why is natural photography important (part 2 of 2)

I want to talk a little more about Natural Photography vs. Posed/Staged Photography. From the offset, I want to make clear that not one type is correct. There are many times in all walks of photography that both are required and this also goes for weddings. I will stick with weddings for now as that is the genre of photography I am most specialised in.

So just to reiterate, I would define natural photography as images with no influence from the photographer and posed/staged photography that has had influence from the photographer. I do not include post production in this, as all photographs need to be edited professionally, which I made clear in Blog 1 of this article.

As a wedding photographer, it is important to use both styles of photography, but what is more important is when you choose to use natural or posed photography. There are terrific books by an incredible Wedding Photographer named Roberto Valenzuela, called Wedding Storyteller Volumes 1 & 2. For any Wedding Photographers reading, I’d highly recommend his books, no matter your expertise. Anyway, in it, he describes the five styles of photography, and they are:

• Photojournalism

  • No alteration to the scene and capture with no influence

  • Adding foreground/background elements for depth and using framing, leading lies, camera angles, depth, selective focus, reflections

• Interactive photojournalism

  • Influence elements/people by improving lighting, composition, natural expression

  • Based on activities clients are engaged in

• Stylized unaware posing

  • Subject placed in beautiful light and a pose to fit the scene

  • A soft portrait and they don’t look at the camera

  • A feel as if the photo is a genuine moment

• Stylized aware posing

  • Same as above but the subject does look down the lens of the camera

• Story development

  • A number of photos telling a single story. For example, the bride and the wedding dress.

Now as you can see from the above, this is a mix of Natural and Posed/Staged Photography. Many photographers out there will tell you they are purely use the photojournalist style for their wedding photography. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as there are some hugely successful wedding photographers that just use this style. However, I believe that if you want truly outstanding photographs from your day, you need to incorporate all of the elements above. This is what creates the story of your day. There are times throughout the day when some are more important than others, but overall, you need a photographer that is going to give you all of this.

If you have any questions on this, just drop a comment below :)

Thanks and all the best!

Colin