Love. How do you see it? How do you translate the intensity you feel toward the person breathing beside you in bed at 4 a.m. into a two-dimensional slice of light and form?
Amid the torrent of babies and puppies, we applaud those of you who refreshed the clichés. You brought the romance back into the 1950s American wedding-kiss fantasy—using the bride’s veil as if it were a filter for intimacy. We admire those of you who found the more unexpected moments of tenderness—a father releasing a bird, or a girl and her grandmother spinning in matching polka dots. And we are especially grateful to those of you who shared heartfelt stories of loss and recovery.
If only you could have heard the three of us going at it as we narrowed our favorites down from hundreds of images to a mere 27. Each of us championed our pet frames, warriors on your behalf, arguing the importance of the backstory versus the visual finesse, the power of the light versus the insight of the shooter. Luckily we have known each other for 30 years, so absolute honesty and respect ruled as we learned from each other. We hope you find the same sanctuary for your work here in the Your Shot community.
Ask yourself why you photograph. To share the fun times? To document the unbelievable? To preserve a moment that might never survive as a memory without that picture you shot?
Forgive us if we sounded demanding. We wanted to goad you into a deeper originality, a raw authenticity going beyond the slick, idealized ads promising love in impossible ways. Don’t settle for anyone else’s ideas. Only you can create your own true vision of love.
