Photoshop action, it’s the effect of a tilt lens. It might be gimmicky for some, while others might like it. At the end of the day, Newsom has a style, and plenty of couples like it because his agenda is full, and that’s what counts when you run a business.
I think his stuff is great. His photos capture great emotion and yes uses “simple” techniques as the blur-vignette and light painting stuff, but his composition and angles and the poses are unique. I do think he connects with his clients and the gimmicks add to the connection, imo.
So what’s your gimmick Charles?
These are pretty neat. I’m guessing that the first one is not a wedding shot?
Your guess would be incorrect, Andrew
That photo was featured in Your Wedding Day magazine (click here!).
A pleasure to come to your site. Thnks very much!