Recently, I submitted two articles to Southern California’s Wedding Compass blog: the first one, about the different styles of wedding photography, is listed below.  As much as I strive to find clients who desire a documentary style for their wedding photography, I still am asked, especially if there is an hour or two between the ceremony and reception, to provide portait, or semi-posed, photography.  Examples of my work from three different styles  are displayed below.  If you like this article, check back next week to read my second post called “The Real Wedding Photojournalist.”  Please feel free to add any comments or questions you have to these posts.

Defining Wedding Photography Styles

Trends in wedding photography basically fall into the following categories: “traditional or posed photography” (the wedding photographer basically is in control of the entire day, directing and leading a series of portaits at each location). The following images are my most traditional, portrait-like that you would see throughout a traditional wedding photographer’s coverage of the day:

A “hybrid” photographer attempts to provide both traditional and candid photos (this style probably represents most wedding photographers today). The following are images that still required my direction and placement, but sought to be more artistic and to create an outcome that “appears” to be spontaneous:

“Photojournalism or documentary photography” (the wedding photojournalist sees the day as an opportunity to capture real moments, documenting the day as it unfolds). The following images are completely spontaneous. The images are unique and allow for the real story of the moment to be captured:

Understanding the differences is crucial for any bride and groom so that they avoid disappointment with the results that their wedding photographer provides. This should be a discussion that should take place during the first meeting between the photographer and the potential client. To be sure, there are hundreds of weddings photographed each year, that as a consequence to a lack of communication or understanding, result in unhappy clients with their wedding photos. In some cases, utter depression results with the knowledge that the photos can never be re-captured again.

A big reason that contributes to this lack of understanding wedding photography styles is because the styles themselves are not always clear. There can be somewhat of an overlap between traditional, photojournalism, and hybrid styles that, not only is there confusion with the client’s understanding, but even with many wedding photographers as well!

Wedding Photojournalism is perhaps the one style that is most misunderstood. The term “wedding photojournalism” gets thrown around like the drinking beverage Coca-cola does when people want a soft drink, or Kleenex does when people need to sneeze. “I need a coke” doesn’t necessarily mean the person wants a specific flavor or brand of beverage to quench his thirst, nor does a person with a head cold saying “do you have any kleenex?” mean that he will only use the brand Kleenex to cover his nose when sneezing! In the same way, a photographer saying he photographs weddings as a photojournalist, could mean a variety of things. To some it might mean that the photographer captures a lot of candids during the day but he/she may also “stage” some of the photos. To another it might mean that the photographer will not pose a single image during the day or impose himself that would affect the outcome of the moment for the sake of a better image. To even another it might mean that his photos are always semi-staged, but the couple is told to “act natural or to laugh” on demand, “pretend no one is photographing (them),” or “don’t look into the camera while the (photographer) is capturing images!” Also, just because a photographer includes capturing “candids” during the day, it doesn’t make him/her a photojournalist.

Considering the three categories of styles listed above, there is a tendency for the “hybrid” style photographer to mistakenly call him/herself a “wedding photojournalist.” The same is often true with the bride who decides she likes the style of a hybrid photographer, and ends up hiring someone who is really a photojournalist. There is nothing wrong with a hybrid style photographer. In fact, his/her style may be the most sought after today across the country. Usually he/she is an expert at making stylistic and creative portraits of the bride and groom. His/her images usually are perfect and natural looking. Above and beyond the traditional photographer, he/she introduces fashion and an editorial style photography in his/her imagery. The great wedding photographers of Australia like Yervant and Jerry Ghionis have lead the way in this style in the last decade and many reputable photographers in California have mastered it as well. The hybrid photographer finds a great location with bright colors, interesting textures, or perfect lighting within a gorgeous setting, and then semi-directs the couple to stand in a position and act care free, or forget that the photographer is there and laugh and kiss as if they are the only two people in the world. If the couple is willing to be expressive and have fun with one another, the imagery created is reminiscent of the photos found in today’s popular magazine ads. When the hybrid photographer is not posing and staging his couples, he changes his style and approach by capturing candid photographs of the day. I would say that the breakdown between posed and candid is anywhere from 30/70 to 50/50 of the days coverage.

In conclusion, here is some basic advice in deciding upon the style most suited for your wedding: 1) choose a wedding photojournalist to document your wedding day if you want unique photographs designed to tell the story of your day as they naturally and truly unfold and if you prefer that your photographer stay out of the way and allow you to spend most of your day interacting with your guests. 2) If you would rather have perfect images that require your photographer to interact with you, control the timing and flow of events throughout the day, use his expertise for utilizing perfect lighting techniques with reflectors and umbrellas and soft boxes, with very little candid-style photography, then I would suggest finding a traditional portrait-style photographer. 3) If you want a healthy balance of both posed and candid photos, a photographer who enjoys staging creative, magazine like imagery and capturing candid moments “whenever possible,” finding a great hybrid photographer will be your best selection. How can you know for sure what your photographer’s style is? Ask him/her to show you photographs from complete weddings, not just his best work. By looking through the entire coverage of the day, you will be able to determine whether the photographer is a traditional portrait-style photographer, photojournalist or hybrid photographer.

This is the wedding highlight slide show from one of the awesome weddings I had the honor and pleasure of photographing in 2009.  The wedding took place on October 24th.  All the details about the wedding can be found on the blog back in November.  Enjoy this!  It was an exquisite event!

I am almost a month late in posting this Press Release that came out last month, but better late than never!

Detroit, MI – January 19, 2010 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Ray Anthony Photography has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Photography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Ray Anthony Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Ray Anthony Photography is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/ray-anthony-photography-brighton/939072ee62402daa.html.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

I love finding moments from a different point of view. When you were a kid, did you ever find yourself fascinated with looking at reflections through windows, or maybe in a pond, and seeing two worlds at once? You could see through the window inside the house or through the pond and the life underneath, but you could also see the outside world that was being reflected when the light was perfect. I loved finding those realities as a kid and I love finding them as a wedding photographer!!!

Recently, I had the opportunity to pop in on a wedding my Las Vegas associate, Rudy Ortega, was photographing at Canyon Gate Country Club in Las Vegas. Having camera in hand, I was ready to find a few artistic moments. The scene above is of the bride and her father walking to the door inside the club house to the patio outside where the guests are seated and wedding party waiting for her arrival. Standing outside on the patio, I am shooting into the window, looking inside. You are looking at a reflection off the window of the scene outside, the bride and her father are not a reflection. I was able to catch this moment as Alexis and her dad happened to be walking into a pool of light from the sun shining through the window, allowing both the inside world and out side world to be seen simultaneously.

Do you like the photo? I would love to hear your comments.

Prior to their actual wedding day, I had not met Emily and Christopher in person. They are good friends with my daughter and son-in-law, Ashley and Jeff, and I was excited to be asked to photograph their wedding because it’s a rare to see a wedding in Michigan in the month of January! Not only did this wedding turn out to be great, but Emily and Christopher were tremendously easy going and very obviously in love! There are not many more key ingredients needed for a photographer like me to capture spontaneous and creative photos. Getting ready photos began at Woodside Bible Church in Royal Oak, Michigan. The couple decided to see one another prior to the ceremony so that we could get some outdoor photos of the two of them downtown. We had a great time near the train depot as Emily and Chris braved the cold weather in their formal attire! After the beautiful ceremony, and a few more outdoor photos with the wedding party, the couple were joined by their family and friends for their reception at Lakeland Manor in St. Clair Shores. Enjoy some of my favorite highlights above and below. Also check out the highlight slideshow after the last photo.

I submitted over 200 of my most favorite moments from all of my 2009 weddings to three great wedding photographers that I respect very much. They are Asgeir Bollason of Asgeir Fotographica, Michael Erdkamp of Memories By Michael, and Michael Andrews of Michael Andrews Photography. I want to thank each of them for taking the time to help in selecting my very best moments of 2009.  They are displayed above and below and are not in any particular order. You can see the entire collection of 210 photos on a slide show set to music by clicking here.

I had such a great year and terrific brides to thank for making it possible! To each of you, I cannot thank you enough for the honor you gave me to photograph your weddings! Thank you for allowing me to be me on your special day! Every single wedding was different, from your personalities, to your locations, to your celebrations! I had so much fun and was able to find new and exciting images at each wedding! I wish each of you, and your husbands, a wonderful and prosperous New Year! All my best! Enjoy the show below:

Three days before their wedding, I get a call from this cute sounding gal with a southern accent. She tells me that she and her fiance, Nick, are flying into Vegas in a couple of days, and was I available to photograph their elopement? Not only that, but they are wanting to take some photos out at Valley of Fire, wanting to walk around the strip after the ceremony, and “oh yah, we want to get married on a helicopter, do you have a problem with that?” All I could do was laugh! I am thinking to myself: I’ve had such a fun year with great weddings in Michigan, Chicago, Florida, California, Boston and Las Vegas, a wedding in a helicopter over the Strip is one heck of a way to end 2009!!!!

My only criteria to the couple was that they better know how to have fun! Well, that was the last requirement I needed to make with Lori and Nick! Talk about fun? They must have invented the word!!! This couple, who flew in from Mobile, Alabama, were soooo much fun, that my job was as easy as it gets! I started with them at their suite on the 57th floor of Trump Towers where I photographed them getting ready. From there, we jumped in an Expedition Limo and headed out to Valley of Fire for some cool portraits just as the sun was hitting the horizon! We literally had about 20 minutes to climb up the rocks before heading back to Vegas to catch the helicopter. The nuptials took place somewhere between the Stratosphere and Bellagio, and the couple – who met sky diving (go figure) – were hitched! We circled back over Mandalay Bay and headed for the landing pad. After a few more photos in front of the helicopter, we drove over to the new City Center to see what we could find for some fun post-ceremony photos. We found a few backdrops in the City Center mall and caught the tram to capture a final portrait in front of the fountains at Bellagio.

Enjoy the photos below! This was a first for me! I hope its not the last, I was in photo Heaven!

This was such a great wedding! I am so glad LeeAnn and Jack flew me to Boston to photograph their celebration! Enjoy the slideshow below that combines both their “day before” photos and wedding day story! All the other details can be found on last months blog entry.