Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
If there’s one thing an Atlanta wedding photographer knows, it’s that no wedding album is complete without a glamour shot of the bride. There is always a photo of her, dressed to the nines in her gorgeous gown, smiling and striking a pose. Some people don’t know that this photo is actually called a “bridal portrait” and they have been around for centuries. This week, I want to go into the history and meaning behind the photographs we see today.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
Although brides everywhere take a “bridal portrait” nowadays, it first came about among wealthy families, mostly royalty, in Southern Europe in the middle ages. Before cameras, paintings were the only way to really capture significant moments in this time.When there was a wedding on the horizon, the family would commission a painting of the bride from a professional artist to commemorate the event. The bride and the painter would meet at a designated date and location, where she would then sit for a portrait in her full bridal ensemble. This would take place days, possibly weeks before the actual wedding ceremony. Sometimes, during this era, by the time the wedding day arrived the groom (normally a king or a royal) would have only seen his bride through a painting of her commissioned for their engagement. The portrait of the bride was then displayed at the wedding reception and then hung in the home of the new couple to instill family pride in future generations.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
The invention of cameras and advancement of photography opened up new opportunities for the bridal portrait. At first cameras were large, so brides still had to go to a studio to get their photo taken. However, around the time of World War II, cameras had gotten smaller and more portable. This meant that brides had more flexibility for their photos. The date and location can be chosen by the bride now, instead being confined to the limits of a studio, and it can all be set up the way the bride wishes in order to showcase her personality. The new technology also made the photographs smaller in size, which meant people could keep them in their pockets or purses, and they were then given as keepsakes to those parted from their lovers by the war. They were also more affordable, meaning more families in more places could afford to have them done. The “bridal portrait” was now accessible to more brides than ever before, and they soon became a common element of weddings. The tradition has even become a staple in places like the South in the United States.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
Today, bridal portraits are usually done the day of the wedding, either before or after the ceremony, along with the other photos of the day. Now they are used on a bride’s social media as a profile picture or as part of a digital album to commemorate the special day. Whatever the bridal portrait may mean to you, it can be a special keepsake of a very important milestone that you can hold onto for a long time.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
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