Wedding Photography Styles- Unforgettable Images
Wedding Photography Styles
Choosing your wedding photographer is a big decision, almost as important as picking out your dress! To ensure you end up with photos that truly capture your vision, it’s crucial to identify your preferred wedding photography styles before you even start contacting photographers. Browse through your saved pins and posts on social media – those “liked” and “saved” images will reveal your unique style preferences. Do you gravitate towards light and airy photos, dramatic and moody shots, or timeless classics (<—We fall into this last area. wink wink)? Many photographers blend different styles, so don’t be afraid to explore various aesthetics. Creating mood boards on Pinterest can also help you refine your vision. Once you have a good grasp of your ideal style, finding the perfect photographer to capture your special day will be a breeze!
Let’s dive a little deeper now:
Classic Wedding Photography Styles
Classic or Traditional Wedding Photography styles tend to be defined as the more guided or posed portraits that you usually end up wanting to hang on your living room wall and that your parents will want copies of. These images are classics for a reason, they stand the test of time by allowing you to relive the romance of your wedding day with stunning images.
While, we fall more into the Classic or Traditional Wedding Photography Styles we don’t quite fit. Our team works hard to put creative twists on all the images we capture for our couples by looking for unique angles and creative elements we can include. This may mean incorporating your sentimental pieces or using lighting to create some unique art for your wall. We call this type of style “Intentional”. All those little details you worked so hard on to help write your wedding story are captured in this Wedding Photography Style.
Photojournalistic Wedding Photography Styles
Candid and documentary-style photographs make for some of the most heartfelt and memorable images, which is why many photographers have adopted this wedding photography style. These photographers treat the wedding day almost like a feature or news story. They let the moments unfold naturally, then snap away, recording the magic as it happens.
Silver & Sage Studios uses this wedding photography style intermittently throughout the day, comparing this to being a fly on the wall. At the beginning of the day, we might be more classic and natural with a light direction; I’m helping the couple because they’re nervous and we want them to feel comfortable. As soon as the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception hit, we are just capturing things as they unfold.
What you end up with is this perfect blend of what your wedding day really was. The details, planning and stunning images you crave are mixed with those authentic moments as you actually lived them.
Editorial Wedding Photography Styles
On the opposite end of the spectrum, editorial wedding photography styles images are much more posed, almost like a fashion magazine. This style is rarer in the wedding photography industry. Many photographers have perfected this style. They’ve grown their businesses by specializing in it.
In most cases, the couple goes into wedding planning knowing they want this but have a different expectation for their wedding photography styles. They want it to be like a photoshoot with a high-end, luxury feel.
Wondering what a luxury wedding photographer costs? How Much of your Wedding Budget to Spend on Wedding Photography?
Dark & Moody Wedding Photography Styles
If you’re looking to capture your big day in a new, unique way, the “dark and moody” wedding photography styles might just be what you’re looking for. This new trend is taking the wedding industry by storm, bringing with it an air of mystery and glamour that is sure to make your special day even more unforgettable.
The dark and moody approach utilizes shadows, contrasts and silhouettes to create stunningly bold images that stand out from traditional wedding photographs. By embracing darkness instead of avoiding it, this photography style can give your photos a dramatic look that captures the emotion of the moment like never before.
This new trend has been embraced by some of the top photographers in the industry who specialize in creating dreamy photographs full of depth and beauty.
Aerial Wedding Photography Styles
You probably wouldn’t want your entire wedding day captured through aerial photography, but drone photographs are a great add-on that more and more photographers now offer. Aerial photography works well for photo sessions, ceremony exits, and, if it’s outside, a reception.
Make sure to ask your photographer if they offer drone wedding photography style before signing the contract. Some offer it as an add-on because they have to hire a separate photographer. Others won’t offer it at all.
Fine Art Wedding Photography Style
Fine-art wedding photography styles are most commonly associated with film photography, but it’s become more of a hybrid these days—particularly as it grows in popularity. This style is known for being light, bright, and airy.
“It’s a softer, delicate, and cleaner look than straight digital,” she says. “Fine art goes with the bright and airy style, which is what’s typically achieved when shooting on film. Film photography, while it may be bright and airy, can also add grain or noise native to the film. Photographers either shoot film or are film inspired because they want to achieve that look.”
Black & White Photography Styles
Black and white wedding photography is an amazing option! This timeless style has been around for centuries, and it’s perfect if you are looking to capture the moments of your special day in a classic way.
Black and white wedding photography captures the beauty of the moment without being distracted by colors. The absence of color allows subjects to appear bolder, creating a more striking image with more contrast between light and dark areas. Black and white photos also have a romantic feel that makes them perfect for weddings. They can help tell your love story in an elegant way, allowing guests to look back on your special day through these timeless photos.
Here’s a little secret for you about us: we LOVE LOVE LOVE Black & White Wedding Images so when we deliver your gallery…you get BOTH!!! Those gorgeous true to life vibrant wedding day colors AND all the emotion of black and white belong to you!
I really hope this article helped you sort out a little bit more about wedding photography styles and what you’ll be coming across. And I think it’s important to note that there are a few trends out there right now as well. You’ve got the “Brown” photographers who edit everything to look more brown or orange. It’s a trend I see a lot. You’ve got the ‘blurry’ trend with photographers who will focus on something besides you or purposely create motion blur in your images so you’re not sharp and in focus. It’s a trend I’m not really on board with.
Next you’ve got the trend of adding grain to the images during editing to make it look like film. I see a lot of documentary style photographers doing this. And in the same category of documentary style are the photographers who will not give you any direction at all on your wedding day and take only candid images. It’s really up to you to decide what you want.
If what you want is Classic, Timeless Images that are true to life and capture your love story as it happened….we can’t wait to talk. Fill that form out below:
