PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY: THE POSING VS CANDIDS DEBATE //
POSING HAS NOW COME TO BE THE DIRTIEST WORD IN PHOTOGRAPHY. OUT WITH POSING AND IN WITH CANDIDS. BUT I THINK PEOPLE MAY BE MAKING A DISCONNECT OR UNSURE ABOUT HOW A PHOTOGRAPHER APPROACHES POSING, CANDIDS AND SUBJECTS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE DIFFERENT. STYLE, BACKGROUND, PERSONALITY AND ARTISTIC VISION ALL PLAY MAJOR ROLES IN HOW A PHOTOGRAPHER APPROACHES THEIR SUBJECTS. MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN TUNE WITH THIS IN SELECTING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER. LIKING THEIR WORK IS A GREAT START. BUT…
1. LET’S START HERE:
photography is magical. photographers are magical. our camera gear controls more than just the money-maker shutter button. we are constantly cycling through in our heads from light meter, to creative decision of f-stops, shutter speed, lens length, composition, background, foreground, and a trained portrait photographer is also looking at face shapes, symmetry, body type, direction and angle of head, directing one’s hands, nose, chin, body weight between legs, expressions, etc. For wedding photographers this is all simultaneously happening while constant images are to be made and fleeting moments to focus on.
2. THE BREAKDOWN:
Being in front of the camera can be a vulnerable position, but trusting your photographer is the first step in the right direction.
Here are four different types of Wedding Photography (but surely not limited to):
Documentary/Photojournalism //
Portraiture //
Editorial //
Fine Art //
documentary/photojournalism: think about photographers for newspaper, for events, for stories. they break rules with composition, angles and sole focus is getting the action/story! there can be a lot of impact, high emotion, story telling in each frame. they focus on: where is the story and not necessarily the most flattering angle for their subjects (and who cares, that’s not the point!). when it comes to photographing people, typically they give no or minimal posing guidance because they want to capture you in your raw, natural, organic state together (even if it’s awkward). if you want 100% no direction when it comes to posing, this is a great fit for you! to me, this feels like bowling without the kitty bumpers on your lane. unless you are a model, a photographer yourself or have a huge open mind and heart, you can truly make photo magic with a documentary approach.
portraiture: i like to joke this is the vain approach to photography. a portrait photographer knows what angles and lens compressions are appropriate for faces and bodies. they have an understanding of how a human body stands in front of a camera. (spoiler: it’s SUPPOSE to be awkward) there’s composition of limbs, such as not cutting the frame on a joint like elbows. have a lazy eye? can fix it with posing! Like your laugh but now you have a double chin? don’t know which side of your face is your better side? ask a portrait photographer! and yes, the word posing usually lives here. I personally have replaced it with “guidance” or “direction,” which sounds a little more breathable. this is why fashion models have careers as it is a specific skillset in knowing how to position their body and “dance“ around a photographer as they change lenses and angles. you as the non-model, I am guiding and telling you how and what to do (to a certain degree), and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
editorial: such a buzz word these days. what does it even mean?! The google definition: “Editorial photography is images that appear alongside the text in print or online publications, which are created to help tell a story or support the narrative in the text, with a focus on creating a specific mood or tone for the piece.” I’m sure you have some visuals, now apply it to a wedding: where things aren’t always so clean and polished, perhaps a little edgy with things like close crops or motion blur. The details, the moments, and the people matter, but it’s captured in a less structured way than portraiture for example. The fashion world is most notable for showcasing editorials, specifically in magazine spreads.
fine art: exactly what it sounds like. A visual and conceptual approach to your day. A fine art photographer will play a camera (& lenses) like an instrument, transforming scenes and moments into colors, blurs, shapes, thought provoking compositions, compelling moments, and details. They are typically all about the feels and not necessary the reality of things.
3. COCKTAIL HOUR:
you want to party. i want you to party! i want to be at the party, too! it’s more common these days for couple’s to request to be at cocktail hour with their guests. i say: DO IT! IT’S YOUR DAY! however, HISTORY LESSON: cocktail hour was designed to entertain your quests while you ran off with the photographer. if YOU want to join in for the hor’dourves, by default we need to add more time for portraits. (I break portrait sessions into three groups that can happen throughout the day: wedding party (if having one), family portraits and couples’ portraits).
i work with my couples and we have a game plans for timeline expectations out about a month before the wedding day. i personally don’t like surprises in general, so i love ironing out photo ideas and logistics prior as some things will need to have reserved time for. this is your one shot for the entire day to be preserved by. we are the time recorders. it’s important to understand how your photographer approaches this, so that we are able to produce quality work for you. I typically spend about 30 minutes with a couple alone on a wedding day. 37 minutes if I am lucky and we get a bonus sunset session after the champagne has hit. ;)
4. PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM EXPECTATIONS:
same shit, we just changed platforms. you see an image. you think “wow..that’s beautiful/creative/heartstopping/candid/authentic.“ i’m here to tell you that the majority of those images are set up, controlled,…coughPOSEDcough. again, unless you are a fashion model and understand camera angles and lenses, you probably need some direction. it’s my job to direct you (or look for), to ensure nothing about you will look fake, stiff or unnatural. There is also just the reality and expectation of the internet vs real life: a photo of a couple screaming with joy popping a champagne bottle with their wedding party is a high impact photo, but if you don’t have a champagne bottle to pop, or your wedding party are mostly introverts, things may not turn out as you had envisioned.
5. WHERE I STAND
My style is a hybrid from the start. How I fell in love with fashion editorials as a teenager, a taste of art school and pursuing photography in portraiture & advertising, to the touch of documentary that I have learned along the way. As a portrait photographer my goal is not to reinvent the wheel. I approach it as:
LET PEOPLE BE PEOPLE (& MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD)
I love wedding photography and one of the ways I look at weddings is that they already are a hybrid of photography styles. To me, anything outside of your portraits are going to be pretty candid-heavy. If you like the idea of candids, try to identify in your photographer’s work what makes a candid and pay attention to how they focus on people when they are “camera aware.” Stiff bodies and forced smiles? This is where the word posing has made a bad name for itself, and it comes down to how the photographer guides their subjects.
I “FEEL” OUT MY COUPLES – SOME NEED MORE GUIDANCE OR TAKING THEIR MIND OFF THINGS, AND OTHERS WILL HAVE A NATURAL FLOW. FOR ME, ONE IS NOT BETTER THAN THE OTHER - IT’S JUST WHO PEOPLE ARE & HOW I CAPTURE THEM.
