Ever wondered What is Documentary Wedding Photography? Wedding photography has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. More and more you will see the term Documentary, Reportage and even photo-journalistic. Essentially they all mean the same thing, capturing your day as it happened. Real people having real moments.
A brief history of wedding photography.
Documentary Wedding photography was the furthest thing from people’s mind in the beginning. In fact any form of wedding photography just did not exist until super rich people got their hands on it.
Wedding photography seems to be started back in the mid 1800s after the English monarchy posed for portraits and a trend started. The original wedding photography scene would have been just one photo, which was posed with no smiling.
This is because the camera technology at the time would have been bulky and required people to come to a studio and then stand still long enough for the camera to capture the photo. Also the photos were black and white and printed on small, metal sheets, known as a daguerrotype.
As camera technology evolved and cameras got lighter, film got smaller and flashes got better the photographer could then visit the bride and groom at their venue. This meant more pictures were being taken, but due to the expense of film meant each picture still had to count and the best way to make pictures count is to make people pose.
During this period it would have really been those who had money who had their wedding pictures taken but after the war those hobbyists with cameras would gate-crash weddings, take pictures and sell them to the couples. This then moved onto couples booking in advance photographers.
Finally we got to the digital camera. Unlimited pictures can be taken, super fast autofocus lenses, amazingly low-light sensors and the ability to really develop photos in the digital dark room has created a whole new level of wedding photography.
Documentary photography has always existed, It’s nothing new. But the evolution of camera technology, social media and the uncomfortableness of posing has pushed the current trend and I’m sure it will continue to evolve.
What is documentary wedding photography?
Real people
Your friends and family are everything to you. You know them and their quirks! So when you look back at your day, you want to see those people being themselves.
Real moments
Your wedding is a special celebration of love. Emotions are on a high and all come out during the day, capturing them for you to look back on is what it’s all about.
Enjoy your day
Don’t feel the need to play up to the camera or pose. Enjoy just taking in your day, interacting with everyone and don’t be distracted by the camera.
Surprises
You can’t be everywhere, so there’s always things that go on that you didn’t see. Not that I can capture every single thing that goes on but there’s always something that when you look through the photos you see a new angle on your day.
As it happened
When you look through the photos, you will see your day as it happened. The laughter the tears, the moments of contemplation, kids playing, guests chatting, bad weather, good weather. Whatever happened, it’s captured for you to reminisce on.
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