Shan Wu

In my latest attempts to procrastinate instead of writing my proposal, I’ve rekindled my interest for photography. This time around, I’m acquainting myself with the fabulous world of wedding photography. The more wedding photographers’ webpages I visit, the more portfolios I see, the more I wonder why 99% of the sample porfolio pictures showcase caucasian couples. I’ve seen a couple of Asians here and there (always Asian girl marrying white guy), but I don’t think I’ve seen a single picture of a black person/couple. We know that’s not because black people don’t get married. So where are their pictures?

Why are black couples not shown in these sample portfolios (or any other race for that matter)? Do wedding photographers generally cater to a specific target audience that is primarily white? If I were black and looking for a photographer for my wedding, I would think I’d be at least a little miffed by the lack of samples showing people of my race getting married. Maybe black people tend not to hire photographers for their weddings? That seems strange to me, too, because I would think everybody would want pictures of their wedding. Or maybe I really am completely ignorant and just making blanket general statements that may or may not make any sense and could potentially be offensive to some sector of the population.

So what gives?

Maybe there are photographers who cater almost exclusively to blacks, and I just haven’t found their websites, yet. Like my high school friend who never failed to remind me that she needs “black-people-shampoo,” maybe there are “black-people-wedding-photographers,” too.