When it comes to hiring a photographer for your wedding day, you should look for talented photographers that can bring artistic vision to your pictures & who have a high technical expertise.
Traditional wedding photos showed contrived poses, with each of the protagonists looking stiff & unnatural in the setting. A good photographer should be able to take pictures which will tell a story, show the emotion of the day, show the love between the bride & groom & capture the story behind the scenes of the day.
Much of the wedding photography industry will still produce photos along the traditional lines – pictures of the ring, bouquet, wedding group & one of the cake. But modern couple’s are looking for a more contemporary approach & want their pictures to be unique & show an element of their personalities.
Photo-journalism is becoming a popular trend for weddings. The idea is centered around photographs captured without any direction from the photographer or interference from any other party. These kind of pictures capture events throughout the day, as they happen. These pictures are more realistic than the posed shots of the past & give the bride & groom a wedding album unlike any other. The advantage with this style of photography (or disadvantage depending on your view) is that if it doesn’t happen during the day, then no photographs will exist for it. This will include all those posed family groups, wedding party shots, cutting the cake etc.
Many wedding photographers these days are wising up to the wishes & want of modern couples & will offer a hybrid package which will include both traditional posed pictures & photojournalism style shots. This approach will not only document the day with a sense of realism, but will also make sure nothing is missed out, such as posed shots of the happy couple & the wedding party.
Another trend taking hold in weddings is the fashion photograph style. Inspired by high end magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Cosmo etc, the wedding photograph is charged with making the couple’s dreams come true & produce shots which show the couple at their best & in a glamorous light. These pictures will be a romantic parody of the couple & ones which will make them look like celebrities. For these pictures to truly work, the photographer needs great attention to detail & artistic talent. Although the picture is taken with a camera, it is the computer editing & manipulation that follows that will make the finished photograph a unique work of art.
The choice of style for your wedding photographs will be a personal choice between yourselves. But it seems a growing trend for couples to want photographs with a sense of realism & which capture all the details of the day in a way which is natural & not directed. Others have a fantasy about how they want their photographs to look & choose a style which oozes glamour & style.
As with many of your vendors, ask to see examples of their work first, to discover if their style of photographer fits with your vision for your wedding photos. No matter what your choice of style though, do make sure that your choice of photographer is the best you can afford & who is experienced & is a master of art with a camera. Your wedding moments will only happen once, so make sure your photographer doesn’t miss them!
