You betcha! Snapping your perfect moments requires a photographic wizard with boundless creativity, skill, and expertise. You might think picking a pro with a style that makes your heart skip a beat is all you need to do, but then bam! You’re hit with terms like “editorial wedding photography,” “classic wedding portraits,” “modern storytelling,” and it’s all so confusing! Well, hold on to your hats, because Sandy is here to decode the buzzwords and help you understand why photography sometimes uses new terms for things that are well… something old.
Let’s start with what is…

TRADITIONAL (CLASSIC) PHOTOGRAPHY

A list-checker’s jam (Saaaandy?) classic wedding photography style is what you’ve seen in The Father Of The Bride, where the newlyweds and fam take center stage for portraits, the ceremony and reception capture key moments and everything is perfectly curated. It involves a slew of timeless and clean shots, the portraits are calm and romantic, and the posing is curated towards the more formal. Traditional photography can be honest (it documents real people with real feelings, after all) and preppy. You’ll find good examples in Royal Weddings.

EDITORIAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

More curated and magazine-spread like editorial style photography calls for a director’s approach towards the couple. Light here plays a super-important role, and angles are a must. Creating creatively compelling, visually driven, images is a matter of trust on the couple’s behalf and preparation on both sides, which means a significant amount of details shared, both on how to and when to, as well as who, what, and why. The palette of the colors is usually punchy, contrasty, and depends a lot on the location.

PHOTOJOURNALISM

Photojournalism oozes natural flow. It catches the tiniest moments of unfiltered emotion flooding the day, without necessarily considering the angles, the lighting, or the aesthetic minimalism. Au contraire, it’s a maximalist approach where more means more and the story is as authentic as it gets. Often images look as there is no editing whatsoever, albeit there is a subtle one that sets the artists signature tone.

EDITORIAL PHOTOJOURNALISM

Whereas pure photojournalism is when the photographer stays hands-off and captures natural, unscripted moments, editorial photojournalism is when they provide subtle cues to get that perfect shot, stay true to the actual colors of the day and the surroundings, using them to underline the story, rather than alter reality. Editorial photojournalists (hello, that’s us!) pay special attention to the angles, the light, the composition, and the artfulness, but understand that candid moments are essential to create an all-encompassive narrative that stirs emotions of all kinds!

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

Super-curative about the color palettes, often with a signature set of hues, fine art photography is either ethereal and delicate, dark (chiarroscuro) or distinctively caramelized. This imaginative touch appeals to couples who ask for a thoroughly artistic approach in their images.

FILM PHOTOGRAPHY

Film photography possesses a distinct capability to capture textures and details that can enhance the images by adding depth and character. The images may exhibit a subtle grain or imperfections. The appeal of film photography is its ability to create an evocative visual narrative that invokes nostalgia. That said, this aesthetic doesn’t always require film.

A RECENT TREND IN PHOTOGRAPHY

This trendy kind that has been making more and more appearances post C-19, is all about meshing styles, techniques, and even palettes. Blurry images, unconventional angles of details, as well as rawer details (a finished dinner, tossed fashion items, brides in head towels) more black and white portraits that ever, super-dark images, film-burns, film framing, neon colored edits, flash photography, harsh-light images, comes with every retro vibe possible into one. We decided to dub it the Gen-Alpha photography for the sake of the arguement.

SO THE OLD CAN BE NEW, THE NEW CAN BE OLD… HOW CAN A COUPLE CHOOSE WHAT STYLE THEY WANT?

Here’s the thing about wedding photography styles: Some photographers blend different styles to create a personalized narrative. And just like some people prefer vanilla over chocolate, opinions on what’s considered “editorial wedding photography,” “classic,” or “artistic” vary. Heck, even Gen Alpha doesn’t fit into any style category!
So, why are we here? To give you some tips on finding your dream photographer! Don’t get too hung up on styles or labels. Your wedding memories are too important to worry about matching a certain style. Focus on the vibe you get from pictures. Trust your gut and pick the artist whose work speaks to you the most! Just like with true Love: You’ll know it when you see it – This is the ONE!