If organising a wedding is stressful enough, trying to find a wedding photographer is quite a challenge. Especially when there are so many talented photographers out there who can do an amazing job.
Before you choose your photographer for your big day, one thing you might want to consider is understanding the differences in wedding photo editing styles. While you might think that all photographers are the same, they take photos and it looks great, there is just a bit more to it than the actual process of clicking the button on the camera.
This really handy blog post is here to help you understand Wedding Photography Editing Styles and how to choose a photographer for your wedding day based on how you want your photographs to look and feel.
Photography styles have come a long way
The world of wedding photography has grown leaps and bounds since the advent of digital cameras and the technology behind it has continually to get better and better, it certainly has changed since I started as a Sydney wedding photographer 10 years ago.
Particularly in the last 5 years since Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok it has really put photography in front of more and more people so that has made it more accessible to the general public.
In the past it was really hard to find a great wedding photographer but today, you have so much choice and everyone is really great which leads me to the next point.
There is no right or wrong choice, just what you like!
As we dive into the topic of wedding photo editing styles, I want to start by saying there is no one size fits all and there is no right or wrong choice. What you love in a photo will be completely different to the next couple and the couple after that.
Wedding Photography Editing styles vary from one photographer to another, and as a general statement they fall under 5 different styles in my opinion — true to color, light and airy, dark and moody, desaturated editorial and bold and vibrant.
As you start to search for your wedding photographer in Sydney, it is important to understand the style that you’re looking for. You may not know exactly what that is when you start your search, but after a while you will get a real sense of what you like.
Do you like your photos more brighter vs dark? Perhaps compare photographers with that look and see what feels right to you. Or do you want your photographs to be less “trendy” right now for something that you feel will look great still in 10 or 20 years time when you show your kids.
Once you find a “style” you like, then really dig deep into their websites and find out more about them personally, what their approach is for your wedding day and get an overall sense on whether you want them as part of your wedding day.
So now will go through the 5 Wedding Photography Editing Styles that I have identified
TRUE TO COLOUR
True to color is pretty much what it is. Real life colours with a clean and simple look that is timeless yet beautiful.
This editing style seeks to retain natural colours and not altering them as much as possible. If I was to describe how I edit my photos it will be just like this. Timeless, but not boring and it will look great in 10 or 20 years time when you show your future children. I may be biased, but is the way to go in my humble opinion! Not too light. Not too dark. Just right! Like goldilocks.
Some photographers that have a similar style
Images By Kevin (yes that is me!)
BOLD AND COLOURFUL
Bold and vibrant is the complete opposite to true-to-color editing style. The main difference between the two is that the colours are more vibrant, richly saturated, and contrasty. Blacks and shadows are much more blacker. If you like your photos to pop with strong colours then this is the way to go.
Some photographers that do this well:
Ava Me Photography
LIGHT AND AIRY
This style has been made very popular by the wedding blogs and magazines. It is dreamy, romantic with that bright and airy vibe that is feminine and lovely. The colours are pastel like, favouring the light greens and pinkish tones that is evident in the sky or in the environment. There is very little in way of shadows and prefers everything to be beautifully lit even during the wedding reception.
Some photographers with this style
DARK AND MOODY
This style is darker than the previous styles with muted highlights and greens. The blacks are very “black” and the overall tone gives a sense of moodiness, some would argue slightly masculine. The photography is heavily art inspired with a strong sense of light and shadow.
Some photographers with this dark and moody style
Dan O Day
EDITORIAL
This style is warm with a nostalgic romantic old school film look. Loves high fashion, designer dresses and heavily inspired by Harpers Bazaar, British Vogue, and other really fashion driven magazines I don’t really know too much about! If you want your photography to feel like you’re in a high end fashion editorial or on an international wedding blog then this style of photography is made for you.
Some photographers that do this well:
CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY
We know deciding on a photographer can be tough, but regardless of what editing style you decide to go with, the most important thing is consistency throughout their full wedding galleries. My advice to you is, when you shortlist your Sydney wedding photographer ask them to send you three full wedding galleries that is similar to your venue so you can see if they are able to replicate the same look over and over again.
There are a lot of unique lighting situations that require a different approach throughout the day, such as a dark room while you get ready, your first look at high noon, being backlit during the ceremony, or a dark and moody wedding reception. An amazing photographer will be consistent with lighting, shooting, and editing your wedding photos!
In my experience, the more experienced the photographer the better they are able to deal with no so ideal lighting scenarios such as bright midday sun or in a dark reception with little or no lighting at all.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to choosing your wedding photographer it is super important to consider their editing style as we have spoken about in this blog post. Every photographer has a specific preference on how they see the world and how they want their photograph to look and feel, so make sure you ask to view a full day wedding gallery so you can see if their work is consistent across the entire wedding.
There is no right or wrong style, only what suits you and what you as a couple like. My last piece of advice is, shortlist your three favourite photographers, ask for 3 full galleries to view and if you like what you see, act fast as they may not be around for much longer!
If you found this blog post useful, I have written a great article on how to choose your wedding ceremony venue.
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