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Modern. Traditional. Photojournalism. Vintage. Contemporary. Classic. Romantic. Simple. Bold. Fashion. Elegant. Whimsical. Candid. Posed. Photography. It’s just photography!
We as wedding photographers are notorious for making it as confusing as possible for brides and grooms. Just in little Rhode Island you can find a thousand different self-proclaimed styles of photography. The ones listed above are just a small subset of what’s out there in wedding photographer advertisements and websites.
I am not standing high and mighty on my soap box as if I don’t do it myself. We’ve started stamping “Simple. Romantic. Modern.” on a lot of our promotional material. What does it mean? Is it just a bunch of buzz words? Well, kind of, but kind of not.
It Doesn’t Fit Into a Genre
How many times has someone asked you who your favorite band is and then follow up with “what kind of music do they play?”, and you stand there and go “umm, well, it’s kind of like rock with a little bit of jazz and funk but sometimes they have a rap feel to some stuff – it’s kind of their own style”. Well, this is the wedding photography version of that.
The Big Three
Traditional Wedding Photography
This is most likely what your mom and dad had for their wedding photography. Most all of the images from the day are posed. Very few, if any, candid images are taken. Everything is staged and deliberate. Table to table photos while your guests are chewing their food? Check. Though some people still prefer this, it is the least popular right now of the three.
This is the type of shot you would never get with a pure photojournalist.
Photojournalism Wedding Photography
Lately this is the magic buzz word in the wedding photography industry, what everyone thinks they want, and definitely the most misunderstood style of them all. Many claim to be photojournalists but in reality are not. A true photojournalist wedding photographer creates no poses, stages no photos, and simply photographs everything as it naturally is. This can lend itself to capturing some great genuine emotion, but will also force you to miss out on other really awesome potential images. Want a photo of you and your mom? Better make sure you happen to be standing near each other when the photographer looks your way. Want family photos? Not going to happen, at least not in the way most people think of them.
A purely candid photograph, a moment captured as it unfolds.
Hybrid Wedding Photography
A hybrid style is really what most people are saying they want when they say photojournalist. A lot of wedding photographers fall into this category (Blueflash included). This is a wedding photographer that is capable of seeing real moments and capturing them, but also willing and able to set up photos when the opportunity arises. With wedding days being so diverse, both styles are (in my opinion) necessary to make the most of it. During the getting ready time with the bride and her bridesmaids, a photojournalistic approach works well. Same goes for the ceremony and the reception. It’s the window between the ceremony and the reception that requires some use of the other style. Family portraits and bridal party photos usually lend themselves to some pose direction, even if it’s loose. The biggest variation will be in how much photojournalism there is compared to how much posed imagery. Find a photographer with a mix that you feel comfortable with.
Although it looks candid, I had to tell the bride and groom to “go walk across over there and hold hands”. It’s a bit of a mix between completely posed and completely candid.
What About All the Other Words?
There’s still all the other descriptive words to deal with when wading through wedding photographers. My advice is to ignore them. Are you hiring your photographer because he/she is a word smith? No, so don’t focus on their words. Look at their images. Do you like what you see? If yes, then you like their style, even if they’re calling it “uber neat wedding photos”. Look at their portfolio, look at a real wedding or two, and trust your gut. The rest is just noise.
Series information
Next we’ll be talking about gauging the credibility of your prospective wedding photographer.
If you missed the intro to this series, you can catch it right here – How To Choose Your Rhode Island Wedding Photographer Series Introduction.
