Kathryn Hamm - The New Art of Capturing Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography

RED STONE PHOTOGRAPHY
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 15mm lens, ISO 250, 1500 sec. at f/4.0

THE NEW ART OF

CAPTURING
LOVE

The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography

Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodds

Foreword by Martie Maguire
of the Dixie Chicks and Court Yard Hounds

AMPHOTO BOOKS
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group
New York

Copyright 2014 by Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodds

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Amphoto Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.amphotobooks.com

AMPHOTO BOOKS and the Amphoto Books logo are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in the United States in somewhat different form by Authentic Weddings as Capturing Love: The Art of Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography in Rumney, New Hampshire, in 2013.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hamm, Kathryn, 1969
The new art of capturing love : the essential guide to lesbian and gay wedding photography / Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodds; foreword by Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks and Court Yard Hounds. First Amphoto edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Wedding photography. 2. Same-sex marriage. I. Dodds, Thea, 1978
II. Title.
TR819.D63 2014
778.93925dc23
2013041295

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8041-8523-3
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8041-8524-0

Design by Amy Sly
Cover design by Amy Sly and Sarah Adelman
Author photographs by Carly Fuller ()

v3.1

For Bryan and our daughters, Kyra and Aubrie
Thea

For my beloved, Amy, and my mother, Gretchen. Without whom
Kathryn

KRISTIN CHALMERS PHOTOGRAPHY
Nikon D700, 2470 lens, ISO 400, 160 sec. at f/2.8

A WEDDING REVOLUTION

BREAKING THE MOLD

ENGAGEMENTS

TWO GROOMS

TWO BRIDES

WEDDING PARTIES

WEDDING RITUALS

Imagine my surprise when I received a message on Twitter not long ago from my childhood pal Kathryn Hamm, asking me if I would be willing to write a foreword for the book she was writing with photographer Thea Dodds. My response was a flattered yes, only because I knew that anything Kathryn was a part of had to be amazing.

Even so, as I considered the books title and flipped past the cover page, I began to experience some writers remorse. Quite honestly, I was thinking to myself: Yes, Ive been married (twice), but Im a musician. What the hell do I know about photography? And more importantly, what do I know about same-sex weddings? Absolutely nothing. So, I went into this feeling very insecure, like maybe I was the wrong woman for this job. Seriously, did Kathryn not remember that back in school, I was the queen of CliffsNotes and skipping class?

But as I turned the pages, it all started to become clear. I had an emotional revelation. This book is about capturing and celebrating LOVE. And I DO know a little about love, as it is one of my favorite emotions! I write songs and sing about it all the time. It is all encompassing, knows no limits, and is the most universal and equalizing virtue of our humanity.

Like love, I cant imagine our world without artistic expressions like music or photography. They offer powerful truths about ourselves and our pasts; where we were, what was important to us, and how we felt. And in the case of this book, how far we have come!

The New Art of Capturing Love moves me. It sings to me. The images are beautiful, and filled with an urgency for expression. Ever so important because, as on any wedding day, the moment is now, and then it is gone in a flash. When the wedding is over and the guests go home, the photos and the memories are all that remain of the day.

But this book not only offers an amazing collection of images of love between two people, their families, and friends, it also offers a practical and insightful step-by-step instruction for photographers on how to capture these unique wedding moments. It breaks down a million and one reasons why approaching a nontraditional wedding may require a different set of skills and considerations, and in this book lie many ideas and solutions.

The photographs in this book are not snapshots. They are poetic statements, curated by Kathryn and Thea, and crafted by photographers who know precisely how to combine the essential elements to bring forth an image that stirs a deep emotion in us. Just like a songwriter, this is a photographers gift, and when accomplished so finely, the viewers experience is like hearing a great song that instantly becomes an important emotional thread, woven through your life forever