Know your prefered Photographic style

It is important to understand that when you hire a full time professional (category 3 or 4) wedding or portrait photographer, they will have a particular style of photography and way of working. When looking for a photographer you should consider what style you would like your wedding day to be recorded in and seek only those photographers who offer it. Do not be surprised if, when setting up a meeting with a perspective photojournalistic photographer, they decline to shoot your wedding as you have listed 40 posed group shots as an important feature of your wedding day.

You may hear photographers refer to their style as ‚Äúphotojournalistic‚Äù or ‚Äù traditional.‚Äù Here’s a little glossary to help you understand what these terms mean.

Traditional or Formal (Posed) Wedding Photography

Traditional photography arranges key players, such as the bride, groom, their parents and the bridal party into formal, staged poses. The end result is a traditional album brimming with classic shots of the subjects looking directly at the camera from ONLY all of the key moments of your day; you and your parents, the bridal party, you and your husband, hand over hand, cutting the cake, looking at watch outside church. Expect your day to be broken into a very specific timescale in which a reasonable amount of time will be taken to set each shot up.

Photojournalism/Reportage Wedding Photography

Photojournalism is a style of photography that uses artfully composed candid shots to tell your love story. A photojournalistic approach will capture your wedding in a similar way to a newspaper photojournalist. You can expect to see photos that are a bit angled, edgy, taken from different perspectives and there will be a lot of details — like the cake with a blurred group of people as a backdrop. Wedding guests will be unknowingly captured with a long telephoto lens and every emotion will be captured. The VAST majority of these images will be moments that have naturally happened, not directed or staged.

Your photographer catches these candid moments as he finds them, and often they turn out to be the most descriptive and emotional photos of the day. It is important to note that this is arguably the most difficult style of photography to master. Not only will the photographer have to position himself in order to achieve the shots he will be a master of human behaviour, working with light and making the most ordinary encounters look extraordinary.

Look for portfolios that the subjects are not looking directly at the camera is the key sign to this natural way of capturing images.

Artistic or creative Wedding Photography

Many photographers try to be as creative as possible ‚Äî especially with the romantic portraits. That means they’ll try things like laying the bouquet across the ground and photographing the couple dancing. They may try to use a fisheye lens to make the world look round, with the couple dancing as though they are above the earth. These images can be fun or emotional. Finding someone who will use at least some creative techniques is important because they can be the most interesting images in your wedding album ‚Äî something to dazzle people as they view your album.

Remember photography is subjective: No style is particularly better than another it’s all a matter of preference. Finding the right photography style for your wedding depends on one thing ‚Äî who you are. Most couples eventually decide on a combination ‚Äì – a combination of photojournalism and traditional photography should suit your fashionable tastes. But as artistic as you get, don’t forget to get at least a few portraits if not for yourself then for parents and grandparents. Classic shots never go out of style.

Know your prefered Photographic style: Article by PJA Photography