Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, Harrogate

It was the “buzz” word in wedding photography a couple of years ago – “reportage”.   It was deemed to be the new “skill” and style of photography that was set to change the world of wedding photography in general and how couples would choose to have their wedding day recorded.

At one stage viritually every couple we met were telling us that they “just want reportage” photography.  Or candid photography or photo journalism.  Call it what you will – they wanted minimum intervention from us but a record of their day.  We can do that and we can do it very well (even if we do say so ourselves!) but not everyone can.

So – be very careful when you are looking for “candid” photography otherwise you may well be disappointed with the results.  What do I mean by this?  Let me explain…

Often I will be talking with a guest at a wedding whilst watching what is going on around me.  I’m a people watcher – I’ve done it for years.   I love reading into expressions and situations what “might” be going on or being said.  I also love watching the interaction between two people.  Body language and what it “secretly” tells you someone is thinking is one of my pet subjects.  So whilst talking to the guest, watching what is going on around me often I will raise the camera and take a long shot of something over the other side of the room or wherever.  The guest will look to see what it is I’ve seen and ask “How did you know that was going to happen?” as I’ve captured some little moment or expression.

Now that in itself is a skill gained from years of people watching but that isn’t anything unique to me or which sets me apart from other people practising similar photography.  What does set it apart however is where I move myself before I take that picture.  I will look for a “natural framing” opportunity for the picture I am taking.

So what do I mean by “natural framing”?  By this I mean I will look at the subject I am taking the photograph of and I will try to take the photograph in such a way that there is some separation of them from the background/surroundings they are in or that they are “framed” – either between two other people or perhaps by the architecture behind them.  Sometimes it will be because I have “shot through” something when taking the photo in order to create the frame.

With the advent of “reportage” or “candid” photography there was a influx of budding photographers onto the market who usually had a day job but had a slight interest in photography, were ok at it, had a decent camera and thought “I can do this” and so set themselves up as part time photographers, photographing weddings on weekends.  They were very cheap.  There are still alot of these types of photographers around.  But if you look closely at their websites at the pictures they claim are reportage they are often nothing more than a collection of snapshots any other guest at the wedding could have taken.  In desperation they have taken photographs of anyone who appears to be laughing, eating or moving in order to make up the numbers as the realisation creeps in that there is more to wedding photography than simply popping off a camera in the right direction at the right time.  Most of the pictures they take will be considered to be unflattering by those in the photos.  Occasionally though they get a good one!

Now that is a world apart from the photographers who make a living, week in, week out of photographing weddings in a photo journalistic style who do take the care over seeking out and choosing their moment to press the shutter release.  Photo journalism requires the tact to observe the days events as they unfold, the tact to know when to record silently what is going on and the skill to know when to “ask” for a photo.  It is not something which can happen overnight – it also takes a certain kind of personality to understand the people they are photographing.

Being an effective photo journalist in my opinion demands great sensitivity from the photographer.  It requires them to find something from deep within themselves which connects to their main subject.  So for the day they are the nervous bride, the reluctant father, the proud mother, protective grooms mother, envious friend or the bashful groom – sometimes more than one of these at the same time!  They almost feel what they (the subjects) are feeling and so from that they are able to draw upon their inner resources to know where and when the not just good but great photo opportunities are going to be.

To create a wedding album “just” from reportage style of photography in my mind requires a photographer as I have described above and there are actually very few of those around in the UK today – with that level of photo journalistic skill who can take all the little moments from the day and put them all together to create something fluent which depicts that day precisely and sympathetically from start to finish.  Most photographers will punctuate the day with a section of posed group photographs (in fact most couples demand that we do) of family groups and then some photographers – such as ourselves – will also suggest that we undertake some “bridal” and “couple” portraits later in the day to create some really “wow” images for you.  Certainly I don’t know of any Yorkshire Wedding Photographers who are especially accomplished at this style of photography – enough to produce an album of “just” reportage photographs from the day.

So to sum up if looking for a reportage photographer do look very carefully at complete weddings they have photographed.  Do they effectively tell the story of the wedding day including all the little moments that happened?  Can you read into the photos what those moments were?  Do you feel emotional when you look at the pictures even though it wasn’t your wedding and you don’t know the people in the photos?  i.e. can you feel what the photographer felt they were feeling?  Are the pictures speaking to you?  Or are they simply a collection of snapshots that anyone attending your wedding could have taken “for free”?  Here’s a little clip to show you some of what I am talking about.

“Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me….And I Will Live Forever!”