Choosing a photography style for your wedding photos is one of the most important choices you will make, especially when it comes to translating your planning into memories. Having a clear vision and knowing what types of photos you like and dislike can be a great asset when shopping for a wedding photographer and preparing to meet with your photo/video wedding team. Many times when shopping for a wedding photographer, couples see and base their expectations on what their portrait gallery looks like, or in other words, how they photograph just the bride and the groom?
We will look at the different types of wedding photography styles, why they matter, and most importantly, how to choose the wedding photography style that’s right for you.
If you are planning a wedding, make sure to check out other helpful blogs in our Wedding Planning Guide!
Types of Wedding Photography Styles:
Candid (I don’t instruct you at all; used for getting ready and reception)
Guided (I give you a prompt to interpret; great for portraits)
Traditional (I tell you exactly what to do; used often for family photos)
Candid Photography Style
Candid or Photojournalistic photography style is very popular but often very misunderstood. Couples want their photos to have a very relaxed feel, like the viewer is witnessing a moment that happens organically. This type of photography is always so rife with emotion and meaning when it is actually genuine, which is why it should ALWAYS have a place in your wedding photographer's skillset.
I always tell my clients that I don’t expect them to have modeling experience, and they usually appreciate SOME direction when it comes to posing. Your getting ready photos and reception photos will obviously be candid, but the photos that get looked at the most, printed the most, and shared the most are those couple portraits. In my experience, candid style couple portraits are difficult for the bride and groom to pull off 100% organically unless they are really good at acting. Typically in the flow of the day there is a dedicated time where the couple is alone with their photo/video team and the one goal is to capture portraits of them, and truly candids photos at that time is all up to the couple and how they interact. If you’re comfortable doing that, that’s great! But in my experience, most couples are not.
Guided Photography Style
Guided Photography is the best of both worlds, where you can achieve a candid FEEL, but have more direction from your photographer. This is a fairly new type of photography style and I think when used in tandem with candid photography style when the events allow it and traditional style when the overall use of photos is the goal (think family portraits), it makes for a dynamic photographer that is ready for anything.
During the couples portrait time, guided photography gives the couple something “to do” in the form of a prompt given by the photographer, but it still allows the couple to interpret that action in their own way and interact together in a way that produces genuine smiles, real laughs, sometimes tears, sweet hugs, sighs of comfort - all the things you want captured to recreate the FEELING and moment. This, as you can see, is not easy to achieve. It takes a photographer that gives excellent prompts, that can read people well, and that you can feel comfortable enough around to “forget” about and allow yourself to experience the moment.
Traditional Photography Style
Traditional style doesn't necessarily mean stiff, awkward style photos that harken back to your parent’s film photo prints. There is definitely a very important place for traditional style photos in your wedding day, chiefly in the family photos usually taken right after the ceremony. Weddings are rare times in your life where most of the people you love are all together, so having a portrait with grandma and all the out of state aunts and uncles is paramount for sentimental reasons, and where traditional photos really shine. The tradeoff for traditional photos, though, is that they require communication, cooperation, and dedicated time to happen. I usually throw in a few traditional poses to the couple portraits just so the couple has something timeless and your grandma has something to hang on her fridge.
With so many options for wedding photography styles, how do you know which one is right for you?
Why wedding photography styles matter:
Captures feeling
Affects your timeline
Its how your wedding gets remembered
It’s easy to understand how these different photography types can capture the feeling of your day, especially in the moments where candid photography is appropriate like during the reception. What people don’t often think of is how the style can affect your timeline. If you truly want a candid, hand-off, documentary style for your entire day, then you really don't have to dedicate much time to just you and your media team working together. You are free to spend time interacting with your guests and each other, which sounds great unless you have a very specific vision in how you want your couple portraits to look. Guided style requires some time set aside to ensure you have space to react to those prompts, but photographers can usually capture a lot of volume in a short amount of time since there’s action going on constantly.
The biggest thing to keep in mind when considering wedding photography style is that photos and video are the only thing that lives beyond your wedding. If you want the tangible evidence of your wedding to showcase your friends and family, go candid. If you want specific moments captured, go guided. If you want keepsakes of important guests, go traditional.
How to choose the style of photography that’s right for you?
Ask yourself the following questions and really consider the importance of each:
How do you want your day to feel/flow?
How will you use the photos?
Is editing style (color representation) important?
If following a timeline (that you can always have a part in making!) is doable for you, and if you are the person that appreciates some guidance from your photographer especially during portraits of you and your spouse and with family, a guided style is the way to go.
If you absolutely want certain photos of family members, make sure your photographer is comfortable with traditional style and directing folks into position for group photos (otherwise, you’re going to have to do it yourself).
If you don't want anyone telling you when to do things and just want to experience the entire day, interact with guests with no limits, and poses or specific shots aren’t a priority, then candid/journalistic style might be the way to go.
Bottom line: a photographer that can seamlessly blend all three styles is your secret weapon to checking all the boxes and keeping the vibes great ✌🏻
