AGE: 25
RESIDES: Nashville
BEST LESSONS LEARNED: “Ask questions. Even though wedding photography can be competitive, I’m always amazed at how open and honest a lot of my peers and even people at the upper echelon of wedding photography are. I think people are more available and willing to share and help other people out than some might think.”
View slide show:
Austin Gros’ wedding images feel like lifestyle photography: warm and inviting and with everyone seeming casual and comfortable, as if they were hanging out in nice clothes and suddenly decided to have a ceremony. “It sounds silly, but I think initially, one of my main differentiating points was that my photos looked natural,” he says. “A lot of work that I saw—and still see—is way too processed. Clients would come to me and say, ‘I like that your stuff doesn’t look like it went through a computer.’”
And then there is his attention to getting detail shots: Gros documents not just the obvious basics like the bouquet, the shoes and the ring but also notable bits and pieces like a beautifully textured wall at the venue or, in one whimsical case, the crazy-colored socks worn by the groomsmen. “Those shots help put the wedding into context,” he explains, “and allow for someone looking at the wedding to feel as if they’ve been transported to that location and have a sense of the atmosphere surrounding the wedding.”
Gros is unusual in that he shoots only film and, whenever possible, with natural light, breaking out his flash only for the requisite reception-party pictures. And while some photographers—and clients—might frown on soft focus and overexposed areas, Gros embraces these so-called flaws. “I always shoot with my camera on the lowest aperture (2.0 or 1.2, depending on the camera) to get the soft, shallow depth of field feel,” he says. “An image doesn’t have to be sharp for it to be beautiful. Some of my favorite photos are blurry and out of focus—sometimes those make a bigger impact.”
Go back to the list of PDN's 20 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography
