My simple definition for the photojournalistic wedding style: capturing the events of the day AS they happen with very little (or any) interference from me, the photographer. I am not the type of photojournalistic photographer that doesn't take ANY posed photos. However, my primary emphasis is recording the wedding as it happens - not setting up and posing group photos.

The two images at right are a good example. Both photos show the groom and the best man. The top photo was recorded while they were getting ready. Obviously, nothing was posed. The groom was simply adjusting the best man's bow tie.

The lower photo was a posed image that was taken earlier in the afternoon before the ceremony started. We probably spent between 1 and 2 minutes setting up and taking the photo.

The bride and groom will have both images to put in their album, but, I feel that the first image more accurately represents their wedding day than the second (even though the second is a good photo of the groom and best man and still has definite value).

Photojournalistic image of groom
and the best man.

Posed photo of the groom
and the best man.

At the wedding pictured above, we had some time scheduled to take posed photos of the groom and groomsmen in advance of the ceremony. We quickly took care of the posed photos, and the fellows went back to "their room" to pass the time. While they were spending time together, I took some pictures of them. Afterwards, I preferred the photos of them passing the time together compared to the posed, formal photos I took of them. The photojournalistic style emphasizes these types of candid moments - from the groom telling a story, to the guys getting a bit wild with the food and throwing grapes to each other.
 

The photo of the bride and groom (at right) is a completely candid, unposed image. Immediately following their wedding ceremony they were in the foyer while the rest of the wedding part was recessing. They spent several moments completely absorbed with each other. If I, as soon as the ceremony was over, had asked them to pose together for a photo, they would have missed their special time together and I would probably not have gotten as nice a picture.

The picture of the videographer is similar (and no, he wasn't standing next to the bride and groom during their kiss - it just looks that way because I put the photos next to each other). The videographer, who was a friend of the bride and groom, invested a lot of time videotaping their wedding. Instead of asking him to pose for a photo, it was much easier (and more natural) to take a good photo of him "in action".

A wedding is full of special symbols and memorable objects - some of which might have been very expensive and involved much thought and planning on the part of the bride and groom. All the images in this section were taken at the same wedding in July of 2002. The only image that was posed was the image of the bride holding her flowers. Each of the images took only a few second to create. And yet the pictures highlight very special details from the wedding. A bride who is caught up in the excitement of her wedding day might not even notice some of the details until she sees them in the photos!