Wedding Photography Style Guide

Wedding Photography Style Guide:
Everything You Need To Know

From dresses to décor, style preferences vary from couple to couple. The choice of a wedding photographer is one of the most important stylistic decisions you and your partner must make, and it comes with excitement but also pressure.

Instead, it’s the style of your wedding photograph that you should select before reaching out to professional photographers. If you’re going the other way, reading first and learning a style afterwards, you could be getting photos that don’t fit your vision.

Fine art and even grim, moody images are some of the favourite wedding photos in today’s market, but classic ones continue to take precedence. What’s to happen if you like, for example, a traditional black-and-white or moody photo? Some photographers can switch the style up throughout the day.

With so many styles available, it can be a lot of pressure to pick what kind of wedding photography style is best for you, especially with weddings becoming more expensive. It’s a choice you want to make that you’re going to love for years to come. Professionals have suggested that brides and grooms scroll through apps such as Pinterest, magazines, and other brides’ posts. Here you can establish a theme of what looks appealing to you or go the extra mile and make a mood board.

From candids to classics, in the guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about your favourite wedding photography styles.

Traditional

If you want to keep it classic and traditional, then this is the style for you. You might have seen this style when browsing through your parent’s wedding pictures. They may not be the most creative, but they are a safe option, and you can guarantee you’ll have at least one picture of everyone important in your life.

They are typically shot at eye level and posed; they stand the test of time and have stayed number one for traditional style for decades. Most photographers incorporate at least a couple of these pictures into the mix to ensure you have a wedding party picture or family portrait.

This style is perfect and will stand the test of time. There is no harm in asking your photographer to snap a few shots.

Photojournalistic

I would say a more modern way of taking pictures: candid and documentary-style photographs capture real and in-the-moment things that you can’t get from a posed picture. This style will help you remember specific emotions, conversations and heartfelt moments.

It is widely adopted in wedding photography styles; these pictures treat a wedding like a feature on a story but in a very cool way. Some compare it to being a fly on the wall and it can be such an exciting time scrolling through the collection as you don’t know what to expect and can see moments you may have missed.

Editorial

An alternative wedding photography style would be editorial images, which can be best described as a much more posed and almost model-like picture. This style is rarely chosen but if this is exactly what you’ve been looking for, find the perfect wedding photographer who specialises in this style and can easily get creative and produce amazing editorial pictures.

These pictures can be so iconic, as can the moments that you share with your wedding party. You can play around with the colours, landscape, and venues.

Black and White

Black-and-white wedding images are more about editing than photography style, although some photographers do use solely black-and-white cameras.

It is easy for some photographers to edit images to black and white; according to professionals, some speak louder or softer and can do a mixed bag if you want an old-school style thrown in there.

Landscape

Outside of the wedding industry, landscape photography is a popular photographic style that has grown to be an increasingly popular add-on for photographers who shoot weddings in high scenic locations such as mountains or beaches.

The photographer in this case is working with the couple beforehand so that they can take a look at the area. Then, as part of the landscape’s image of scale and epic beauty, a wedding photographer captures an adventurous scene with this couple.

This may not work in certain situations where Mother Nature has other plans, so it may not always be possible, but if your photographer is creative and you spend the time to always come up with a backup, you will get your dream wedding photo.

Aerial

This style of photography is another popular add-on and you probably wouldn’t want your entire wedding day shot like this, not to mention that it would make it difficult for your photographer. You could go the extra mile and get a drone.

With a drone, they can take videos and pictures of special moments, like when your partner is ready for their vows or you’re walking down the aisle. You can capture one-of-a-kind pictures.

Dark and Intimate

It’s not surprising that the dark, moody, and intimate photos sound like they do. In this style, the photographer wants to take photographs of couples with shadows or rough lines that can create an odd and unusual pattern or light. This style includes dark editing and dark shooting, and over the last few years, a lot of couples have gravitated towards it.

It’s also another take on editorial style—very posed but extremely cool. This could also be an add-on photography style, as you would typically only have this with your marital partner.

Fine-art

Fine art photography is generally associated with film, but nowadays it’s increasingly a hybrid of sorts given the growth in its popularity. It is known that this style is light, bright, and airy. This would be a perfect choice

This would be a perfect choice if you’re planning a colorful wedding. It would be a great pairing with your bridesmaid’s bright-coloured dresses, yellow flowers, or your multi-colored wedding dress. Choosing a fine art style can capture some very complimentary color pictures.

Final Thoughts

Picking your wedding photography style is a process, and although you are always able to ask for a mix, understanding all the options available is essential for every engaged couple. There have been a lot of celebrities that have decided to do the pictures in styles like candid and editorial a week before the wedding or just a few days before. This way, you could take your time getting the perfect pictures without having to be taken away on your actual day, missing some of the best bits with family and friends.

For example, in Kourtney Kardashian’s wedding to Travis Barker, she was wearing a gorgeous white short dress and a vale. They had a photoshoot in many locations and made the most of it before the big day. That is always something to consider.

Either way, you and your partner should sit down, crack open a ready-to-drink cocktail and go through all the options together. It should be something you are both excited about and happy with. You will get the best quality pictures on the day if it’s something you both are happy with.