The art of elopement photography has grown immensely in popularity. But has anyone ever taken a look at why? I am sure they have, however, I could not find anything to indicate that as the case. So I have set out to do just that and hopefully explain why that has occurred. In today’s article, I will search through the history of photography, its evolution and conjunction with elopements, and our societal reception of elopements as it stands today. Without further ado, let’s begin with a look at the history of elopements.
History
As we previously discussed in the article “How Wedding Photography Transcended Time”, I briefly relayed the history of wedding photography. Elopement photography began as an offshoot of wedding photography, so I believe it is important to cover the topic in a similar fashion. I’ll cover the history once again simply to convey how far we have come as a society with our technology. The history behind photography reportedly begins between 1826-1827, with the creation of the photographic art form by way of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, according to Wilfred Baatz’s Photography: An Illustrated Historical Overview (1997). As time continued, by the 1840s, the art form had become less exclusive, but centered around people of high status, such as Queen Victoria. Throughout the following century, the art form became less exclusive, even commonplace.
At the dawn of the 20th Century, the technology for color photography was developed, however, it was deemed unreliable. This is why we continued utilizing black and white imaging as the benchmark until around 1950. However, the technology to implement color into photography existed before this time frame; due to both World War I and World War II, the technology’s premiere was delayed by nearly half a century. We should also discuss the drastic change of the word elopement. The term “elope” actually was associated with what many people would refer to as forbidden love. Elopements are known as a sudden and occasionally secretive union that may even involve a trip to another locale without parental permission. The original meaning of the word elope simply implies “flight” or “escape”, which is why elopements today typically infer travel either nationally or internationally.
Evolution
The years continued on and the perception around elopements slowly began to shift into something else. With that shift, the term elopement became regarded more as a celebration rather than a derogatory term. As elopement became less derogatory, photography continued to evolve with the times. Photos became clearer, editing became streamlined, and everything became far more accessible. At some point or another, the two began to intersect and even formed into a business model. Although it was a niche market to begin, that market has evolved into a booming and vibrant market. Gone are the days of guising an elopement under “bride kidnapping” or presenting the situation as fait accompli - which means to inform someone after the event has already occurred - to the parents involved. This brings us to the modern day.
Modern Day
In the modern day, elopements are growing in popularity and only continue to trend upwards. To put it bluntly, following the pandemic, elopements have become increasingly popular, which produced smaller gatherings and a few couples who didn’t want to wait any longer. In addition, elopements grew in popularity due to the combination of the private and cost effective nature of the celebration. The secrecy of elopements has declined exponentially, with parents and close friends and family even being involved in the event. Elopements have changed dramatically in the last hundred years and all for the better.
The history of elopement photography may not be as riveting as its parent’s history, however, the amount of development the practice has undergone is immense. We have progressed a great deal in only a short amount of time, with the meaning of elopement changing so dramatically that it is finally recognized and celebrated as much as a traditional wedding. I hope that in this article you may have learned something new and that I have added something to your day.
Warmest regards,
Logan Clark