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Paper short abstract:

Wedding photography provides its own norms and conventions that express specific values not only regarding representation but also in processes of production and reception. The current paper asks how do these norms and conventions express, confirm, adapt, and transform religious and secular values?

Paper long abstract:

Wedding photography can be described as a genre with its own stylistic norms and conventions that express specific values not only in their representation but also in the different practices of production and reception. During the production process the photographer often spends some time alone with the newlyweds in a specific place which they have agreed on beforehand to stage and take photos of the couple. After the wedding the pictures are exhibited and received in different contexts. They are framed and hung on the walls of the couple's, their friends' and family members' homes. The couples review the pictures and organise an album to remember the "happiest" day of their lives, show the album to people who weren't able to attend the reception, or look at the photos together with the wedding guests to collectively remember the day. These photographic practices have ritualistic dimensions that are shared across many cultures in religious and secular settings. Therefore the current paper asks how do stylistic norms and conventions of wedding photography express, confirm, adapt, and transform religious and secular values?

The research question is part of a larger research project funded by EU Horizon (Marie Skłodowska Curie fellowship, www.promising-images.eu). The interdisciplinary study applies a multi-methodological approach that includes 25 narrative-biographical interviews with religious and non-religious couples in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. During the video recorded conversations, methodologically rooted in visual anthropology, the couples view and comment on their wedding photos and reconstruct their wedding day. The research shows that as a result of wedding photography's stylistic norms and conventions, religious and cultural differences are levelled-out and converge in representation as well as in production and reception practices. The presentation includes clips from the interviews.

Audio-visual equipments: sound and image