Choosing your wedding photographer isn’t easy, there are so many them and each has their own preferred style. Are you looking for a traditional look? Maybe you’d prefer something straight out of Cosmopolitan Magazine? Or something completely different but you don’t know what yet? Not to worry, keep reading to learn about the most popular weeding photography styles around today.
Most popular wedding photography styles you should know.
1. Traditional/classic
Visualise wedding photography and traditional is the wedding photography style most people see. They photographs are usually formal, taken at eye level and are what you expect to see in a lot of wedding albums, but don’t let the term traditional or classic immediately put you off because it seems old fashioned, it has stood the test of time and it’s not uncommon for at least a few of your images to be shot this way.
2. Editorial
Very often mistaken for photojournalistic photography but with a few subtle differences, the main one being the photographer acting like the director while giving the couple freedom to relax and be themselves in front of the camera. Imagine editorial photography as the wedding photography style you see in Vogue or Vanity Fair, essentially consider it to be your own magazine photo shoot.
3. Photojournalistic
Also commonly referred to as documentary style photography it is, with good reason, the most popular style of wedding photography today. Candid photographs of you, your guests and officials, the images really immerse you in the event recording images in real time as the days events unfold. You are able to see pure emotion on peoples faces as opposed to the sometimes forced look which can be seen in traditional wedding photography poses.
Think of your photographer capturing the day from afar, having very little interaction with the people they are photographing, telling a story without interfering with the subjects or asking them to stand in a particular pose.
4. Dark & Moody
Photography literally mans painting with light and the dark and moody wedding photography style emphasises this, utilising light to create dramatic imagery. The photographer might use sunlight, lighting they have brought in themselves or artificial light that happens to be at the venue. It is a very cinematic wedding photography style that is often heavily edited to produce a greater dramatic feel.
5. Vintage
As the title suggests vintage photography is mimicking photography from the past and a vintage photographer may well use old cameras with film but equally a good photo editor can give the same look in the photo editing process. Maybe they will add a sepia look or graining but it is heavily reliant on the post production skills of the photographer and not everyone can achieve this. When looking for a photographer if vintage is the wedding photography style you are looking for maybe send the photographer an image you already have and ask them to edit it with a vintage look, if the results are good then you can have more confidence in their abilities during the editing process.
6. Aerial
As the titles suggests, aerial photography is photographs taken from an elevated position, from step ladders, staircases, balconies or, as is increasingly popular today, drones. If this is something you want to include in your photographs be certain to discuss it with the photographer beforehand as it does involve extra equipment which they may not carry as standard. It is not common to have an entire wedding shoot of aerial photography but agin discuss your exact requirements with your photographer in advance of the day.
7. Fine Art
Art is subjective and has different connotations for everyone, with that in mind fine art photography is not an exactly defined style. The photographer is choosing locations, composition and lighting, styling and posing subjects to create an artistic story of your day. Think of fine art photography as something that can be interchanged with editorial style wedding photography.
8. Black & White
It is rare not top receive your wedding photographs and not have at least a few black and white photos among the selection. Again black and white imagery is heavily reliant on editing as it is a colour image altered in post production and that can be done with the press of a button, however a good photo editor will take more time over the conversion paying attention to enhancing or reducing the black and white tones, adding burnt edges or subtle colour casts. Discuss your vision with the photographer and again see some examples.
9. Landscape
Quite literally a wedding photography style incorporating landscape photography. infrequently carried out at the church and not often at the venue landscape photography is treated more like a photo shoot on location so will usually require some location scouting before the main event. If your wedding is taking place at a scenic location then great, take advantage of the beautiful natural backdrop. Otherwise the photographer will lead you to more photogenic spots, as this can be time consuming and interrupt your proceedings it is an idea to consider these photographs being taken on a different day before or after the wedding day. However if you are strict about traditions and luck then the groom seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding is a definite no no.
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