How to choose your Wedding Photographer?
Traditional style:
The history of wedding photography starts with traditional style approach. This is the timeless style that you’ve probably seen time and time again. The hallmark of this style is carefully posed photographs of the key moments. Benefits: The traditional photographers usually use a planned “shot list”, which means you’ll get all the important images. Drawbacks: The photographer virtually becomes a “wedding official”, directing the wedding party and guests according to a pre-planned list. This approach is very time consuming, and as a result, the bride and groom end up spending less time with their guests. The wedding album look is attractive, yet predictable.
Wedding photojournalism:
Contemporary style also known as photo reportage and documentary approach, photojournalism has become a very popular style in domestic and destination wedding photography, featuring a series of candid photos covering the entire day. Benefits: Wedding photojournalism gives you a series of unique images aimed to “tell the story” of your wedding day. Drawbacks: There is no pre-planned “shot list,” only the photographer’s instincts; images are unpredictable. Low levels of available light may cause some pictures to look grainy. The couple may regret the absence of traditional, posed portraits in their album.
Illustrative style:
The illustrative style photographers place the subjects in certain settings to take advantage of good lighting or backgrounds. Then, once the scene is set, the couple and their party are free to be themselves, and this results in a more spontaneous feel. Unlike the photojournalistic style, illustrative photography takes advantage of the photographer’s artistic judgment rather than capturing a series of moments. This style often used in engagement photography or in popular “trash the dress” session.
Questions to ask your Wedding Photographer
- What is your primary style? Posed and formal, relaxed, photojournalistic, creative, artistic, candid, traditional?
- Do you shoot in color or black and white? Or both? Do you shoot in a digital format that can create both color and b/w versions of the same picture?
- What kind of input can we have on the direction of the shots? Can we give you a shot list to work from?
- Are you the wedding photographer who will actually take our pictures? If not, can we meet the person who will be?
- Can we meet any assistants who will also be our taking pictures?
- How many times have you worked specifically as a wedding photographer? How many were similar to the size and formality of our wedding?
- How many other events will you also photograph that weekend?
- What kind of equipment will you bring with you? How intrusive will lighting, tripods, other equipment or assistants be?
- Can we buy the negatives from you?
