When you’re planning the imagery for your big day, one thing you’ll have to decide quite early on is the style of wedding photography you want. While, traditionally, marriage shots tended to comprise (often quite stiff-looking) line-ups, portraits of the couple and so on, these days there’s far more scope for creativity in the album of your special occasion.
What is documentary style wedding photography?
Essentially, documentary wedding photography captures all of the day’s most candid moments, as they occur organically. So this is a style that tells a story, almost in the way of a documentary maker or photo-journalist.
There’s little in the way of intervention or posing. You won’t find assistants running around, nor any studio shots with lights or similar paraphernalia. Equally, your guests won’t be asked to give up part of the reception (when they could be socialising and having fun) to wait for the photographer to get that ‘perfect’ shot.
In a nutshell, this style of taking pictures tells the tale of your day from the point of view of one of your guests, without manipulation or staging. It records moments you may not even have seen, and encapsulates mood as well as simply what something looks like.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t about taking paparazzi-style images of your celebration. It’s all about being a good observer, and capturing the day’s most perfectly (or sometimes imperfectly!) beautiful moments.
Benefits of documentary-style wedding imagery
There are a number of these, including:
- You and your guests can enjoy the moment, without spending valuable fizz-quaffing time posing for potentially awkward group shots. You can relax and be yourself – no one wants to feel they can’t do that on their own wedding day.
- You’ll get to see all the emotions of the occasion, from tears and laughter to excitement, nerves and the thrill of guests who may not have seen each other for a while being reunited.
- The photographer remains discreet throughout, from preparations to the happy couple’s departure, blending into the background.
- You receive an authentic set of memories, and each time you look at your wedding pictures, you’ll relieve the day moment by moment – exactly as it happened.
- You’ll find plenty of movement and lovely details in your pictures, whether that’s a child hiding under a table or pulling a face, the bride’s mother wiping away a tear or anything else.
- You can certainly still have some group shots, which will be taken with minimal direction from your photographer.
Documentary-style photography at your wedding
I’m Myriame Lawley, a wedding photographer covering London, Surrey and Hampshire. I always discuss the style of imagery with the couple ahead of their big day. And while traditional wedding photography certainly has its place, I love the creativity and originality of the documentary-style approach.
Talk to me about which style you want to record your special day.
