Wedding Photography Styles

There are many different wedding photographers in the College Station area, and every single one has their own style, vision, and shooting process.  The key is finding the photographer and photography style that best fits who you are and what you're looking for.

One of the newest and fastest growing styles of photography is the Photojournalistic approach to wedding photography.  With this style you get to live your moments and the photographer is telling your story as it happens through photos.  By acting like a fly on the wall, you get to live your wedding day without a wall of cameras between you and your guests at all times.  From the hair salon to the limo ride home, the photographer is constantly documenting your day and capturing your moments and the moments of friends, family, and loved ones as they enjoy your special day with you.  The benefits of this style of photography are that you are constantly being photographed without the photographer ruining your moment by staging photos, moments that could not be staged are captured as they occur, and your story is told as YOUR story and not the photographer's.  Many photographers still don't like this style of photography because it means relinquishing creative control over the situation which can boil down to less impressive shots that are great for building the photographer's portfolio, but are staged and not remembered by you as a special moment, but pausing and smiling for the photographer's delight.

The other major style is what I like to refer to as the "poser" style.  This is the style of wedding photography that gets great photos, but can really put a damper on the day truly being yours.  I have seen photographers actually up on the alter with the couple during the ceremony making sure they are getting the right shot, angles, and lighting, but completely disregarding the couple, their guests, and the memory they are trying to celebrate.  The same thing occurs for the cutting of the cake, the entrance, the exit, the kiss, the bouquet toss, as well as many other moments throughout your night, where you are being separated from your audience and friends by a wall of cameras and flashes of light.  All of the negatives aside, however, this style of photography can provide great pictures for you and your fiancee for the rest of your lives. Everything can be controlled by the photographer which normally means their creative vision is going to come out more and the details are going to be paid attention to and performed vigilantly.

Finally, style can differ based solely upon the lighting the wedding photographer wants to use.  Some photographers want to have flash bulbs going off throughout the entire day (even during the ceremony which can be very distracting and possibly not allowed by the church you are at) and others tend to leave flashes out of the situation until absolutely necessary.  Once again, this can separate you from your guests, but can provide beautiful photos for you to have for the rest of your lives.

Just remember to view photos from your photographer to see their style and tell them what it is you are looking for.  Do you want a lot of wide-angle, up close shots?  Posed shots?  Formal wedding shots?  Photojournalistic shots?  The choice is yours and you should find a photographer that can make it happen!