Wedding photography is an evolving field that requires artistic talent, vision, and technical expertise.
In the past, wedding photography was almost always limited to rigid poses with little regard for the underlying story, emotion, romance, and behind-the-scenes events of the wedding day.
Although there is still a large segment of the wedding industry that practices traditional photography with its planned poses and re-enactment of the main events of the wedding such as the kiss, the exchange of rings, etc., the modern wedding couple demands a more contemporary approach to your wedding day.
Wedding photojournalism has been all the rage for the past decade. The core idea behind this has been to capture the events of the wedding without any interference or direction from the wedding photographer. The photographer is there to capture the true essence of the wedding day. As a result of this realistic approach, the photographs are a true representation of the wedding day. Hard core wedding journalism will be dead set against raising any event related to the wedding. If it doesn’t happen during the wedding, it won’t be recorded. This includes photos of family groups.
Several photographers offer a hybrid approach to wedding photography, usually a combination of traditional and journalistic wedding photography. In this approach, the photographer focuses on documenting the wedding day, but coverage also includes a session with the couple for formal posed or semi-posed photos as well as family group photos.
The latest trend in wedding photography is towards a more modern approach. Drawing inspiration from high-end fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, GQ, American Photo, etc., and wedding magazines, the photographer seeks to bring the couple’s fantasies to life.
In the fashion wedding photography approach, the goal is to make the bride and groom look their best. Their romantic interaction is heightened to its fullest. The everyday couple turns into a celebrity wedding. Attention to detail is required to achieve the perfect look. This approach requires a great deal of artistic talent behind the camera and also a great deal of computer image editing skill to produce a unique photo. Half of the photo is taken in-camera and the second half is achieved through digital image editing and manipulation.
Which style is better is for you to decide. In our experience, a large segment of couples getting married want to capture the reality, details, and romance of their wedding day, but at the same time have fantasies about their wedding and what it should look like.
When making a decision for a wedding photographer, take a close look at the photographer’s portfolio and see how it aligns with your philosophy on how your wedding day should be photographed. Regardless of your philosophy, be sure to select a master of the trade, you and the next generation deserve masterpiece memories from your wedding day.