Reportage Wedding Photography

A Brief History of Wedding Photography

It hasn’t always been like this. Back in the pre-digital days, before reportage wedding photography really took off, wedding photography was stuck in a continual loop. With film being expensive, not only to purchase but to print as well, a wedding photographer would only have enough rolls in their bag to do the basics - namely the group photos, the signing of the register, the cutting of the cake, and a shot of the couple outside on the church steps. It was simply a record of the big events and the people whom attended, fully staged and completely orchestrated. But then along came digital and the status quo would forever be changed…

All Change

Reportage wedding photography, or documentary wedding photography to give it its other label, burst onto the scene at the end of the 1990s when all of a sudden wedding photographers weren’t restricted to the 24 frames they had in a roll of film. All of a sudden the very latest DSLR could hold a 2GB memory card that could fit an incredible 165 or so photos, with the added bonus of being able to instantly receive feedback on how the shots looked, and delete any that didn’t work. This meant there was a dramatic change in approach. All of a sudden, wedding photographers got creative and started photographing the Bride getting ready in the morning before she left for church, the hugs with the family after the ceremony, the speeches and the reactions of the guests, and the first dance as man and wife. A couple’s wedding day had turned into a story, with characters, a plot, and all the emotions that come with it.

Twenty years on, reportage wedding photography has basically become the contemporary style of wedding photography. But what exactly is reportage wedding photography? Essentially it’s when your wedding day is unobtrusively documented in an entirely natural way. Nobody will tell you to do something again or ask you to laugh on cue. Instead, the whole day is captured as if the photographer was a fly on the wall. The wedding literally becomes like a story, taking you and everyone who looks at the pictures back to those moments, as they happened.

What to Expect from a Reportage Wedding Photographer

However it’s not all about the big moments - a skilled reportage wedding photographer will really be able to spot situations that aren’t so obvious, and will look to compose the picture in a way that makes it visually interesting and different to other wedding photographers. This becomes their signature style, and is essentially why some documentary wedding photographers are more expensive than others - you’re paying for their eye!

I shoot a lot of street photography outside of the wedding season which has helped to make the way I see things different and has helped me to form my approach to wedding photography. I’m not just trying to replicate wedding photography I’ve seen, or work I’ve done before. I really want to find moments that are unique to your wedding, and find the stories within the story, and to compose them in an interesting and artistic way. I’m always on the lookout to capture the relationships you have with your family and friends, because you may not have had had an unposed picture of your mum or dad hugging you since you were a child! This is the beauty and power of a wedding day, and I love taking the kind of photos I’d personally love to have on mine.