At MWP, we can’t stress enough the importance of your wedding photography. Our Indian weddings are the most colourful and most memorable, and like any other wedding around the world the bride takes centrestage on her special day. This celebration is about your love and marriage-your wedding! After the cake is cut, the rings are exchanged and the flowers have wilted away, all you will have left are the wonderful images of the day that you can preserve for posterity.
You want to be able to share your wedding with future generations, and have a constant reminder of all those special wedding moments: the tears of joy on your parents face seeing their daughter as a beautiful bride, the look on your face when you saw your husband waiting to see you for the first time in your wedding finery, laughing hysterically with your cousins and friends (nervous giggles, maybe!), dancing the night away…And this is why it’s important to choose the right team to handle your photography. The job of a wedding photographer is to capture the day so beautifully that the story lives on forever!
Here’s our in-depth guide in understanding different wedding photography styles. It’s helpful to know the differences between these wedding photography styles so that you can discuss your preferences with your photographer.
PORTRAITURE
This style emphasizes the facial expressions and emotions conveyed by the people in the photo. It’s all about capturing the mood of the moment, a simplistic way. During the photo shoot, the photographer sets up the scene and might prompt you to gaze in the groom’s eyes, smile playfully with your family and friends, and so forth. To save precious wedding time, these can be set up before the wedding. You can really have fun with these portraits!
Traditional photographers generally excel at the precision required in portraiture—formal, posed pictures that emphasize one or more people. If you’re interested in a more edgy result you can opt for Fine Art Portraiture, with its dramatic lighting, unique angles and western flavour.
Picture courtesy: Into Candid Photography, Mumbai
POSED
Similar to portraiture in that the shots are planned, the posed style is more about strategy and getting the right shots, rather than focusing on the artistry. Good examples include the group portraits (bride and groom’s family posing with the bride and groom on the stage, guests posing with the bride and groom and so on).
Picture courtesy: Photo Tantra
Picture: Clyde and Karen Photography
Picture: Anoop Padalkar Photography
CANDID
This style captures all the completely spontaneous moments of your wedding. Everything is shot as it happens, caught in the moment, with natural expressions. Because candids are the fun shots, they often deliver the most laugh-inducing and heart tugging photos of your big day.
Picture: Photo Tantra
Picture: Aniket Majumdar
Picture courtesy: Preeti Diwan Photography, Mumbai
PHOTOJOURNALISTIC
The purpose of this style is to tell your wedding story in a creative, narrative fashion, much like looking through a magazine or newspaper with a focus on all the elements of the wedding, including behind the scenes. This includes capturing your shots as you apply your make up, depict shots of your rings, décor. They are all about telling a story.
Rather than posing for your pictures, the photographer follows you and your guests throughout the wedding day, capturing events as they unfold in order to tell the story of your wedding day. The photographer has to become ‘invisible’ to the crowd or fade away in order to be able to get candid and unposed shots. Photographers can use one or a combination of these styles to shoot your wedding exactly the way you want it to be remembered for years and years to come.
Picture: Fotografia 9
Picture: Photo Tantra
ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
This style which is often used for engagement photos, is a pleasing blend of traditional and photo- journalistic, with an emphasis on composition, lighting and background. The photographer places subjects together in an interesting environment and encourages them to relax and interact. Illustrative captures some of the spontaneity of candids, while offering the technical control of posed shots.
Picture courtesy: Into Candid Photography
THIS POST FEATURES SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHERS IN MUMBAI:
ANIKET MAJUMDAR (Love his traditional photography as well as candid shots)
ANOOP PADALKAR PHOTOGRAPHY (Ace photographer, our personal favourite!)
PREETI DIWAN PHOTOGRAPHY (Hidden gem…budding new talent!)
CLYDE AND KAREN PHOTOGRAPHY (Shot some outstanding Christian weddings…absolutely gorgeous)
FOTOGRAFIA 9 (Brilliant… in one word)
INTO CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY (Voted ‘The Best New Photographer in India’ for the year 2013 by the Wedding Industry Expert Awards. Totally stunning wedding imagery)
PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM DELHI:
PHOTO TANTRA (One of the most popular wedding photographer team in India- and for good reason!)