Understand Wedding Photography Styles

Mar 8

Welcome! My name is Ray Fearon. A wedding photographer based out of Bucks County.

Photography style likely comes to mind when looking for a wedding photographer, and you wouldn’t be wrong to think that. Knowing if you like certain styles or looks can be a great help in narrowing down the wedding photographer you’re interested in. These photos will be with you for the rest of your life and passed around throughout your family for generations.

Candid Moments

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer to capture your wedding day without interfering too much. I like this style to help bring you back to the moment when you look at that photo, being able to re-live the emotions of the moment.

Posed / Directed

These are instructed by the wedding photographer. Depending on the photographer, it can be directed hands-on or more laid back. This is a good mix between candid and high-end. Some couples are uncomfortable in front of the camera but the right photographer will understand the couple and make you feel relaxed and forget the camera is even there.

This will likely involve taking a certain amount of time out of the wedding day to have a photoshoot. Could be 10 minutes, could be 45, all depends on what you want!

Fashion/High End

This is a bit above directed posing. Going in with a gameplan to know where and when to photograph the couple to produce more high-end, fashion-esque photos. This doesn’t mean it’s only for couples who are super comfortable in front of the camera, the right photographer can help you feel as if there isn’t a camera focusing on you.

This could involve making time in your timeline to drive to a certain location for the photos.

Color Style

This can be a bit more frustrating to find in wedding photographers due to many photographers simply following trends. At the time of writing this, the film look is the common wedding photographer go-to. At the time you’re reading this, it may be different. However, the color style of the photographer is very important. You want to be able to look back at your photos in 30 years and know that you’ll still like them. Also, make sure the photographer you’re hiring is not just slapping on a preset over all of your photos, leaving some photos to not look right (This may not make sense to some of you but feel free to contact me and ask more!). Of course, that can be difficult to know (unless you can time-travel) but it’s another element to think of.

Natural/Vibrant/Real Colors

This aims to keep the colors natural to the real-life scene. It may increase the vibrancy a bit, but essentially, it’s aiming to keep things normal. It’s important to find a photographer who doesn’t oversaturate the colors.

Orange Film

This is another film/desaturated look that typically has an orange film-like style to it. Changing the greens to more orange/red/yellow.

Teal/Blue Film

This changes the greens to a more blueish/teal style. Typically, it will also include a fade as well.

Faded/Desaturated/Bright and Airy

This aims to desaturate the colors, creating a less intense look. The faded look typically will be labeled as “bright and airy” (the photo below isn’t that. See more at the end.) It’s important to find a photographer who doesn’t desaturate the colors too much.

Grain Film

This style adheres to the old-school style of grainy film images. This doesn’t necessarily have to be in black and white.

In the end, you need to know what style of wedding photos you’ll be happy looking at for the rest of your life. DON’T SKIP OVER DOING THIS! I have had many couples reach out that simply went for the first, cheapest photographer they found. Then, they end up hating their photos from the wedding and want to get a new portrait session done for better photos. Taking the time and knowing to not gloss over finding the right style of photos for you will save you money and happiness in the long run.

Contact me today to ask more about this post or inquire about your wedding day: Fearonphotography@gmail.com / Contact Form

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