MEET THE EXPERTS

Many of Los Angeles’ most prominent couples scramble to book fine-art photographer Lara Porzak, who limits herself to eight to 15 weddings a year. “It’s something I do so I can stay fresh,” she says. Porzak’s art prints have found their way onto the small screen, in the opening credits for “Felicity” and on HBO’s “Six Feet Under” (the character Claire’s photos were actually Porzak’s work). Shooting weddings solely on film (“Don’t even think of saying the ‘D’ word”), Porzak works mostly in black and white, and prints by hand on fiber paper. Her photojournalistic style combines with the romantic influences of European photographers from the 1930s and ‘40s to give her work a timeless quality with a strong sense of narrative, something she may have picked up from her mother, award-winning novelist Marianne Wiggins. Shooting more than 130 rolls of film per wedding, Porzak says she tries to find the day’s hidden moments as seen by the bride and groom. “I try to not witness the event, but experience the event, and not just archive it, but try to see it through their eyes,” she says. “There is so much drama going on at a wedding. If you can be at the right place at the right time, you can get the shot.” www.laraporzak.com

--Wayne Niemi