Different wedding photographers have different styles of shooting, and photographers can even craft an identity around their unique styles. Many of these styles overlap with each other as there are no strict standards followed by wedding photographers. Also, the client can demand that you shoot their wedding photos in a specific style, or they may choose photographers whose style matches what they want. It is important to understand what is a wedding photography and what are the common wedding photography styles that you need to know:
1. Traditional Wedding Photography
If you notice the photos of your parent’s wedding album, it might probably have been shot in the traditional wedding photography style. In this style, photographers have to take full control of the occasion by making people pose and take their shots. Those shots would include group photos, shots of the cake, wine toasting, the first kiss of the couple, and so on. This way of photographing the ceremony has been prevalent for a long time. People opt for the classic wedding photography style to get all the main shots of everything that is going on.
2. Photojournalistic Wedding Photography
Along with the traditional style, couples are most attracted to the photojournalistic style as it resembles documentary and reportage shooting. Photographers have to be skilled to pull this off nicely. They need to be able to quickly change the settings of their camera and frame the moments perfectly. Wedding photojournalism also requires that the photographer blends in with the crowd and be able to capture candid moments easily. This style of photography will give the clients more natural-looking photographs, which will recreate the exact sequence of events.
3. Illustrative Wedding Photography
Illustrative wedding photography makes use of the environment, whether natural or artificial, to frame compelling and visually appealing photos. This style makes use of lighting and background. The couples are made to pose in a way that looks natural. The photographers use more wide-angle lenses and sometimes aerial photography to get that epic shot. In a way, it is also a blend of traditional and candid wedding photography.
4. Fine Art Wedding Photography
Photographers who focus more on Fine Art wedding photography look for artistic shots. Taking artistic shots involves framing the shots creatively, lighting, and post-production techniques. The photographer has to anticipate moments and use Fine Art photography techniques, which can include posing the subjects in a slightly different way. They can use objects like rings, bouquets, and outfits to create a composition that gives the images a more profound meaning and artistic look.
The limitation of this style is that it can reduce the number of photos a photographer can take. You can use this style with other photography methods like traditional and photojournalistic ones to get a broad range of photos. Photographers can also ask their second or third shooters to cover different styles of wedding photography while they focus on getting Fine Art wedding photos.
5. Fashion Wedding Photography
Fashion wedding photography poses, lighting setups, expressions, and trendy backgrounds, when used in the wedding context, give form to fashion wedding photography. This style is used primarily in bridal magazines or to portray bridal fashion. Couples are made to act as models in this style, which results in getting dramatic wedding shots. Photography is an art that requires the artist to master it with adequate precision, technique, and equipment.
6. Artistic Wedding Photography
Artistic wedding photography is distinguished by a special emphasis on creative details. Its main purpose is not only to capture important events. A professional photographer working in this genre seeks to create an image similar to a work of art. In order to achieve this effect, it is necessary to pay special attention to lighting and composition. In addition, such photos require careful and long preparation and image editing. The work definitely pays off, as such creative pictures will never go out of style.
7. Documentary Wedding Photography
This is one of the wedding photography styles based on capturing true emotions. Unlike many other genres, it does not involve posing. When working in this style, the photographer must become invisible to the guests and keep an eye out for all the important moments. This way, they can get incredibly lively and emotional photos.
It is necessary to have extensive experience and good skills, in order to work in this direction. A professional photographer should be able to focus on the most important things and capture the most touching moments very quickly. Also, a real expert should be able to change the camera settings fast to place the necessary accents properly.
8. Portrait Wedding Photography
The main purpose of this wedding photography style is to photograph portraits of people on their wedding day. This photography direction is characterized by a large number of beautiful images that demonstrate sincere emotions as well as an atmosphere of happiness and excitement. They can be staged or spontaneous. High-quality wedding portraits are usually the ones that couples admire the most.
9. Underwater Wedding Photography
This style cannot be called traditional wedding photography. Despite this, it has a large number of fans around the world. A lot of couples dream of taking unusual photos underwater. Such pictures are filled with mystical and romantic images created by the underwater world. The process of mastering this type of shooting is quite complicated. Besides, it requires special equipment. However, the results will be very original and really impressive.
10. Aerial Wedding Photography
If you want to follow all the latest photo trends and create unique weddings photography, you definitely need to master aerial photography style. It is worth noting that work in this genre requires special professional equipment. First, you need to have a good drone with an installed HD camera. You will be able to capture the beautiful landscapes from the bird’s-eye view. The composition is not a key element in this style, as any photo typically looks great from a high perspective. If the wedding ceremony takes place mainly indoors, you can also find a lot of good angles for aerial photography in such conditions.
11. Destination Wedding Photography
Based on the name of this wedding photo style, it becomes clear that its main purpose is to photograph people in places remote from their place of residence. Most often, such photoshoots take place in other countries. This direction includes several styles. First of all, special attention to the background is paid here, which means that elements of landscape photography are present in it.
In addition, there are many artistic details, as well as elements of the photojournalistic genre. Also, the features of the editorial style photo are present here, where each photo is processed similarly to images created for magazines, focusing on architectural and cultural features.
12. Dramatic Wedding Photography
This is one of the most glamorous, theatrical, and posed photography styles of weddings. Lighting plays a significant role here. You need to learn how to work with it correctly in order to get beautiful shadows and silhouettes. This style is characterized by dramatic backlit images. You can create unusual portraits with their help. Keep in mind, you have to spend quite a lot of time mastering the technique of working with additional off-camera flashes.
13. Dark and Moody Wedding Photography
This is one of the newest wedding photography styles. It is distinguished by unusual contrast and saturation of dark colors. It is worth noting that this type of photo is not for everyone. However, it has its own special atmosphere. Dark colors and contrasting combinations of light and shadows create a dramatic mood. You cannot find pure white here. Light tones are complemented by shades of other colors. This modern style is something fresh and significant.
14. HDR Wedding Photography
If you prefer more saturated and contrasting colors, you need to turn your attention to the HDR marriage photography style. This direction is not very popular today, but still, there are many fans of this photo technique. A special disadvantage of HDR photos due to improper processing is too saturated, unreal colors. Very often, the skin tones on these pictures look very unnatural.
Also, a special difficulty in this style is working with moving objects. To master this technique, it is necessary to pay particular attention to details. This applies to both the photographing process itself and further image editing. You need to try to find the right balance between the over-processed and realistic image since it’s easy to get carried away with this.
15. Night Wedding Photography
Twilight photography is the best way to demonstrate your professionalism. Night shooting is a real challenge for many photographers because there are many difficult moments associated with lighting. In order to create good photography for weddings in such conditions, you need to have professional equipment. You could use a radio trigger and an off-camera flash.
The modern market is filled with the most efficient and powerful hardware. Therefore, the search for these devices will not be a problem. In addition, you need to have special knowledge and skills. First of all, you should be able to work with the light and look for right-angle views, as well as set the correct camera settings. However, when you master all these tricks, you can create amazing pictures.
