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MATCHING STYLES
select your photo style
With a
little basic information about the different photographic styles, you can find
which best appeals to you, and captures the essence of your wedding!
Finding
the right photography style for your wedding depends on one thing -- who you
are. And because photographs are intensely personal, they should absolutely
reflect your personal style. Make sure your pictures capture the essence of
your wedding: the emotions, the loved ones and all the details, from beginning
to end.
In order
to get photos that will best reflect your personal style - and make you feel
warm and fuzzy for years to come - arm yourself with some basic information
about the different photographic styles and which appeals to you.
You may
hear photographers refer to their style as " photojournalistic" or
"
traditional.” Here's a little glossary to help you understand what these
terms mean.
Traditional
or Formal (Posed) Wedding Photography
Traditional
photography arranges key players, such as the bride, groom, their parents and
the bridal party into formal poses. The end result is a traditional album
brimming with classic shots: you and your parents, the bridal party, you and
your husband, hand over hand, cutting the cake.
A
professional wedding photographer will have experience and training in how to
pose people. While candid photography should be part of every photographer's
repertoire, traditional posed portraits always make it into mom and dad's
albums.
For this,
finding a photographer who excels in formal portraiture is a must. When you
review portfolios, look for relaxed faces, bright eyes and genuine smiles.
Portraits are, by nature, posed. But that doesn't mean they must be stiff or
contrived. An experienced photographer will know how to make even staged shots
look inspired. And you can count on a professional wedding photographer to use
the correct gear to photograph that special grouping.
Although
the popularity of photojournalism is growing, formal portraits are still
wedding day must haves.
Photojournalism is a style of photography that uses
artfully composed candid shots to tell your love story. A photojouranlistic
approach will capture your wedding in a similar way to a newspaper
photojournalist. You can expect to see photos that are a bit angled, edgy,
taken from different perspectives and there will be a lot of details -- like
the cake with a blurred group of people as a backdrop. Wedding guests will be
unknowingly captured with a long telephoto lens and every emotion will be
captured.
Your
photographer catches these candid moments as he finds them, and often they turn
out to be the most descriptive and emotional photos of the day.
Look for
portfolios that capture emotions, and evoke a sense of history and movement.
Their pictures should unveil relationships intuitively, honestly, and
naturally.
artistic
or creative Wedding Photography
Many
photographers try to be as creative as possible -- especially with the romantic
portraits. That means they'll try things like laying the bouquet across the
ground and photographing the couple dancing. They may try to use a fisheye lens
to make the world look round, with the couple dancing as though they are above
the earth. These images can be fun or emotional. Finding someone who will use
at least some creative techniques is important because they can be the most
interesting images in your wedding album -- something to dazzle people as they
view your album.
Black
&
White photos versus color photos
Because
many of today’s photographers shoot digital, they possess the luxury of
converting color pictures to black and white after they’re shot. Your
photographer will usually go through the images and choose the ones they think
will look best in black and white, and then do the conversions. Many photo
editing programs will allow you to do these conversions easily however, they
don’t allow you to set specific adjustments to ensure the tones look perfect or
and the flowers appear as vibrant as they were. A professional will know the
right treatments to use on each photo.
Black-and-white
photos add instant sophistication to any shot, and remain popular with brides
everywhere. Although your photographer will most likely be shooting in color,
ask for a few shots in traditional black-and-white.
Vibrant
and descriptive, color photographs are also less expensive than black-and-whites.
Even if you prefer black and white, it's nice to have some color photos so
you'll have a visual record to remind you of your bouquet's perfect shade of
blue.
Yet
another option, sepia tone photos, offer a range of rich browns, and give a
look of old world elegance to your wedding photos. To make an unforgettable
album all the more unique, consider a set of timeless sepia prints to evoke an
irresistible sense of nostalgia.
With
hand-tinted photos, your photographer can add subtle accents of color to your
black-and-white photographs.
Imagine a
stunning black-and-white bridal portrait, with your bouquet of gerbera daisies
providing a dramatic splash of magenta. Or hand-tint a favorite black-and-white
with a splash of soft color.
Remember
this: No style is particularly better than another it's all a matter of
preference. Finding the right photography style for your wedding depends on one
thing -- who you are. Most couples eventually decide on a combination - - a
combination of photojournalism and traditional photography should suit your
fashionable tastes. But as artistic as you get, don't forget to get at least a
few portraits if not for yourself then for parents and grandparents. Classic
shots never go out of style.
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