Whats unique on wedding photography is that the pictures should tell the story of the wedding day. Are posed pictures important? Certainly. They provide a historical element that I believe is important to most people. But do you have to spend most of your wedding day in stiff, awkward poses that go on for hours? No. Let’s face it, it some formals posed pictures are important (Mom’s love them, and so does Grandma) but if you feel that the images that will mean the most to you are the ones that capture people’s true expressions….their true smiles….my photography may be just what you are looking for. This type of photography is often called photojournalistic, or documentary wedding photography.
Because of the way I work, I’m best suited for weddings where the couple:
- Wants all day coverage of the entire wedding
- Appreciates photojournalistic style photography where the posed shots are limited to the 30-45 minutes or so of formal family and bridal party pictures
- Wants to simply enjoy their wedding day without being artificially posed and prompted by a wedding photographer
- Doesn’t want any goofy or cheesy poses
- Wants to have their negatives and/or original digital files
- Wants a large number of images taken
- Wants a private website to share the pictures with family and friends
- Wants a calm photographer who makes the day enjoyable!
There are commonly two schools of thought on wedding photography, Traditional and Photojournalistic. Traditional is most well known, and probably everyone has seen a wedding album that goes like this: Bride and Groom at the altar, Bride alone at the altar, Groom alone at the altar, family pictures at the altar, and so on. Deliberate poses, chosen to show off the Bride’s beautiful gown and how elegant everyone looked for the special day. Do I do this type of photography? Yes, to some extent, but that is not the main focus of my photography. Does this sound familiar? You love the edgy, stylish look of black and white, you love the pictures of people having a blast and laughing, of little girls dancing, and you can imagine in your mind who that would be at your wedding. That is the main focus of photojournalistic photography, telling the story of the day through your pictures.
Being photojournalistic does not mean just using black and white film. Black and white is a tool often used by photojournalistic-style photographers, but so is color! A good photojournalist will know when each media is appropriate to use depending on the lighting conditions and other factors.
I work with my clients to keep formal pictures to between 30-45 minutes. This is the only part of the day I take the lead and “script” the day and the posing. The rest of the day I strive to be as unobtrusive as possible to capture the true spirit of the wedding day. The wonderful photojournalistic photographer Joe Bussink has a great saying for this: “As a photojournalist, you must be everywhere and nowhere”.
Each type of wedding photography, traditional and photojournalistic has its own place. You cannot be a good photojournalistic photographer if you have not learned some of the basics of traditional photography such as lighting, posing, and dealing with the occasional difficult relative! I’d be happy to speak with you more about the different styles and answer any questions you may have.