What Makes Great Wedding Photojournalism?

What makes great wedding photojournalism? To answer that question you need to consider what is photojournalism? It's the process of documenting events with a camera without controlling or affecting the situation.

Henri Cartier Bresson-one of the fathers of photojournalism coined the phrase "the decisive moment" and this essentially means capturing the peak moment within a situation.

History: Where did Photojournalism come from? Henri Cartier Bresson in the 1930's began documenting European society with a Leica camera. The cool thing about the Leica unlike many cameras at the time was its small size was and it's quietness. This allowed Henri to get in close without being noticed. Leica is world renowned and is used by many of the great photographers today. The results of this documentary photography; a beauty and integrity that is timeless and priceless to this day. Wedding photojournalism takes the same skills and philosophy and applies it to today. This is in contrast to the traditional style of photography I was bought up on and trained under.

Rather than organizing people and fabricating situations the wedding photojournalist relies upon his skills to capture the moments that go unnoticed in an unobtrusive manner. The ability to see events and stories unfolding and capture those events in a unobtrusive manner come together to form a series of images that reveal seemingly simple yet complex images.

There are many great photojournalists. Among my favorite modern day photographers is George Trifunovic, a Melbourne, Australian photographer. He is the true modern day photojournalist.

Others from the last century are Robert Doisneau, Ronis and as we previously mentioned Bresson. Many of the current styles in the USA have been adopted from Europe and Australia, when many out of work news photojournalists in the 90s started shooting weddings on the weekends to supplement their income. Now, a new generation of photographers have grown up and many meet every March in Vegas at the WPPI-Wedding Portrait Photographers International. In recent years the Australians and the British have been among recent top favorites.

Meeting the photographer/studio. First impressions are very important. Is the photographer your interviewing on time? Is he/she presented well?

Expect to pay a minimum of $2000 and up depending on the experience and quality of the photographer. Be wary of larger studios, as you may not have the photographer you want photographing the wedding-be sure it's noted in the contract. Look through the different photographers work. The same applies for solo photographers-be sure that any assistants used if included will not be the only photographer. On that note, make sure you get a contract and read it. Every state is different, but usually sales tax is added on to the final payment-tax is applicable not just on the products but on the service as well-it's the law. Look for qualifications or associated with organizations-are they members of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) or Professional Photographers Association (PPA)? Ask to see their work, portfolios, and sample albums. Be wary of those who don't have any. Ask for referrals. Referrals have and continue to be one of the single largest sources of revenue for photographers today.

So, this brings me to the conclusion of this article.

Above all, the couple can be themselves, forgetting about the camera and photography. They get to concentrate on their event, their families and friends. It's not the photographer's time but the bride and grooms. The images will have a timeless look to them. Documentary images retain their freshness forever. There are no misconceptions, the bride and groom are under no false pretensions and they know they will get a genuine representation of their day.

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