What style do you prefer?

When a bride is planning her wedding a lot of attention goes into the venue, the caterer, the flowers and the music. So often the bride forget another important detail, picking the photographer who will be capturing her wedding day for a lifetime of memories.

I read this article from The Knot, "10 Steps to Finding a Great Wedding Photographer" and thought I would share part of it with you. When you look at my work, what style do you see? Your comments would be welcomed, I think, LOL!!!

Documentary: Instead of a series of posed photos, these are candid or spontaneous pictures of people, decor and the action. Typical shots might include the lavish raw bar before guests start digging in, your motley crew of cousins dancing, or you and your bridesmaids laughing, champagne in hand. With a purely photojournalistic photographer, you'll very rarely see people staring at the camera—the photos capture the moments exactly as they happened, and together they tell a story.

Portraiture: If you prefer classic portraits go with a traditional photographer who specializes in portraiture. These are posed shots of the two of you, your friends and family in front of various backdrops. That's not to say there isn't room for creativity in this category. While some photographers will pose subjects in more traditional spots, other photographers take portraiture further into the creative realm with a more dramatic composition.

Fine Art: Though it's similar to documentary photography, this style gives the shooter greater artistic license to infuse their particular point of view and style into your photographs. So while the shots reflect reality, it's the photographer's reality. The photos are dramatic and gorgeous, but are—or look as though they were—shot on film with a grainier, dreamier, more muted appearance. Usually the object (or couple) is in focus and the background appears to blur. Motion also looks very natural in this style of photography. The few wedding photographers in the world who shoot only on film tend to fall into this category, and typically they shoot in black and white, though some will do a mix of both. That said, a photographer using a digital camera can still capture this style with the right gear and camera lens. And some photographers will alternate between digital and film. 

Edgy-Bold: This style of photography, an offshoot of fine art, is marked by outside-the-box, tilted angles and unconventional framing. So instead of a straight-on shot of the couple exchanging vows at the altar, the photo might look tilted, with an object like an altar arrangement or a candle in the foreground. Or the photo of the bride having her makeup done might be shot from above, with an emphasis on the eye shadow brush rather than on her face. Even a single portrait of a bridesmaid might be shot so that her face takes over only the bottom right of the photo and the rest of the space is filled with the wall or whatever's behind her.

Regardless of the different styles a photographer may lean more towards, it still comes down to what the Bride desires. When selecting our photographer, please make sure he or she has more than one photographer one staff and more than one style of photographer. This will give you the best of both worlds with 2 or 3 different photographers, with different approaches, making your wedding day a true keepsake. 

​Dale Alan Schmitt, Photographer, Pittsburgh, PA.