When searching for vendors, one crucial decision to make is determining your preferred photography style. Yes, before you start looking for photographers, define the style of photography you like. This will make your search easier and you will be able to get the pictures you are imagining. Photography has a wide range of shooting and editing styles, so make sure you define what you like and what you are expecting to get.
How do you know what style do you like? Look at your Social Media and see what type of images you save and like. Do you have Pinterest Boards? Analyze the photos. Are there more posed photographs? Candids? Magazine style? Do you like photos in black and white? Just color? Dark and moody?
Basically, we can divide wedding photography shooting styles in 2 groups:
- Fine Art
- Photojournalistic
- Fine Art: the photographs are more “controlled”, the photographer will try to perfect the scene to make it look in the best possible way. Here you find:
a. Traditional/Classic style. Photos have a timeless look. Straightforward images. They focus on the highlights of the wedding: the ceremony, the entrance, the portraits, the cake cutting, etc. It is a controlled environment, focus on “must have” photos. Photos are planned. It is ideal for couples that have a list of shots they want captured in a traditional way. The photos are classy and simple and mostly posed/planned shots where the photographer directs and poses.
b. Editorial: This style has a trendy look, similar to what you see in magazines. It can be very dramatic and intriguing due to lighting, posing and props. The images are unique and very “artistic”. Photos tend to have a “wow” effect specially because they are one of a kind look.
2. Photojournalistic/Documentary: this style of photography looks for moments and capture the raw emotions and feelings of the day. Tears, smiles, hugs, emotional reactions. This is ideal for couples that don’t want photos to look staged and instead want to enjoy their day and capture images just as the day unfolds. They don’t want to be distracted or “pressured” by the photographer” It is spontaneous, candid moments. The love, the fun, the sad, the crazy, everything is captured. Compared to the traditional style, photojournalistic captures the highlights but also all the other moments in between. The images are heartfelt, strong and memorable. Photos taken with this approach let you remember your day as it felt and not only how it looked (like in the Fine Art style). There is no posing through the day, except for family portraits if requested. The focus is on getting unique emotional photos from real people’s interactions.
Both of these styles, Fine Art and Photojournalistic, can have some add ons:
- Aerial Photography: images taken from a drone.
- Lanscape Photography: it shows where are you and how… nos just who. It is about the relationship between the couple and the environment and surroundings.
Depending on the shooting style you choose, the interaction and the experience you will have with your photographer during the wedding, will be different. If you choose a fine art photographer, it will be a slower pace and will have more interruptions to perfect the image. With the documentary approach, you’ll be basically free to enjoy your day. You have to think, what do you want to see in your photos? How much time do you want to spend taking photos? How do you want to remember your day, how it looked? Or how it felt? Do you want beautiful and perfect portraits? Or real, authentic and imperfect ones? Answer those questions and you will find the style you like.
Many photographers mix different shooting styles. A photojournalistic photographer will take some traditional portraits at some point… or a traditional photographer might take some “candids”… You can know what is their predominant style by seeing what do they capture the most. What does the photographer focus more on? What is their driving force? What do they post the most on their Social Media? Look at their portfolio in their website.
Besides the shooting style, you also have to differentiate the editing style. What is that? The way the image is processed to have a certain “look”. Some editing styles:
- Dark and moody style: strong shadows, harsh lines that create unusual and creative patterns or lighting.
- Light and airy style: pastels, soft colors, blown skies.
- Bohemian style: brownish/yellowish gives kind of a vintage look.
- Bright style: vibrant colors with strong blacks.
- Black and white: it removes distractions of color and helps to focus on other aspects of the image, such as emotions.
And the question is. Now that you know what shooting and editing styles you like, how do you find the best photographer for you? Ask your wedding planner for recommendations, ask the venue, ask for referrals, ask your friends, visit bridal shows. To find the right fit for you is not an easy task. Don’t base your decision in how many followers has the photographer on Instagram. Or who is the trendy option, or the cheap one. Or who did your friends hired. Choose someone that you really “click” with. Choose the photographer that you love his/her style. Your wedding photographs will be the only thing left from your wedding day, so choose wisely.
Eyeblink Photo is a documentary wedding photography company based in Orange County, California that serves the United States and Mexico. We mainly focus in a documentary style, however we use also the traditional style when we do family portraits. Our editing style is bright (vibrant colors with strong blacks) and we also use a lot of black and white. If you think we are a good fit, please get in touch!