I’m sometimes approached by worried brides who’ve started to dip a toe into the world of wedding photography – only to become overwhelmed by the confusing terms, styles, genres and options. Things have come a long way in photography and wedding photography has progressed dramatically – however sometimes there appears to be too much choice.
I can only sympathize with the prospective client as it’s all too easy to be confused by the terminology or perhaps to be influenced by current trends to such an extent that you choose a style that doesn’t suit you. Of course, the acid test is always to view plenty of a photographer’s work and ask yourself can I see myself in those images? Nonetheless, couples can be hurried into choosing the in-demand photographer and may make the wrong choice. Remember, your wedding album should be a family heirloom; it should illustrate your taste and it should stand the test of time (and this means in terms of both the style of the photography and the quality of the printed book).
If you’ve just embarked upon a new hobby of collecting wedding magazines (and some of the advice and information is excellent) you may have come across such terms as Traditional, Reportage and Contemporary. Delve a little deeper and you may have come across Storybook, Artistic and Candid. Well what on earth do they mean and what is right for you?
Well, panic over, I’ve written this article to describe what these terms mean and the styles represent. Hopefully by the time you’ve read this you’ll have a better idea of what’s best for you. Or what isn’t!
Some of the modern photographic styles have evolved through the influence of TV, advertising, magazines, fashion and, of course, the technical capabilities of equipment. As a result some of the styles could almost be described as “trends”. Well trends come and go so what is going to be timeless and what is going to be the next generation’s ‘couple in the wine glass’?
Traditional wedding photography
Traditional. Traditional Wedding Photography aims to record the significant people of the day in a relatively formal way. Shots will be largely staged and directed and as a result may well be beautifully exposed and recorded but clearly will be lacking in spontaneity. This gives the images a sense of formality which still has it’s place in some weddings. This is a style rooted in the days of film photography when the cost of film meant taking the requisite time and care to record perfect images.
If you have seen the official photographs from the Royal Wedding by Hugo Burnand you can think of these as traditional images. Nowadays some of the shots taken at the wedding may show a degree of formality even though the overall set is not.
Reportage/Photojournalism. As a term Reportage has become very fashionable and you will see many photographers advertising this type of photography. It refers to the technique of using observation to capture natural, unposed, candid images. It could be seen as the antithesis of Traditional photography and may be favoured by those who dislike being photographed and desire the ‘honesty’ of the images produced by this technique.
Reportage wedding photography
In practice, however, it is very difficult to do well. True photojournalism is about storytelling through images and, when skillfully executed, the resulting images can be very powerful and expressive. It is very difficult to do this consistently at a wedding and correspondingly some of the images can tend to appear busy, cluttered, unstructured or perhaps just uninspiring.
Contemporary. It is difficult to arise at a definition for Contemporary Photography but essentially it’s a fairly recent development created by taking the best features of a number of different styles. It attempts to blend the style of fashion photography with the storytelling of photojournalism and will embrace the naturalness of reportage. Such a mix allows for plenty of specialism according to the photographer’s own skills and taste.
Contemporary Wedding Photography
The resulting images should be stylish and beautiful but with plenty of emotion visible too. Clearly such a mix of techniques allows for huge variation in the results so you must pay close attention to a volume of your photographer’s work to decide if it is for you. One photographer’s style may be overbearing for you and another’s just might not “hit the spot”. Look at at complete wedding from your photographer and you’ll get a good feel for their style.
Storybook. For me this is not really a style of photography per se but a way of collecting all of the images into a set that captures the people, details, emotion, story and essence of the day. Of course to produce such a collection the photographer will need to set out with the intention of capturing all of these images. When the story told by these images is laid out in a beautiful album it makes for a truly inspiring record of the day.
Storybook album layout
Fashion. Can you actually have a fashion wedding? Isn’t fashion all about photographing clothes and objects? Don’t you need a styling team? A director? A team?!! Well what I mean is that it’s possible to push into the fashion end of contemporary photography and produce a collection of images that pay homage to true fashion photography.
Fashion Wedding Photography
Stylized images with the intention of flattering the main subject. Of course it’s possible and the collection will be stylish, eye-catching and dramatic with an editorial feel. Not necessarily very natural but, in my opinion, an unusual and beautiful collection for the right couple. An appropriate wedding book is essential but the combination of these images and an appropriate high end album makes a wedding book that is a work of art. And talking of art…
Art. OK now we’re getting silly aren’t we? Well no, it is entirely possible to produce an art wedding album.
Artistic Wedding Photography
In practice this would be a collection of very stylized images making use of abstract backgrounds and locations as well as dramatic lighting. The album will be minimalist in layout but striking in presentation. I’d present the images in a Queensberry Musee album which would produce a stunning end result.
But now I want it all – can’t I have it? Well the good news is that, yes, you can! I believe that a wedding photographer should be adaptable and have the skills to apply a variety of these techniques at different times. The various “sections” of a wedding can be very different in mood – from solemnity to to emotional to outrageous fun! It seems to me that a photographer should adapt to the mood and shoot accordingly. The ceremony may be reportage – photographer (hopefully) being discrete capturing the emotion unobtrusively from afar. In the same way the hugs and kisses afterwards will be reportage. The signing of the register? Semi formal. The group shots? From formal to chaotic! When the photographer has time with just the bride and groom his or her own personal style will really come to the fore. For me, these are the most important images. These are the ones your children will love to look at and I think they should beautifully lit and composed but should also show the emotion between two people. You might think that shooting the wedding in this way results in a “hotch potch” of different images but in fact the photographers style will shine through in all of these images and give them the continuity required to tell the story of the day.
I’ve heard it said from some observers that a well photographed wedding can look like an editorial shoot from a magazine. And it’s true – beautiful contemporary photography should be stylish, elegant, artistic and emotional. Add in the fact that it’s you and your partner in there and what could possibly be better than that?
Couples getting married have never had it so good in terms of photography. Hopefully this article has explained what’s possible and whetted your appetite for an outstanding photographic experience on your day.
