Veteran photographer, Thea Dodds and wedding expert and educator, Kathrynn Hamm have come together to produce a groundbreaking guide, Capturing Love: The Art of Lesbian & Gay Wedding Photography. The book was created after the co-authors spent hours exploring the notion that the current mainstream wedding photography resources available were insufficient in a changing marketplace. The book showcases 46 same-sex couples and 38 gay and lesbian wedding photographers.
On April 9, Capturing Love held its official launch party at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center in Washington, D.C. The co-authors were in attendance sharing stories and signing copies of the book. Attendees also included couples pictured in the book, as well as top LGBT wedding photographers.
Arlington, Virginia resident, Maggie Winters is one of the many photographers showcasing their work in Capturing Love. Dodds and Hamm reached out to Winters after viewing her work online.
“It’s such an amazing resource for photography inspiration. I enjoy how it was put together,” says Winters about Capturing Love. “Each aspect is really important, but to read the stories from the people featured and to read the photographers anecdotes about the photos really made the stories come together more.”
Winters has been photographing same-sex couples since 2011. Megan Eimerman, 29 and Courtney Wallace, 25 were one of those couples. The couple is set to get married this upcoming Labor Day weekend in Chicago and was honored to have their engagement photos included in the project.
“It’s so important for everybody to tell their story, for us to tell our story, and photographers to tell their story,” says Wallace. “I don’t think people necessarily think about shooting same-sex couples and how that might be different for photographers, and Maggie did a great job.”
“Everybody has been so amazing,” says Eimermann. “To see local people in support in such a great movement, just reminds us that there are people out there that want to stand for such a great cause.”
Though there was plenty of local support throughout the evening, featured couple Kelly Durden, 32 and Kelly Posey, 35 came from Charlotte, North Carolina to be a part of the event. Durden is a lawyer and Posey is a police officer. The couple was introduced through their jobs at their local courthouse. They married on October 19, 2012 in Washington, D.C. at Chelsea Gardens.
“We wanted to keep the wedding really small, and really intimate, so it was family only,” says Durden.
Thanks to Kat Forder Photography, the “Kellys” are one of the featured same-sex couples captured in the photo book.
“We interviewed a number of photographers before we ended up choosing Kat,” explains Durden. “We had a very different experience with people who wanted to fit us into the mold of a regular straight couple, and that wasn’t right for us. We wanted someone who would capture our personalities, and show them the intimacy of our relationship in pictures.”
“Simply put,” Dodds says, “what works for a straight couple won’t always work for a gay or lesbian couple. Weddings are changing, and photography education needs to change, too.”
Capturing Love is now available in print and in digital formats from retailers like Barnes & Nobles and Amazon. Fore more information about the book and authors, visit capturingloveguide.com.
