Documentary Wedding Photographer
What is documentary wedding photography (and what it is not)... and why I choose to photograph weddings with this particular style and approach.
I've been a documentary wedding photographer since 2004. During my photographic career I've seen many over and misused terms flying around the industry for different wedding photography styles, but none more contentious than ‘documentary wedding photography’!
It’s a term that has been so distorted that it now, unfortunately, conjures up images of wedding photographers draped in cameras with huge lenses ‘sniping off’ headshots like crazed paparazzi, producing isolated black and white portraits.
I would like to dispel that myth! Wedding photography documentary, contrary to all the misuses of the term, is about an unobtrusive approach to a style of wedding photography which seeks to avoid directing how the day unfolds, lets the couple and guests enjoy themselves and often leaves people wondering if there was even a photographer even documenting the wedding.
Wedding Photography Documentary
A documentary wedding photographer is often referred to as ‘reportage wedding photographer’ or 'wedding photojournalist' however essentially, they all refer to the same thing - an observational and unobtrusive approach to photographing a wedding. Put simply, each wedding I document with the same ‘hands-off’ photo style, allowing you to completely enjoy what will no doubt be one of the most important days in your whole life. Finding the right wedding photographer is an exceptionally important task.
Documentary style wedding photography records very genuine moments occurring throughout a wedding day. What's more, if the wedding documentary approach has been truly mastered, the style of photography collections and individual pictures will convey subject and scene honestly and with authenticity. For me, the aforementioned values far outweigh any qualities that, perhaps, a pretty but relatively meaningless portrait could...
Subjects, as with any documentary style photography, should be photographed within context, conveying the true story and atmosphere in pictures. Documented wedding images should be able to tell the viewer what is happening in the moment or scene without the need for any further explanation.
Weddings are an absolute gold mine for the discerning, documentary wedding photographer - the variety of emotions over the course of the day makes a wedding day really quite unique - the pre-wedding ceremony nerves and then the joy of being married, this is often followed by a touch of sadness when, perhaps during the speeches, absent family and friends are reflected upon, then wrapping things up with the high energy and elation of dancing and entertainment.
My documentary style
Ultimately, documenting a wedding is about creating a beautiful, elegant and completely timeless set of emotive photos that fully tell the story of your wedding day. Done properly, artistically-skilled, unobtrusive documentary wedding photographers will create a treasured family heirloom that will be looked at time and again throughout the years and will take you back to the day with utter clarity and honest emotional impact.
It’s very real and I often find myself feeling immensely proud to have been hired to document such personal moments. This isn’t just photography of a wedding, or at least as most people know it, this is a photo documentary of life - powerful, emotional wedding photography documentary, photography of those little things that often go unnoticed, those subtle emotions and nuances unique to each wedding, to each family and to every couple.
It’s touching to know so many people place this responsibility in my hands, it’s a very real and genuine honour to earn my living making very personal documentary wedding photography collections that I know will become family heirlooms.
A documentary wedding photographer’s work should always evoke a reaction. The authenticity, or more ‘believability’, that I look to produce in my documentary coverage and across the wedding day coverage is worth so much more than just a pretty picture or regimented formal family photograph.
To recap on what documentary wedding photography is:
Essentially you’re a storytelling wedding photographer, presenting the narrative of the day through a body of documentary photography. Though at an individual level, each unique wedding photograph needs to work on its own and depict genuine observed moments, and not just isolated headshots
Individual documentary pictures need to convey subject and scene honestly, with authenticity and importantly with no direction from the photographer
Subjects should be photographed within context whenever achievable in order to more effectively convey narrative
Photographs should tell the viewer what is happening in the moment or scene, without the need for further explanation on what an image represents. It’s not just about being an unobtrusive wedding photographer, there’s so much more to it than that
It’s a focus on storytelling, on creating a faithful and elegant documentary record of the most important day of your life. The most professional documentary wedding photographers will even find and capture moments and stories that you didn’t see on the day and tell a story that you may have been too focused to see unfolding around you.
“Allister has a unique, discrete and elegant documentary style.
If you want boring photos don’t bother giving him a call, but if you want something very special for your wedding day then we cannot recommend him highly enough. A truly talented documentary wedding photographer.”
Graham & Georgina Hodgson
Documentary wedding photographers apply their unique style and personal interpretation; it's a highly subjective, wide-ranging photographic discipline, utilised in many different ways. Ultimately, however, it's about telling the story of the day, accurately and with authenticity. Read more resources on documentary photography.