Reportage, fly-on-the-wall & photojournalistic wedding photography are all ‘styles’ of photography that seem to pop up all the time from all types of wedding photographers. Journalistic wedding photography is definitely a style that is popular at the moment, but one thing I particularly notice is that the style is about as popular with clients as it is with photographers.
So what is photojournalistic wedding photography? Well if we think of photojournalism, most of us think of newspapers and current affairs, which could lead us to thinking about war photography, political protests and the things we usually see in newspapers. This is a bit far away from wedding photography! But what these things have in common in terms of style, is that they capture the action as it happens! The camera stands to attention and snaps the ‘moment’ when it happens. Since photojournalism is very fast paced, the wedding photographer should never stop working, shooting, looking, thinking and considering what will happen next.
Photojournalistic wedding photography should be candid and informal, allowing the wedding to just flow naturally and the photographer to capture individuals in a relaxed manner, unaware of the camera. The reportage style will possibly have more than one thing happening in the picture, like in my example, which is where we draw more similarities from photojournalism. Photojournalistic photography should tell the story of the wedding, from beginning to end, capturing not just the ceremony and the cake cutting, but the look from one lover to another, the momentary laughter of a new born baby or the roaring laughter of the room through the speeches.
There are a few too many photographers who seem almost stuck in their ways; they offer a ‘photojournalistic’ style only and one book/album…great if that’s what the bride and groom want. But what about those couples who just don’t know what they want? If that sounds like you then shop around! There are loads of photographers and photography styles to choose from so make appointment to interview several and ask about their offerings. Perhaps you’ll find one that you particularly like, and you’ll leave the style to the pro.
