Documentary wedding photography is a style that involves capturing fleeting moments without any direction.

It’s an unfiltered and raw approach to storytelling. I do shoot groups and couple portraits but the majority of the wedding day is unposed. While portraiture isn’t considered documentary photography, it’s still an important part of the day for the family.

Let’s talk about the approach of documentary wedding photographers and how it’s different than other styles.

Documentary wedding photography isn’t just a few candid shots or curated editorial photos that are staged to ‘look natural.’ It’s also not behind the scenes wedding content creation. It a collection of carefully observed and curated moments through the day that will tell your story for years to come.

Personally, for me, documentary wedding photography doesn’t mean that I’m invisible. Instead, it means that you get used to my presence. I blend in like a friendly wedding guest. I also don’t make it about me by trying to steal the spotlight away from the couple. It’s not about me at all and I want to make that clear.

Most photographers will take a few candid, un-staged photos during the day including the scripted events like the groom seeing the bride walk down the aisle, ceremonial kiss, and the first dance of the couple. They might event stage some moments by moving items around to clean up an area or positioning the bride towards the light while she’s getting her shoes one. This is considered “editorial.” Documentary photography goes beyond this. It’s how a photojournalist works when covering a story in the field. It’s the photographers job to tell the best story by moving his or her camera position and always having the right settings dialed in for any lighting situation.

Documentary wedding photographers have to anticipate when a great moment will unfold by reading body language and emotions. They have to be quick to move to a spot that tells a clear story. Take for instance the photo above. I was standing to the right of the bridesmaid as she signed the Ketubah. I noticed the bride was getting emotional in the background and as soon as she hugged her friend I quickly got low and moved to the center to see everyone clearly in the frame without any overlapping heads.

A documentary photograph can create an emotion that sparks a memory of the day. When you receive your final edited gallery, documentary photographs should tell the overall story of how the day felt. This image above shows a playful mood that was unprompted by the wedding party. We were on our way to take some traditional portraits when a couple of groomsmen started playing on this playground. I quickly moved around to get the best angle this was the result.

Aren’t weddings somewhat scripted though?

Yes, most weddings that I’ve shot involve a timeline with events such as the walk down the aisle, groom’s reaction to seeing the bride, ceremonial kiss, first dances of the couple and also bride and father and mother and son dances. These are still common events that take place at a certain time but keep in mind that you don’t have to follow tradition. I’ve photographed smaller unconventional weddings that include a ceremony and the rest of the day is more casual, people hanging out, playing board games and drinking.

It’s the In between moments that matter.

Speaking of scripted events on a timeline, there’s also plenty of downtime that takes place. This is where storytelling matters. One time I photographed a bride sitting in a makeup chair while another bridesmaid holds her baby niece in her lap, pretending to do her makeup. I photographed both the bride and baby together in the same frame to tell a cute story. I never told the bridesmaid where to hold the baby. I just moved my camera around to find the best storytelling point of view. It’s those kinds of unexpected surprises that make my job fun and rewarding.

I don’t stop observing interactions during family portraits. Many times after I’ve taken a family portrait, I’ll witness relaxed laughter and smiles. People are taught from a young age to smile when a camera is pointed at them. Usually that results in a forced reaction that isn’t natural. So I wait patiently and keep my camera ready for those moments after a portrait is taken. It usually depicts a sigh of relief and a natural smile. Below is a good example of this scenario.

I’ll give you one more example of a moment that I cherish. I caught this beautiful moment of the bride crying and laughing with her bridesmaids. They were just finishing up getting ready when one of the girls tells a sweet memory. One of them started crying and then before you know it, all of them were crying together. I could’ve focused on one girl but instead I decided to show a couple of girls crying in the same photo. It tells the overall feeling of the group. The tissue being passed was the cherry on top. It’s the bride’s favorite photo from her wedding.

“Candid wedding photographs are easy to take.”

A guest once told me that “you can just wave your camera around and take a decent photo”. This term is called “spray and pray” and it’s not effective. It takes intentionality and precision to get a great photo. I spend a lot of time watching and listening. It might not seem like I’m working because I’m not actively photographing. However, I’m adjusting my camera settings and planning ahead to where I need to be to get the best angle. Planning and being intentional makes my editing easier as well because I have less photos to edit.

Ok, by now you’ve got the idea of what documentary photography is and why it’s difficult to do but ultimately great for storytelling.

I still take portraits of the bride and groom

Even though most of the day involves candid photos, I leave room for getting portraits of the bride and groom. I give simple prompts though. “Whisper something into her ear like a dirty joke.” I ask my couples to walk together and pretend like you just got out of the bar and are wobbling your legs while holding each other. Prompts like that always create great interactions and natural moments. I don’t like to control the portraits by giving them too much direction like where to place their hands. It ends up looking stiff and un-natural. I let my couples be themselves by expressing who they are. I also like to use bridesmaids as foreground elements to add layers to my photos. I just tell them to watch and I’ll let them know that I don’t want them to move out of the way.

Choosing a documentary wedding photographer

It’s important that you like your photographer since you will be spending more time with them than anyone else throughout your day, so feeling comfortable and relaxed around them is hugely important. Even if you don’t see them for periods of time, you should feel confident that they are telling your story by capturing some great moments. In the end, you will have a collection of images that will tell the whole story of your day for years to come.

Look at their portfolio and ask to see a full wedding gallery. Ask them how many weddings they’ve photographed and make sure they have two camera bodies and carry insurance.

For more information on how to choose your wedding photographer, check out this article.