What is a documentary wedding photographer?

So you’ve started wedding planning, and begun your search for a wedding photographer and you’re coming across our industry jargon and buzz words and wondering what stuff even means. In this article I’m going to be talking about what a documentary wedding photographer is from your perspective rather than from a photography perspective, to hopefully help you decide whether someone who labels themselves as a documentary wedding photographer is right for you and your wedding and what you want your photos to capture! Let’s get into it!

What Does Documentary Wedding Photography Mean?

While I’m not a pure (100% unposed) documentary wedding photographer, I place an extremely high priority on documentary wedding photography within my overall approach.

This means I’m prioritising the reality of your day, and the authenticity of who you and your guests are as people and I think that’s what’s important long-term as you remember the amazing day(s) of your wedding.

Natural Moments, Not Poses

I’ve been photographing weddings since 2010 and in all those years I’ve seen couples move away from spending hours posing for photos, favouring a much more natural approach because that means you can spend more of your wedding having fun, and less time posing and being told what to do by a photographer.

Telling Real Wedding Stories Through Photos

A wedding is full of what I call ‘iconic moments’ – truly meaningful moments of your life surrounded by the truly meaningful people in your life. Creating a ‘documentary’ of that which focuses on the absolute reality of the day is what documentary wedding photography is all about.

And the beauty of choosing a primarily documentary wedding photographer is that moments will be captured that would otherwise come and go. I know this is one of Lauren’s favourite photos from her and JJ’s wedding at Iscoyd Park and I captured it because of my obsession with these iconic moments that happen at weddings.

Why Couples Love Documentary Wedding Photography

Social media will make you feel like wedding photography is all about posing like a fashion model and looking like something off the pages of a magazine.

Part of the reason I’m not a 100% unposed documentary wedding photographer is that I do believe having a few photos of yourselves where I’ve given you some direction and created some amazing (but still natural) photos of the two of you is important.

But I don’t think those photos should take over your day. All the couples I work with tell me they don’t want to miss big chunks of their wedding because they’re away ‘having photos’.

This photos absolutely captures the very definition of friendship, taken at John and Mel’s wedding, and I could never pose a photo which captures their friendship so authentically, but it’s also a well crafted and considered photo. That’s documentary wedding photography in a nutshell.

Authentic Emotions and Genuine Reactions

Unfortunately social media continues to create a warped world view where people are encouraged more and more to be something we’re not.

A documentary wedding photographer isn’t there to create an advert for your wedding day to make themselves look cool or trendy on social media.

A documentary wedding photographer cares only about you and your memories over and above any aesthetic or visual trends.

A documentary wedding photographer cares above all about the authentic emotions of your wedding, capturing those in well-crafted photos that you will probably choose to hang on your wall or print in your wedding album (like my extra special ARJ Books) over and above any posed photo taken on the day.

I want my couples to look at their photos and feel like they really see the essence of who they are, and who their family and friends are. Like this photo from Charles and Kim’s wedding… I want Kim to say “yup, that’s Charles” and Charles to say “yup, that’s Kim”.

Documentary wedding photographers don’t want to pretend to be something you’re not.

Relaxed, Stress-Free Wedding Day

When you choose a documentary wedding photographer, you’re choosing someone who thinks you being you is the best thing in the world. And how amazing is that?

I always tell all my couples all I need from them in order to guarantee the most amazing photos is that they commit to being themselves and having the best time ever on the day with their families and friends. That’s when magic happens.

It means you’re not having to worry about things like posing or being something you’re not. It also means you’re not having to worry about things outside your control like the weather, because us documentary wedding photographers believe that the real story of the day is what’s truly important and making amazing photos of what actually happens so that you remember the iconic moments of the day as vividly as possible.

When you’re encouraged to be yourself because your photographer believes that’s more beautiful than any pose that ever existed, you’ll feel amazing all day long and will never feel the need to perform for the camera – that’s why I love this photo from Bijal and Hursh’s wedding…

Timeless Images You’ll Always Enjoy

You’ll come across the word timeless a lot in your search for a wedding photographer, but only documentary wedding photography is truly timeless because it’s not influenced by any aesthetic trends and even though the clothing and hairstyles and other things will date over time, the photos themselves will never go out of fashion because they’re one thing… real.

Documentary wedding photography goes above and beyond just snapshots of the moments and a really good, world class documentary wedding photographer will use their own vision, composition and use of light to really make your wedding photos something truly magical – this moment is from H+B’s wedding in Tuscany…

How Does a Documentary Wedding Photographer Work?

The best thing from your perspective is that a documentary wedding photographer will prioritise your overall experience of the day because we know this creates the best moments, and the best moments create the best photos. If you want to spend your wedding just having the best time with your family and friends then documentary wedding photography will be perfect for you.

Blending into Your Wedding Day

I believe everything that happens at your wedding is an iconic moment of your life. Not just the moments you’re in, but also all the moments that happen between your guests – around you and behind you. It’s all vital to capture and for you to remember. I enjoy every wedding I attend, because I want your photos to contain that enjoyment rather than being captured by a member of staff or a bored spectator.

Spotting Natural Moments Without Interrupting

The real key difference between the two extremes – documentary photography and editorial photography – is that a documentary wedding photographer believes the moments that are happening are truly important, whereas an editorial wedding photographer may believe that they need to create staged moments throughout the day to get the sort of photos they want. I think documentary photography is all about you, and editorial photography is more about the photographer creating work for their own portfolio. Controversial maybe, but that’s how I see the two styles.

Capturing Your Story As It Naturally Happens

I tell all my couples, as a primarily documentary wedding photographer, I want to capture the day they would’ve had if there was no photographer there. I think reality is the true magic of a wedding, not a staged pre-conceived photo that’s made to look like a real moment. If that’s what you believe too, we should talk!

What Makes Documentary Wedding Photos Special?

Without getting too deep and meaningful, documentary wedding photos will be special the first time you see them but they’ll only become more special and more meaningful as time passes. They’ll be how you connect future generations to past generations, and they’ll become your key memories of some of your favourite people.

Emotional Impact and Real Memories

Check out that photo above from Neel and Olivia’s wedding. It’s everything. On a literal level it’s a photo of Neil during his entrance to the wedding. On a deeper level it’s an expression you could never stage in a million lifetimes. It’s all his people lifting him up physically and emotionally and as a bonus it’s also his brother’s real happy face. I will always, always prioritise this for you over some sort of perfect pose, soft smile or staged moment. Reality always wins. Reality is magic, and that’s documentary wedding photography.

Photos with Personality and Character

Look at the photo above of a guest at Sharan and Raveena’s wedding. Can you feel his personality? His happiness? His love for this couple and their wedding? That’s documentary. And combined with that it’s a beautiful composition and beautifully lit – that’s photography. I love to combine amazing documentary moments, with well crafted photography for you.

Images That Get More Meaningful Over Time

I mentioned before that these moments will only become more meaningful as time passes. It’s very important to me that you love your photos on the day you first see them… that you think they’re cool, and beautiful, and you look amazing… But what’s more important to me is that in 10 years or 20 years they mean the whole world to you.

Documentary Wedding Photography Examples

I’ve already shared lots of examples in this article, but here’s some more of my favourite natural, candid documentary wedding photos.

Candid Moments You Didn’t Even Notice

You won’t be able to see everything that happens on your wedding day, let alone take it all in. Like this moment at Beth and Tom’s wedding during a high octane moment at the end of their speeches.

Real Reactions and True Happiness

This is Hitesh being hugged by his sister Seema at his Offley Place wedding to Priya. I’m overjoyed that I can show him how happy she was while she was hugging him, and that he can remember that vividly forever.

Unposed, Authentic Celebrations

I absolutely am obsessed with capturing real moments, real expressions and the reality of who you are as people. That means no pressure on you to perform, to be someone else’s definition of perfect, or to feel like you have to do something special to get the most amazing wedding photos. Sound good? Let’s talk!

Is a Documentary Wedding Photographer Right for Your Wedding?

I guess most of this article has been about telling you why documentary wedding photography is right for your wedding, even if you didn’t previously think it was. I think some couples think you can have photos that capture the reality at the expense of the beauty of the day, or you can have photos that capture the beauty of the day at the expense of the authentic reality.

In actual fact the amazing thing about a good quality documentary wedding photographer is that we capture the reality of your wedding celebrations beautifully.

Does choosing a Documentary Wedding Photographer Mean No Couple Portraits?

Before I wrap up I’ll answer this important question. If you pick a documentary wedding photographer does this mean you won’t get any beautiful couple portraits.

Short answer: it depends on the photographer, so do your research. With me, I’m a documentary wedding photographer first and foremost but I think it’s vital that you get some beautiful photos of the two of you together and I will weave that into your plan for the day when it makes the most sense.

Making sure the posed photography doesn’t take over your day

This is the important consideration that any good documentary wedding photographer will make – when can we slot in some time to get some photos of the two of you together without you missing out on your wedding or your guests wondering where you are.

So whether it’s keeping the portrait time to a minimum or slotting it in at times of the day when less is happening – while your guests are sitting down for dinner for instance, or splitting these shots up over a couple of short portrait sessions, I still want to make sure you get some gorgeous (but still natural and real) photos of the two of you together.

Tailoring the posed elements to you and your plans

Vitally, as a documentary wedding photographer I want to fit into your plan for the day and not the other way round. Sure, I can make suggestions and give guidance but overall I want to photograph the wedding you want to have, and not have you change that for me.

Blending natural portraits into your wedding photos

So I can, do, and always will give all my couples a set of group photos and couple photos without having that become a drain on the timeline of the day, or affect your enjoyment of the day. True story, early in my career I had a couple ask me if they could please go back to their guests during a long portrait session and that completely changed my approach from that day forward.

The skill of an amazing documentary wedding photographer (hell0) is being able to make magical portraits quickly and efficiently and getting you back into the action.

How to Find Your Documentary Wedding Photographer

Right so by now you’ve decided you’re excited about having a documentary wedding photographer capture your celebrations for you. What next?

Look for Style and Consistency from your documentary wedding photographer

I’ve mentioned it a few times but a world class documentary wedding photographer doesn’t just walk round taking lazy snapshots. The best wedding photography is built around the cornerstones of light, moment and composition and the best documentary wedding photographer will make sure they’re using the light and composition to really turn your moments into incredible photos that you’ll have no option but to hang in big frames on your wall.

I always say: don’t settle for snapshots of your wedding. Your guests will take those with their phones. A documentary wedding photographer should go way above and way beyond snapshots.

Any good documentary wedding photographer will share at least one full gallery with you from a similar venue and time of year so you can see the consistency from the beginning of the wedding day to the end.

Chat to a Documentary Wedding Photographer and See if You Click

So the next thing is to contact me, and let’s chat about your wedding photography and make sure I’m someone you want to invite to your wedding. I can’t wait to speak to you!