Rangefinder Magazine
March 2007

Huy Nguyen by Michelle Perkins
Defying the Norm

Nguyen is always looking for whats unique. Here, the red details on the brides dress and the graphic architecture in the church paired up nicely. He created the quick profile of the bride, nearly a silhouette, while her veil was held up behind her to show its color.

Picture this: the bride and groom side by side, looking like major-league pitchers as they side-arm rocks, skipping them across the lake at their feet. Or this: the groom draped seductively in a mock glamour pose across the arms of an Adirondack chair while his bride, seated in a matching chair in the background, laughs uncontrollably. Or even: a close-up of the couple with their mouths wide open and tongues sticking outand on each tongue, one of the wedding rings. This summer, Dallas wedding photographer Huy Nguyen captured all of these images at one wedding. While these offbeat photos arent necessarily the norm within his overall wedding coverage, they represent the level of creativity and visual inspiration Nguyen strives to bring to every wedding he shoots. The opportunity to create such imagesto shoot basically whatever he wantsis part of what led him to the field of wedding photography in the first place.

Everyone shoots rings with hands and flowers, says Nguyen, so I look for something different. He noticed that the family had donuts out for breakfast, conceived of the shot, then simply asked to borrow the rings.

Nguyen began his career in photography as a photojournalist. But, while he was successful, he felt his images were often very transient; no matter how great they were, they were quickly replaced in peoples minds by the great images in the next days paper or the next months magazine. You can take an amazing sports picture at the big game, he notes, but theres always going to be the next big game. Additionally, as news has become more celebritydriven, Nguyen found that photographers were often spending hours waiting for their target to emerge from, say, a courthouse. Then, when they actually did get to shoot, it was over in seconds, and the result was a picture of a person rushing down the steps to a car. It wasnt exactly the creative challenge he was looking for.

Making really creative images means taking chances. In this case, Nguyen thought he could use the lines on the pavement, so he sent the women down to pose for a portrait in the center of the street, thinking something cool might happen in the process. The portrait turned out fine, but it was this image of the ladies crossing the street, shot from the hotel window, that really told the story. What did he miss by staying on the fifth floor? Perhaps a great moment in the elevator or a funny interaction in the lobbywell never know. Every decision involves some risk, Nguyen says.

In wedding photography, Nguyen found the opportunity to produce images that really mattered to peopleimages that would be treasured by couples and families for decades, and even generations, to come. Wedding photography also allowed Nguyen to keep what he liked about photojournalismthe creative freedom. As long as I got the shots I was assigned to get, he says, I was pretty much free to shoot whatever else inspired me.

Today, this is precisely the approach he takes with his wedding photography but its not for everyone, he warns. Although he hopes that someday this freestyle form of shooting will be more widely adopted by both photographers and subjects, today, he still finds that an open, frank discussion of his style is critical in qualifying clients.

If the bride decides to get dressed for the wedding in her family home, Nguyen always tries to capture a few meaningful images of the location. In this case, the brides father was a big-game hunter. Nguyen captured a few shots early in his coverage and was later drawn back to the room when the bridesmaids went there to iron their dresses. He watched and waited for this moment, which wasbelieve it or nottotally unscripted. While the image is funny, it also captures the activity of the wedding day and a meaningful location for the bride.

I dont sugarcoat things to get a booking, he says. I have to believe in my clients, and they have to believe in me.

A wedding is an uncontrolled situation, Nguyen adds. Sometimes you hit home runs, sometimes you strike out. But if I only shot what I knew I could get, it would be boring. We all make mistakes, but hopefully they are outweighed by our successes. He likens it to hiring a lawyer: No one can guarantee youll win your case, so you pick the person you think is most qualified to say the right thing at the right time and to present the right evidence. Then you trust that theyll win.

If couples request a portrait session between the ceremony and reception, Nguyen gives them as much or as little direction as is needed to get great images. In most cases, thats the only part of the day he composes in any way. Once in a while, however, a great opportunity presents itself. In this case, there was a lull in the reception. After some debate with his assistant, they decided to invite the couple to the rooftop for some beautiful natural-light images that included the city in the background.

As a result of his careful qualification process, Nguyens clients are couples who tend to be very casual. They want their wedding to be a spontaneous, natural event, and they recognize that the day has meaning far beyond just looking good in fancy clothes. They want powerful images that bring back the feeling of that day whenever they look at them.

In addition to choosing clients whose tastes are in harmony with his objectives, Nguyen also makes it a habit to get a certain number of the expected shots out of the waysomething that, again, hearkens back to his days as a photojournalist working on assignment. By doing so, he then liberates himself creatively for the rest of the day. He doesnt need to keep track of the people he has and hasnt photographed or spend his whole time at the reception trying to get a good picture of the maid of honor. Instead, Nguyen can focus on the emotion and events that make the wedding day unique.

A final element in freeing himself up to shoot creatively is simply setting a good foundation for the day. He does this by having a meeting with the couple about two weeks before the wedding to see how their ideas have evolved since the initial consultation and to nail down the time line and locations. Then, he attends the rehearsal. This isnt part of the job, he says, but I go anyway. Its very helpful.

At the rehearsal, he can preview the exact order of events, see how the couple stands, and watch to see who the couple is closest to. That way, hell have an idea of which relationships to highlight in his coverage. In many cases, this is also the first time he meets the parents, something thats also good to get out of the way. It always makes them feel more secure, he says. He encourages the family to regard him almost like a bodyguard: I dont want them to think about me, he says, but when something happens, Ill be there. Now a few years into his new career, Nguyen seems extremely satisfied with the move he has made. Hes working with clients he enjoys, producing images he loves, and doing it all with the creative freedom that makes each shoot a challenging new adventure.

To learn more about Huy Nguyen, visit www.f8studio.com. For the past five years, Nguyen has also operated a successful photojournalism workshop called The Foundation Workshop. You can learn more about this at www.fworkshop.com.