WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE GUIDE

Wedding Photography Style Guide

While this isn't a standardized list with dictionary definitions of all wedding photography styles, we hope it's a good jumping off point for you. Understanding the following approaches can help guide how you view your options and provide you with a basis for understanding how photographs are created and what it may be like to be the subject.

Photography Medium

One of the first questions you will want to think about is whether you like digital or film photography more. Although, most film photographers do incorporate some digital photography into their shooting, and some digital photographers edit their photos to have a film-like look, the two mediums are quite different.

Digital 1

Digital photography is by far the most common way of shooting today. Digital images tend to have a

Digital is the most common way of shooting. The biggest advantage? Time—depending on your photographer, you could see snaps just days after your wedding. Digital cameras can shoot in very low light—a perk when you’re photographing an afternoon-into-evening wedding. And thanks to a display screen, your photographer can preview shots and adjust accordingly. "A digital photographer has more freedom to explore lighting options and angles," says Jasmine Star of Jasmine Star Photography. "You can push creative boundaries without the limits of film." For you, that means lots of images to choose from when putting together your album.

Film 2

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Images shot with film have a soft, organic quality to them. "Film has a better range, from highlights to shadows," says Braedon Flynn of Braedon Photography. But shooting with film is, well, more work and more money too. In addition to purchasing rolls of film, processing and editing images take time. "My costs in film and processing are around $1,500 per wedding," Flynn says. "I wait to get photos back from our lab and then I need to edit them, so there’s about a four-week turnaround."

Photography Style

In general, most photographers employ a combination of these styles while shooting but understanding each style independently can be helpful. Each of these photography styles has an impact on the final photograph, as well as you experience being photographed. Each of these styles also influences your film, in both the way your cinematography team will shoot and the film(s) they will create for you.

Traditional or Clasic 3

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The main idea behind this timeless style is to produce posed photographs for display in a portrait album. The photographer works from a “shot list,” ensuring he or she covers all the elements the bride and groom have requested. To make sure every detail of the shots is perfect, the photographer and her assistants not only adjust their equipment, but also the background, the subject’s body alignment, and even the attire.

What to expect: lots of posing, a detailed shot-list, very time-line oriented process
Pros: You’ll get all the shots that make mom, and your grandparents happy.
Cons: You’ll miss all the magical moments that happen in between the formals.

Illustrative 4

This style, which is often used for engagement photos, is a pleasing blend of traditional and photojournalistic, with an emphasis on composition, lighting and background. The photographer places subjects together in an interesting environment and encourages them to relax and interact. Illustrative captures some of the spontaneity of candids, while offering the technical control of posed shots.

Natural Light 5

Rather than using a camera flash, photographers use the natural light found in a setting, usually daylight. The look is warm and, well, natural—yet the photographer must be skilled to deal with shadows and other lighting challenges.

Photogernilism 6

Rather than posed or highly styled shots, documentary photography captures candid or spontaneous pictures of people, décor and action—in the moment. "I choose angles and backgrounds that make everything look its best," says photographer Charlotte Jenks Lewis. "And once I’ve done that, I try to capture something real from the couple." Look for an intimate space for group portraits. "You get more interactions with everyone and you’ll create better moments," Lewis says.

reality-based approach is the current rage in wedding photography. Rather than posing your pictures, the photographer follows you and your guests throughout the wedding day, capturing events as they unfold in order to tell the story of your wedding. The photographer has to be able to fade into the background and become “invisible” to the crowd in order to get these candid or unposed shots. Since the photojournalist does not give direction, (s)he’ll need a keen eye and a willingness to “do what it takes to get the shot.” Many photographers refer to this style of photography as a "documentary" style.

Wedding Photojournalism is a story telling the style of wedding photography that involves minimal involvement on the part of the photographer. A photojournalistic wedding photographer allows all of the moments to unfold around them while they just naturally use their creative eye to capture and interpret those moments through their photography. To read more about this style, please read our article on

What to expect: a ninja-like photographer you will hardly notice
Pros: You’ll get candids and beautiful moments you may not have eve n noticed.
Cons: You’ll miss creative shots of just the two of you posted artfully in a beautiful location

High Fashion7

Commercial photographers excel at creating striking, simple photographs that dramatize the subject—and, of course, the clothes! Though not a style generally included in wedding photography, you may want to choose a photographer with high fashion experience if looking artsy and glamorous while showing off your dress is important to you...or if you want your wedding photos to end up in a stylish bridal magazine or blog!

Fashion photography is a genre of photography, and that focuses around displaying clothing and other fashion items for commercial purposes. This style of photography is popular in large metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles. However, there are several unique photography techniques that are employed in fashion photography, which we borrow in our wedding photography style. These techniques include the usage of unique off camera lighting, fashion-esque poses and expressions, along with dramatic backgrounds. Typically, our fashion influenced the style of wedding photography will only be used at the request of the bride and groom during the engagement shoot/bridal shoot, as it does require some photographer involvement.

Fine Art 8

Fine-art wedding photography involves using artistic angles, creative lighting, unique compositions and advanced post-production techniques to create imagery with a much stronger artistic flare. Our wedding photographers are very meticulous about researching scenes and anticipating moments so that we can use fine-art techniques, without interfering with our surroundings.
Fine-art wedding photography starts with an image shot with an artistic finish in mind, most likely not a “say cheese” moment. In post-production, these images are transformed into fine-art using textures, filters, masks, and other advanced Photoshop techniques to create a visually stunning, emotional image.

Editorial 9

Editorial style photography takes its cues from fashion photography, with many photographers in this field having experience in organizing and shooting fashion editorials. Shots are focused on generating dramatic images with high visual impact.

You will see dramatic and improbable lighting with creative angles to generate visual interest. Poses are generally similar to what you would see in magazines and if done properly the photos get a very high-end feel to them.

While the images can be beautiful, the editorial style can be tough for some couples who may want to also include more traditional photos of the venues and guests in addition to the high-drama and haute-couture look of the editorial style. If not done artfully, the images can look overly processed and lack substance to them.

What to expect: bold, dramatic images, with high contract and creative lighting
Pros: Your images will have you feeling like you were on the cover of a magazine
Cons: You might miss out on images of your friends and family.

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