What are the different types of wedding photography styles and how to find the best fit for you!

Great question! What’s the difference between “Traditional wedding photography”, “Photojournalistic Wedding Photography” and “Fine Arts Wedding Photography”? Here’s where the confusion comes in for me, as a wedding photographer and for couples as well. The difference between “styles” of wedding photography and “types” of wedding photography are used interchangeably, but they refer to two different things.

For this article, I will use “type of wedding photography” to mean the way photographers photograph weddings, the way they interact with the couple and the types of images you can expect to get from them.

“Styles of wedding photography”, to me, means how the photographer processes the images. This can be with the filters they use in post processing, the way they use (or don’t use) lighting while they’re working, their unique compositions, and the way they expose their images.

To produce different “types of wedding photography” means all the technical choices a photographer makes to create a recognizable photography style and consistent brand.

Both the photographer’s approach to the day and the way way the images look when they’re done can be both the type’s of images they create and the style they use to get those images. See the confusion? I’m totally with you!

The difference between types of wedding photography and styles of wedding photography:

Most articles about types of wedding photography styles lump all of these aspects into one category and I don’t think that’s very helpful. For example, a “classic wedding photographer” may deliver “true to life”, natural images where the colors are accurate and realistic looking, or they may add lots of filters while processing the images so they look “dark and moody” altering the colors so they don’t look natural.

Photojournalist’s typically stick with natural, vibrant, normal colors, but some may add lots of filters to their images afterwards to make them “light and bright” or “grungy” or “film like”.

Fine arts photographers may do all three treatments in one wedding with justifiable “creative artistic license” and even throw in a bit of AI to make an image look more like what their vision is. So let’s break down the different styles:

There are three main different types of photography most people are looking for; Classic Photography (also called traditional photography), Photojournalistic (also called documentary, candid, editorial, storytelling, timeless and lifestyle) and Fine Arts Photography.

 

Types of wedding photography:

 

 

When talking about different types of wedding photography, we are talking about 3 things; the photographer’s approach, what the experience of couple’s will be like with their photographer and what types of images you can expect to get from the photographer. Almost every photographer I know blends some of these three type, but almost all focus one of these types of photography for most of the wedding day.

Traditional Wedding Photography –

 

This style/type appeals to wedding couples looking for something that is traditional and classic, a style that when you look at a photographer’s work and portfolio, ALL of the work will look the same from wedding to wedding. Some couples find this very comforting that their photos and albums (because traditional couples often want albums) will look just like the samples they’ve seen on the photographer’s website.

The photographer will share a list of the traditional images they like to photograph and a list of the events within the wedding they will shoot. They will pose you, and your photos will be exactly what you were expecting. Wedding portraiture is the main emphasis of the coverage with couples looking at the camera or at each other. There is a LOT of direction in this type of photography.

Many couples worry they’ll look awkward in their photos. Having a professional photographer pose them all day feels comfortable.

The photographer is not watching you, documenting spontaneous moments. Clients who don’t like or want the reality of their day will prefer the predictability of this traditional, classic style of wedding photography.  Almost all of the photographs are posed photos of the couple along with their wedding party and family and set up photos of their wedding details and planned events.

This type of wedding photography is about predictable results uniformity and perfection. Most classic/traditional photography style photographers deliver images that look “light and airy” or closer to “true to life”.

Photojournalistic Wedding Photography, Candid, Documentary, Storytelling, Lifestyle, Editorial –

There are many ways to say that this type of wedding photography is the spontaneous, reality based coverage of wedding days.  No two weddings look alike and the photographer is watching and documenting peak moments as they happen in an unscripted way.

Many couples worry a photojournalist won’t pose them at all and they’ll look awkward.  A photojournalist usually works with you and your natural body language so the poses look natural and reflect your personalties.

There is also an emphasis on capturing the big picture of the wedding day with images of guests, friends and family enjoying the heck out of your wedding day. There will be a lot of coverage that you had no idea was going on and plenty of surprises. Great for couples who want storytelling, scene setting, fun candid moments along with more spontaneous portraits (as well as some classic poses for Grandma).

Most photojournalistic wedding photographers are happy to take requests and know the standard family/wedding party poses need to be done, but check with them to make sure this is indeed part of their coverage. Most of their images will look true to life, colorful and timeless, and not having trendy filters. It’s all about realism.

Fine Arts Wedding Photography –

Fine arts wedding photography could also be called “artsy fartsy” or cinematic wedding photography. Almost all photographers do take some fine arts images during the wedding day, but this is usually done in addition to both poses and photojournalistic types of coverage.

While most great wedding photographers always look for amazing light, pack as much creativity into their images and have an eye for unique artistry, I have personally seen very few photographers who can make it professionally by doing fine arts photography exclusively.

There is a newer trend to call blurry, out of focus, poorly exposed images “Fine Arts Photography”. If you love the idea of hiring a fine arts photographer, check their portfolios carefully to make sure they have the technical experience to handle dark wedding venues so you have images you will love forever.  Images often are edited with either cool or warm tones to look “dark and moody” or very “light and airy”.

 

Blending of types of wedding photography styles:

 

 

Blending all three styles!

The good news is that most photographers can do a bit of all three which is probably what you’re looking for. Here are some things to find out before you hire a photographer with your preferred “style”:

Can your “Classic” and “Traditional” photographer capture spontaneously moments? If they aren’t willing to pay attention to what’s going all the freaking time, the answer is no. Do you see candid moments on their website or do all the photos look posed?

Is a photojournalist comfortable posing groups and helping out with poses to make couples feel good and look great? Most will, but a few don’t. Their portfolio should be able to answer that question. Do couples look good, natural? Do they look like they’re having fun? Can you see a story in their photos?

Does the “fine arts” photographer have great lighting skills? Experienced fine arts photographers use lighting (including flashes) to achieve the artistry and creative images they see in their minds. Fine arts photography seems to be a buzz word lately for new photographers starting out who do not know how their cameras work or how to process their images in a consistent way. Looking at sample weddings and reviews is crucial before hiring this type of photographer.

Get exactly what you’ve always dreamed of for your wedding photography!

The best wedding photographers in the business are great at all three of these types of photography. They take excellent portraits, they capture fantastic, fleeting, storytelling moments and they love creating one of a kind, unique pieces of artwork with amazing light, creativity and emotion.

Then you need to see what they do to the images after the wedding when they edit the photos.

Once you can find that completely individualized blend of how the wedding photographer works and the way the images look afterwards, you’ve found your match!

For more information about different editing styles of wedding photography and what “true to life”, “bright and light” and “dark and moody” mean and take my quiz so see how well you know the different types of wedding photography.