8 Main Wedding Photography Styles

Style preferences vary from couple to couple, from dresses to décor. Choosing a wedding photographer is one of the most important stylistic decisions that all couples must make. In fact, you should decide on your wedding photography style before contacting potential photographers. If you take the opposite approach and book first, then learn about the style, you may end up with photos that don't match your vision.

Fine art and even dark and moody images are popular wedding photo styles today, but classic images are still popular. But what if you prefer classic, dark, and moody photography? Do you have to choose between the two? Don't be concerned; many photographers provide a variety of styles throughout the day.

With so many options, deciding on the best wedding photography style for you can be difficult. One simple way to find out is to examine your social media saves. Examine Instagram or Pinterest to see what kinds of images you like and save the most. It's fantastic if you can spot a pattern in which everything is similar or belongs to the same family. You can also make mood boards or start Pinterest boards to see what you like best. After a few weeks of browsing and pinning, you'll notice a pattern.

From candids to classics, learn everything you need to know about wedding photography styles before choosing a wedding photographer.

1. Traditional

Many couples' parents have classic and traditional photography from their weddings. These straightforward photographs, while not particularly creative (typically shot at eye level and posed), have withstood the test of time. Most photographers include at least some traditional photography in their repertoire, especially for family portraits following the ceremony.

These photographs will stand the test of time and will never go out of style. It's very simple and nothing out of the ordinary, but they still look good 50 to 60 years later.

2. Photojournalistic

Many photographers have adopted a photojournalistic style because candid and documentary-style photographs produce some of the most heartfelt and memorable images. These photographers approach the wedding as if it were a feature or news story. They let the magic happen naturally, then snap away, capturing the magic as it happens.

3. Editorial

Editorial images, on the other hand, are much more posed, almost like a fashion magazine. This style is less common in the wedding photography industry, but many photographers have mastered it. They've expanded their businesses by specializing.

In most cases, the couple enters wedding planning knowing exactly what they want. They each have different goals for their wedding photography. They want it to feel like a high-end, luxury photoshoot.

4. Dark and Moody

Dark-and-moody photographs, unsurprisingly, are exactly what they sound like dark, moody, and dramatic. The photographer aims to photograph the couple with shadows or harsh lines that create unusual and creative patterns or lighting in this style. Dark editing and dark shooting are examples of this style. Many couples have gravitated toward this in recent years. This is what many magazines depict.

5. Aerial

Although you probably don't want your entire wedding day captured by aerial photography, drone photographs are a great add-on that more and more photographers are now offering. Aerial photography is ideal for photo sessions, ceremony exits, and outdoor receptions.

6. Fine art

Fine-art photography is most commonly associated with the film, but it has evolved into more of a hybrid in recent years, especially as it has grown in popularity. This design is characterized by being light, bright, and airy.

It has a more delicate, softer, and cleaner appearance than straight digital. Fine art complements the bright and airy style that is typically achieved when shooting on film. Photographers either shoot film or are inspired by the film in order to achieve that look.

7. Black and White

Although some photographers use only black-and-white cameras, black-and-white wedding images are more about editing than photography style. Almost all wedding photographers, like her, provide at least a few black and white images.

8. Landscape

Outside of the wedding industry, landscape photography is an established and popular photo style, but it's become a popular add-on for photographers shooting weddings in scenic locations like the mountains or the beach. In this case, the photographer scouts the location with the couple ahead of time. The landscape wedding photographer then includes the couple in an adventurous scene as part of the landscape image for scale and epic beauty.