In our last article we introduced you to the three major styles of wedding photography that dominate the scene right now. These are the traditional, photojournalist and combined styles. One of these styles is right for your wedding and it's important to know the difference between these styles so you can make a choice that fits for your own personal aesthetic. You'll have to live with your wedding images for a long time.
Developed during the great depression and the war years, the traditional style of photography speaks to the aesthetic of that era. Remember the highly stylized photos of the stars of the time like Gary Cooper, Katherine Hepburn and James Cagney. The lighting used in those press and movie photos made a strong stylistic statement that endures to this day.
The lighting in these portraits projected what was considered high style at the time. The subject's pose was highly choreographed by putting them in exactly the correct position to use the lights set up by the photographer. Makeup and hairstyling was perfect. And the photographer used a few tricks along the way like gel on the lens edges to create a soft, blurry effect. Making these photographs was work for the subjects and time consuming for all concerned.
The advantage to hiring a traditional photographer is repeatability. This kind of photographer knows the look he creates and works tirelessly to make sure your photos have that look. The lighting and poses in your photos will be perfect and because this photographer uses a shot list, he/she will cover all the bases. This means you will certainly have stylized photos of all the major touch points of the wedding like the rings, the cake and the bouquet throw.
The downside to using a traditional photographer is the control they may have to insert into your wedding in order to create all the photos on his shot list. These kinds of photographers require that you work with them to create the images that he usually creates. This puts the photographer in control of your event but this may be something that works for you. It's an issue you need to consider.
Another problem with traditional photography is missed opportunities. With your photographer spending his time and effort creating the photos on his shot list his attention will not be on all the emotional interactions between the wedding party, the parents and the cherished guests. You need to consider this as a tradeoff.
A photojournalist will approach your wedding from a different perspective. These photographers learned their trade working in the news business and where they had to fight it out with their competition for the best photos. This style of photographer is all about capturing human emotion as it happens.
Photojournalists returned their photos to a professional picture editor. These editors are demanding and know the quality of the photos they are looking at. There is no place to hide for this style of photographer. They had to be good or they would be looking for a different line of work.
Wedding photojournalism requires fast reactions and anticipations. They must keep a wide angle of attention in order to capture moments as they happen. There will be many special moments throughout the day and this type of photographer is more likely to capture them.
Lively actions photos is the advantage of using a wedding photojournalist. They are constantly on the lookout for unique and special moments as your wedding progresses. The best ones blend into the crowd and you won't know they are working.
The wedding photojournalist generally does not work from a shot list. They do take the standard posed shots of the wedding party and families. Instead they will concentrate on higher intensity human interaction and will deliver you an exciting set of wedding photos.
The hot style in wedding photography now is wedding photojournalism. This has forced many traditional photographers to add "photojournalism" to their list of services. These are often not true photojournalists and you should be aware of that at the start of your information gathering.
Make your wedding photographer style choice based on your own personal tastes in art. Be true to your instincts and the right choice will be obvious.
Developed during the great depression and the war years, the traditional style of photography speaks to the aesthetic of that era. Remember the highly stylized photos of the stars of the time like Gary Cooper, Katherine Hepburn and James Cagney. The lighting used in those press and movie photos made a strong stylistic statement that endures to this day.
The lighting in these portraits projected what was considered high style at the time. The subject's pose was highly choreographed by putting them in exactly the correct position to use the lights set up by the photographer. Makeup and hairstyling was perfect. And the photographer used a few tricks along the way like gel on the lens edges to create a soft, blurry effect. Making these photographs was work for the subjects and time consuming for all concerned.
The advantage to hiring a traditional photographer is repeatability. This kind of photographer knows the look he creates and works tirelessly to make sure your photos have that look. The lighting and poses in your photos will be perfect and because this photographer uses a shot list, he/she will cover all the bases. This means you will certainly have stylized photos of all the major touch points of the wedding like the rings, the cake and the bouquet throw.
The downside to using a traditional photographer is the control they may have to insert into your wedding in order to create all the photos on his shot list. These kinds of photographers require that you work with them to create the images that he usually creates. This puts the photographer in control of your event but this may be something that works for you. It's an issue you need to consider.
Another problem with traditional photography is missed opportunities. With your photographer spending his time and effort creating the photos on his shot list his attention will not be on all the emotional interactions between the wedding party, the parents and the cherished guests. You need to consider this as a tradeoff.
A photojournalist will approach your wedding from a different perspective. These photographers learned their trade working in the news business and where they had to fight it out with their competition for the best photos. This style of photographer is all about capturing human emotion as it happens.
Photojournalists returned their photos to a professional picture editor. These editors are demanding and know the quality of the photos they are looking at. There is no place to hide for this style of photographer. They had to be good or they would be looking for a different line of work.
Wedding photojournalism requires fast reactions and anticipations. They must keep a wide angle of attention in order to capture moments as they happen. There will be many special moments throughout the day and this type of photographer is more likely to capture them.
Lively actions photos is the advantage of using a wedding photojournalist. They are constantly on the lookout for unique and special moments as your wedding progresses. The best ones blend into the crowd and you won't know they are working.
The wedding photojournalist generally does not work from a shot list. They do take the standard posed shots of the wedding party and families. Instead they will concentrate on higher intensity human interaction and will deliver you an exciting set of wedding photos.
The hot style in wedding photography now is wedding photojournalism. This has forced many traditional photographers to add "photojournalism" to their list of services. These are often not true photojournalists and you should be aware of that at the start of your information gathering.
Make your wedding photographer style choice based on your own personal tastes in art. Be true to your instincts and the right choice will be obvious.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about great San Francisco wedding photography, then visit John Santoro's site and see top wedding photojournalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment