Documentary wedding photographer: 24/7 reasons to choose one

It’s about emotions, about the shadows that are born out of light and about a story that doesn’t need scenarios to be perfect, because it’s yours. This is how the wedding day is described when you have a documentary style photographer with you.

But more than the images below, testimonials and examples, I will give you 24 reasons and 7 bonuses to choose one for your event.

Documentary wedding photographer – reasons to choose one

Reason 1: Because he won’t be a movie director. If you love photography and you hate posing, and you don’t want directions on how to stand and smile and feel, then you have a solid reason to look for a documentary-style photographer. 

Reason 2: Because you hate interruptions – you don’t want a photographer who will put pressure on you, be the center of attention, have the world with their eyes on him and constantly intervene or influence the natural course of the day.

Reason 3: Candid photos  – called this way because they show real moments that will feel as real as ever over the years. This is the backbone of the wedding photojournalistic style: to see natural photos, real moments, a perspective as from a witness, not an intruder, close to you and making up a story for that couple. And if I am with you, then your story will be written among them.

Reason 4: To get a story, not a series of photos. You want the photos to tell a story when they are put together. Your story, with meanings, obvious things and details that build on it, not just be there to look beautiful.

Reason 5: To have eagle eyes available – you want an expert story-teller who can anticipate the key moments, capture the emotion before the first meeting, the fun and the little touches of tenderness and love.

Reason 6: To avoid nightmares about missed or broken moments – I wrote in the blog HERE that the fear of missing out on the important moments or moments not perfectly captured at the wedding is very common among brides. I take photos because it is my job, in addition to the fact that it is a lifestyle. And my equipment comes to enhance the experience, not to increase the chances that I will be able to take perfect pictures.

Reason 7: Fotojurnalism will never be out of trend, unlike filters. If you can choose an immortal style, which will create pictures that will look as fresh at over 100 years old, then this is the style for you, because reality will never go out of style.

Reason 8: Multitasking – because you want a photographer who can plan his next move while also paying attention to details during the ritual stages of the wedding known by all (the church, the kiss, the bridal dance, etc.)

Reason 9: Because you want to keep in mind the entire day, not just moments – and storytelling photography as it is called surprises much more from the atmosphere and the feel of the day, because even a shadow where no human touch appears can say something about you and your day.

Reason 10: See what you feel, not what you were told – because over the years, you will not know if the tears were of happiness, melancholy or makeup damage. But if you get caught in the arms of the crying mother, you will know why those tears were there.

Reason 11: You don’t need actors, you need family and friends – and a documentary-style photographer knows how to become invisible, so he won’t capture the attention that should be with you and at the key moments of the wedding.

Reason 12: You have an art album, and also a lifestyle magazine – that is, the resulting pictures can be as easily posted with a real impact post on social media, but they can also become a classic, special album that tells a story as you can see in the photojurnalistic style of magazines as the National geographic.

Reason 13: Because you will have only that good kind of surprises and I chose to put this to number 13 because it is normal to know that surprises occur, from falls, to technical problems, to rain, to too much sun. But a photographer with experience in documentary photography is like a correspondent on the battlefield. Not with the price of life and not with fear in the heart all the time – things we all admire about them. But prepared for anything, with the spirit of initiative and improvisation, with back-up to back-up and never relaxed until your story is complete.

Reason 14: The Unseen – The reason why it’s worth choosing a documentary wedding photographer is that his eyesare positioned like this: 2 in front and 1 at the back. You will see as a witness, through that eye that is always focused, everything that is going on, details that otherwise you would not have even known had happened. Children playing your roles, relatives crying on see each other or grandma dancing.

Reason 15: Because you’re afraid of the camera – it’s the perfect style for you then, because although you may not be a fan of the camera, your story deserves the best story. If not for your eyes, then for the memories created for family and friends.

Reason 16: For the kids, the group of friends and the family and all the moments when they don’t have to pose for a picture, but they are surprised by it in different poses and they are not afraid to ask for a photo, but do not know that I actually surprised them earlier when they were planning the reward for stealing the bride, and I knew even before it happened.

Reason 17: You don’t need more than 1 wedding planner – and a documentary-style photographer will never intervene to guide the crowd, the moments, or you. I think everyone should stay in his role and do the best work he can. 

Reason 18: For the albums to come – the documentary photos are best linked to albums and made to tell stories. So if you plan to have albums for you, your family or friends, then the documentary-style photo series will tell the most consistent, natural and fluent story.

Reason 19: Because you do not need a +1 guest, but professionals – and a documentary-style photographer, as I said, is always in the moment, not relaxed because he knows that an important wedding moment has passed and he can go out for a smoke. But always there looking for the next detail.

Reason 20: For the awards – and this means that the most successful documentary photos are often seen, awarded and appreciated by national and international magazines.

Reason 21: Unique images, not recreations – as sometimes happens in other styles where the 200 classic positions are repeated regardless of the couple. Documentary photography is unique because the participants are unique each time.

Reason  22: Because you also have a sense of humor – and if you are a fan of life, then the moments that seem extravagant, exaggerated or shameful to others will be real moments of delight and laughter for you.

Reason 23: You get the best ideas from two worlds – because a documentary-style photographer can also photograph a classic family photo, but one specialized in classical photography can not always change and seem trained in years and years of documentary photography.

Reason 24: The context matters, not just the appearance – and just like the love between you two is not seen only in how you talk or what you say, but in the infinite movement of reaching out to the other without seeing that in turn he extends his hand back, or other gestures or contexts that show who you are, the same happens with this style. 

 

And 7 pieces of advice on how to recognize a documentary wedding photographer: 

  1. The subject is not always what you see in the foreground – as the photos above show
  2. The environment becomes part of the story, from mirrors to windows to clouds

      3.You see in the same frame the main subject and a relation with an object or another person and that completes the story

     4. The composition is not always the standard: subject in the center, with a smile, with eyes on the objective. But still it is saying something powerful.

      5. You see many details in close up, from smiles, to metaphors for the future, present or love.

6. You know for a fact that what you see is not a directed moment, because it is either in motion or normally no one would pose like that.

      7. The image makes you feel something, although you do not know who you are looking at, who they are, when they had the wedding, why they would be interesting to you and still, you care. And this … this is the photojournalistic photography style and this makes a documentary style photographer a good choice for a wedding that has a lot to say. 

I hope this short read has given you an idea of what you want and how your story can look like. And that I can be your documentary style photographer, 24/7.

Here is my current offer for wedding photography, with packages and benefits: 

For more about me and some examples, see My Wedding stories HERE. 


Andrei Dumitrache, a thousand images for the same word: YOU

0740 031 086

office@andreidumitrache.ro