A Bride’s Guide to Great Wedding Photography – Part 1
Intro
When it comes to wedding photography, there are no second chances or do-overs…both the bride and the photographer need to be in sync to get it right the first time. Yes, the pressure to get it right might seem overwhelming and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This 4-part blog series will be your guide to great wedding photography, start to finish and stress free.
Each part will briefly cover one of 4 key areas:
- Choosing your wedding photographer.
- Communication.
- Punctuality.
- Albums and prints.
Part 1
Part 1, Choosing Your Wedding Photographer, is the most critical step in the process of ensuring great wedding photography. Your choice of photographers determines, right from the start, the level of service and quality of products you’ll ultimately receive.
Before a bride is able to choose her wedding photographer, she needs to understand a little about wedding photography styles. What do we mean when we talk about style? There are obviously many styles, as they reflect the individual, however most may roughly be categorized into three broad types:
- Traditional/Classic – This style of wedding photography is the style your parents and grandparents once knew, where family groups are posed and instructed to look straight into the camera. Although this style will not win any awards for originality, it does have its place in modern wedding photography because it simply records the day for your family history. As my Great Aunt once said to me after she saw one of my own wedding photos, “Grandmas want to see both of your ears!”
- Photojournalistic – Photojournalistic storytelling is at the very heart of modern wedding photography. By its very nature, this documentary style is more apt to capture the true emotions of your wedding so that you may relive them over and over again. Each photograph is unscripted and unposed and your photographer does his/her best to stay out of the way.
- Illustrative/Fashion – This style produces images that often have the look and feel of photographs you see in magazines. The scene and lighting are carefully planned by the photographer to create pictures with that ‘artsy’/edgy feel, however the subjects are encouraged to interact within the scene.
The best wedding photography, in my opinion, is a combination of all three styles. Too much of any single style may result in your feeling that something was missed the day of your wedding.
Brides today should understand that modern wedding photography is considered art, and as such, the wedding photographer is an artist. We all know art is subjective, so it is important that you choose a photographer whose style is a match to yours.
Style is only the first aspect of choosing a great photographer. Personality is also very important. You will spend a lot of time with your photographer the day of your wedding, some of which may be very intimate, so it is imperative that you like your photographer. You don’t have to be the best of buddies with them, but you should enjoy their company.
The best way to learn about your photographer is through an initial in-person meeting (if possible). This meeting will serve you well by providing you with an opportunity to ask questions, see more of their work, and request bridal references. Quality wedding photographers welcome these opportunities.
Review these considerations and remember to apply them when choosing your wedding photographer.
Come visit us again for the remaining parts of this series, “A Bride’s Guide to Great Wedding Photography”. Next up…Communication.
Comments are welcome!