1… Identify Photography type & Photographer Skills

Choosing a photographic style is like choosing a movie, you would consider the cinematography, composition, approach, or the era of the film, such as animation, documentary, or vintage classic, etc. The same movie could be portrayed differently by the film’s presentation, hence bringing a completely new different experience to the viewer.

The same thing could be transcended into your wedding photographer ,this can be done by them  using a blend of creative style and  vision. Your photographer embodies the  same responsibility and expertise of a film director and a production studio.

Wedding photographer now a days are  dominated by two major  styles. 1 traditional and 2  photojournalism. Before you rush to tell your photographer that you want just  photojournalism because you’ve heard the trendy  word, let me help you  understand something  about these two photographic styles because I am always here to help.

Traditional wedding  Photography… This  is a setup in a situation. For the most part it is  less creative, but often produces high quality photos as subjects are carefully positioned and directed  to achieve the maximum pose for  lighting and location. From cloth position to facial expressions, the photographer maintains max  control. However the time it takes to set up may  interferes with the wedding time line .

This is a sample of traditional

Photojournalism…One the other hand  is a process in which the photographer shoots a large amount  of photos, and produces a time lined story. The situation  is uncontrolled, like  shooting a documentary film. Photos are shot as the wedding is unfloding. Although picture quality doesn’t quite match up to the controlled traditional photography, photojournalism is extremely spontaneous, and often produces very creative images without interrupting the flow of the wedding day and what is happening.

This would Photojournalism

OK people… now you have a firm grip on  the two photographic styles, let’s us go forward to the fundamentals of identifying a good  photojournalist. A good wedding photographer should have a distinct style that sets them apart from the rest of the crowd. The best and fastest way to identity this quality is by examining there  portfolios. A true artistic approach to photography should demonstrate expertise in the following three areas…

1. Subject Matter aka bride & groom …Do they  have a keen eye and quick trigger to capture special moments, surrounding, and also  pay attention to small details.
2. Composition … Is the photo layout creative and stylest ? How are the couple  positioned inside the picture frame? How are photos cropped, what angles are they using, what lenes look best for the bride and groom.
3. Colors… Great vibrant colors are achieved via the combination of a photographer’s understanding to lighting, photo equipment expertise, and post processing skills.

2… Photo image Consistency ,Look beyond a their Portfolio.

A portfolio is  a compilation of  good photos taken from many different  weddings, it could be 10, 20 or even 100 weddings. It’s not hard  for a photographer to produce a few good images from an entire wedding. But would you settle for just a few?

You should never book a photographer based only on the portfolio . You need to look beyond the portfolio and verify the photographer’s ability in producing good quality photos consistently over the course of your wedding. This is what separates a good photographer from the not so good.

3… Photographer Personality, what I call bed side manner.

If you like the photographer’s skills and work, you could stop further review, and book the them while they are  still available. After all, you could gain solid insight on how comfortable the clients are with the photographer based on the photographer’s works. However, personality compatibility is always a big thing. Just because they are great at what they do does not mean they have great bed side manner and remember girls, you are going to spend to whole day with them.Here are 3  points.

• A nice phone call or two should be suffice; open up your conversations, perhaps even covering topics beyond photography.
• Request a list of client testimonials. Some photographers include this information directly on their websites.
• Although not a requirement, if you’re lucky to be living close to the photographer, it would be usual practice to request a quick meeting over coffee.

That sums it up. Choosing the right photographer is a lifetime decision. Do not rush your selection process, and stay true to the three steps. I wish you best of luck, and a wonderful wedding photographic experience. We hope this helps and as always let us know

Cheers  Peter Bruce & team bELLE

Tags: Is this one right for us..., Photojournalism Vs Traditional

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