So yesterday’s post about photojournalism prompted a bunch of people to ask what my take on photojournalism really is. So here ya go:

I think photojournalism, or “PJ,” as it applies to weddings is an incredibly over-used and mis-used term, simply due to the fact that everyone has their own definition about what constitutes a PJ photographer.

When you hear the term “photojournalist,” most people immediately think of war photographers, or news photographers covering policital events and breaking news, as it happens. These photographers shoot everything as it happens, do not ask anyone to pose for a picture, and are ethically bound not to enhance their images with any type of image editing software. Over the past 10 years brides have wanted to include this type of photography in their wedding coverage, emphasizing black and white images, and a lack of “posed” pictures.  The trend is analogous to the rise in “reality” everything…people don’t want things that look fake or contrived.  Rather, they want everything to be real and in the moment.

Does that make me a photojournalist?:  In the strictest definition of the term, no.  However, do I consider how I photograph a wedding to be photojournalistic?:  Absolutely.  This is the difference between what some might call “pure PJ” and “wedding PJ.”  In a perfect world, I would never have to pose, setup, or influence any photograph that I make at a wedding.  I wouldn’t have to bother the bride and groom, and wouldn’t have concern myself about whether a particular wedding photograph is “real” or natural enough or not.  However not every wedding, and not every wedding couple is the same.  Moreover, I’m not enough of a pure photojournalist to record images that properly document the emotions and story of the day to my standards in a completely 100% unobtrusive fashion. This is where my definition of wedding PJ may differ from others.

Wedding PJ is a visual style, not a particular method of creating photographs.  Brides that commission me to photograph their weddings are relying on me to tell the story of their wedding day through my photographs, regardless of how those photographs are created.  As I mentioned before, if I can do this in a completely unobtrusive manner, all the better.  However, I’m not above posing, arranging, and influencing a shot in order to fully illustrate or draw out the moments and emotions of the day.

Here’s a few examples from the past few wedding seasons that show what my approach to what “wedding photojournalism” entails:

Every bride that sees this photograph from Allie & Josh’s wedding immediately says “that’s what I want, totally natural pictures!”  What they don’t know is this image was made while waiting for a couple of additional bridesmaids to arrive for their formal portraits.  If it wasn’t for the formals being scheduled….this image doesn’t happen at all because how often to all the bridesmaids just happen to be standing right behind the bride?

This one from Kacie & Shane’s wedding is about as close as I’m able enough to get to “pure PJ.”  Shane was really nervous prior to their ceremony, and his Dad came over to give him a few words of encouragement.  No prompting, no influence from me at all.  In face after Shane saw me over in the corner, he blurted out “please tell me you didn’t just shoot that!”

Another “pure PJ” moment of the florist decorating the ceremony site prior to Erin & Brad’s ceremony at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles.  As much as I might have wanted to ask the florist to spread a few more petals….I just let it go and the picture stands on its own.

So I’ll admit that I completely set up and posed William & Jen on a bench for this one.  Does it fall into my definition of wedding PJ….sure does!  It’s posed, it’s influenced (I had to move a few pieces of furniture and a few lamps around to get it the way I wanted), but after a few minutes William whispered something in Jen’s ears and they both just cracked up.  So while the setup is influenced, the reaction is completely natural.  This photograph won’t win any photojournalism awards, but it was one of the client’s favorite images from their wedding, and became the cover of their wedding album.  At the end of the day, when they looked back on their wedding photographs, this was the one image that defined and illustrated how they felt about each other on the day.  Do you think they really cared that I set it up?

This photograph from Emily and Danny’s wedding last year is another good example of what I’d call wedding PJ.  While taking a “standard” portrait on the railing, Emily decided she was done with her veil and in one quick movement removed it and gave it a quick toss.  Again it’s a setup shot, but the resulting image tells the story of the type of bride Emily was, and this image instantly became one of their favorites once they saw their proofs!

So at the end of the day, it really makes no difference to me whether a photographer poses their subjects, doesn’t pose their subjects, or operates somewhere in between.  The important factor is do the resulting images fully tell the story of the wedding day and illustrate the connections between tbe bride & groom, their friends, and their families.