A Guide to Wedding Photography: Approaches and Methods
The necessity to identify a wedding photography style is indicative of how far the business has come in the previous 20 years, since wedding photography has expanded significantly from the days of film into a fair several sub-niches.
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Wedding photography was formerly a standardized profession. Everybody was familiar with the procedure. It consisted of a first dance, cake cutting, and a few staged family photos. I’m very certain that my parents’ wedding day photos number no more than twelve.
Wedding photography sub-niches frequently draw inspiration from one another to develop into something new, as is the case with most stylistic shifts. For instance, documentary wedding photography is becoming more and more popular, but it still features staged group shots. Traditional wedding photography has also developed to incorporate more candid shots.
Selecting the ideal wedding photography style can be difficult, particularly if you don’t know much about photography.
That being said, it’s possible that you haven’t seen it yet or are unaware of its existence rather than that you don’t know what you enjoy.
Don’t worry, though; this piece will discuss the many wedding photography styles—from modern and artistic to conventional and classic—and assist you in selecting the look that most closely matches your tastes and personality.
What kinds of wedding photography are there?
These five, in my opinion, are the most distinctive types of wedding photography:
Conventional Wedding Images
Posing and formal photographs of the couple, their relatives, and the wedding party are the main emphasis of traditional wedding photography. To capture classic moments like the first dance, cake cutting, and kiss, the photographer will guide the party into precise stances and positions. Rather of attempting to narrate a tale or evoke a feeling, the aim is to document historical occurrences.
Wedding Reportage Photography
Reportage/photojournalistic wedding photography effortlessly and naturally captures unscripted and unplanned events. Observing and recording the day’s events as they happen, the photographer takes on the role of a fly on the wall. Usually in black and white, the pictures highlight the emotional meaning of the subject.
Artistic Wedding Photographers
The theory of fine art wedding photography is the same as that of fine art in general, emphasizing aesthetic beauty over utilitarian or functional goals. This type of photography usually results in very staged, posed, yet unabashedly gorgeous photos.
Beautiful light and beauty are valued in fine art wedding photography, which demands a great deal of talent and lighting expertise to produce properly. The couple and the day’s specifics are the main subjects of the photos, which are edited to maximize beauty.
Wedding Editorial Photography
The goal of fashion/editorial wedding photography is to portray a brand’s narrative via well planned shots. The pictures are extremely staged, with photographs of the couple’s jewelry, accessories, and clothes all chosen to go together in a certain way. The pictures are frequently avant-garde and may include elaborate lighting designs, dramatic clothing swooshing, and exaggerated postures.
Wedding Lifestyle Photography
With a focus on beauty and aspirational style photos, lifestyle wedding photography uses a documentary-type technique to capture genuine and unplanned moments. The photographer creates a scene and gives the couple a scenario to act out inside it, resulting in intimate but frequently highly staged photos. The photographer will select the location for the scene with the goal of producing stunning photos that have an authentic and unplanned vibe.
It is important to remember that many styles might overlap, making it challenging to give each one a strict description. To gauge whether a designer’s work is right for you, you should look at individual portfolios; nevertheless, you should always ask to see the entire collection. This stage is crucial since portfolios are deceptive because it’s easy to take one or two good wedding photos. You must understand that you will not receive two excellent photos followed by hundreds of bad ones.
Don’t be scared to request to see a whole collection or a wedding that matches your preferred venue or time of year for your nuptials. This will provide you with a clear image of how your potential photographer responds to possibly challenging lighting conditions.
The significance of selecting a wedding photography aesthetic
Understanding the various wedding photography styles can help you discover a photographer that really suits the theme and style of your wedding, and will allow you to do much more comprehensive research. You will be spending the whole day with your wedding photographer, therefore it’s critical that you get along with them. You can focus your search and find the individuals you truly want to work with by knowing what to look for on Google.
Aspects to Take Into Account While Selecting a Wedding Photography Style
While wedding photography comes in a wide variety of forms, not all of them are exclusive, and photographers often combine aspects of many forms into their work. I market myself as a documentary photographer who records genuine moments of everyday life.
Prospective customers will still inquire whether I can shoot group photos of their friends and family, though.
Even though my website might not include group photos, I still take them.
Although it doesn’t make me a conventional wedding photographer, it does indicate that I am attending to my clients’ demands. Formal group photos also have their place; they are incredibly underappreciated in my view and have a timeless appeal. Twenty years from now, it’s difficult to think of a snapshot that will still have worth, but with time, the group shots truly stand out.
Watch out for staged photos
Be extremely picky when selecting a wedding photographer, especially if you choose editorial, fine art, or fashion photography. This is due to the fact that some photographers include images from staged photo shoots—which are very different from actual wedding photos—in their portfolios.
Viewing a whole, authentic wedding day collection is essential to make sure you know what to anticipate.
It’s crucial to remember that staged photo shoots don’t really depict a wedding day, and photographers that use these photos in their portfolios are misleading clients. Because couples spend a lot of money on their special day and their preferences and ambitions should be respected, this is especially harmful to the wedding business.
It is predatory to mislead someone in a state of heightened emotion over a product, and it feeds the myth that wedding vendors overcharge and are simply interested in making money.