Posing verses Photojournalism
Here at C&C Design we have clients ask all the time, what is your style of photography and can you keep the images in a photojournalistic style, with the sentence following”I want to look natural not posed”
To answer this question we like to say that we provide images that don’t subscribe to the purist photojournalism, nor the traditional posed style. We like to think of our approach to capturing the best image in all environments is to capture the most emotionally charge image at the correct moment so that each image feels and looks as natural as possible.
Instead of subscribing to rigidly to a defined style, I like to share with my clients that we are there to capture the best quality images throughout their entire wedding day, and to do this we need to be open to think more along the lines of ”what style of photography will work in this setting and then the next, and so on; more along the lines of get-the-job-done-alism
Different Styles of Wedding Photography
There are three broad styles in wedding photography- Traditional, Photojournalistic, and Freestyle
Traditional Wedding Photography tends to be formal with the emphasis on posed images. On the other end of the spectrum is photojournalistic wedding photography. Here the emphasis is on a documentary approach with little direction from the photographer.
Then there are styles which incorporate a Fashion Flare where the couple, wedding party, and family images are posed-guided in a modern freestyle way with the emphasis on creating an emotional connection with the person or group of people that are in each image.
So for example, if we are capturing images of a Bride & Groom during a photo session we may guide them to stand in a particular spot, turn their face toward the camera and hold on tight to each other, while snuggling into their partner's neck, this may sound posed but what we are able to capture in this freestyle approach is a connection the couple shows us naturally as they soften into one another and show their affection with spontaneous laughter.
For me, a Photojournalistic, Freestyle, Fashion Fare is all one; and is akin to Storytelling. If this means interacting and directing my coulpe to achieve this then that’s fine with me. I am there to tell the story of your day, to capture the days events with as much emotional connection that looks organic and natural.
