Portraits, not photojournalism

ElisabethJoanne

I'm more interested in the formal portraits of the bride, groom, wedding party, and parents, than the "photojournalistic" shots. But, like strapless dresses, another trend I'm avoiding, it's hard to find anything else.

I've reviewed craigslist, yelp, all knot, and brides.com listings for my area. Does anyone have an idea for finding a wedding photographer who's more interested in the portraits than my shoes? Or are the portraits relatively simple to take, compared to the candids, and I should go on price and personality?

CherandAl

Everyone does the portraits of the bride and groom, the wedding party, the family, etc. Most people just don't include these pictures in their portfolios because they don't really show the photographer's creativity or technical ability. However, you may want to search for "traditional" photography and see what you can find. Traditionalists would be more interested in the posed shots and shots that have a more portrait-look than a tell-the-story look.
If you can't find a true traditional photographer then just hire based on price and personality and convey to them that you prefer not to have excessively "artistic" photos- so no tilted camera, no odd angles, and mainly portrait-style photography.

HTH!

theKylieBride

I don't agree. I think it's the portraits that are creative. Yes the photojournalistic photos are cool too, but the portraits are what shine. I think the difference between a cheap photographer and a good one is the portraits. I may be wrong, but I don't think you want traditional photos, I think you just want great portraits. 

If you've seen a photographer you like then ask them about thier portraits. I see you're in Calfornia. You can check out our photographers. I love thier portraits. They aren't traditional (neither am I), but thier portraits are beautiful! www.jennandtravis.com

Good luck!

ElisabethJoanne

Usually, we're good at what we enjoy, or at least we're proud of the skills we enjoy exercising/displaying. So when I see photographers' websites and there's 0 portraits, I get nervous. Do they think their portraits are no good, not their best work? Do they not like to do them?

Also, I don't know much about photography. Some people swoon over "composition" and whatnot. But it's hard for me to figure out from the photojournalistic shots whether I'll like the portraits. So, unless I'm going to meet with 2 dozen photographers, or give myself a crash course in photography (tried, failed), I feel all I have to go on is online marketing and, of course, price.

Thanks for giving me more to think about.

fallbride1109

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_photos-video_portraits-not-photojournalism?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:30Discussion:28978bd7-a7b7-4c04-97f1-322d98dd9582Post:6e11397f-bc4e-4ee7-909f-886151b091d9">Re: Portraits, not photojournalism</a>:
[QUOTE]Usually, we're good at what we enjoy, or at least we're proud of the skills we enjoy exercising/displaying. So when I see photographers' websites and there's 0 portraits, I get nervous. Do they think their portraits are no good, not their best work? Do they not like to do them? Posted by ElisabethJoanne[/QUOTE]

You don't see many portraits on websites because it's not what most people are looking for.  See if the photographer(s) you are interested in has a blog-- usually they will include formals as part of their display of the entire wedding day on the blog.  If not, just ask to see them as part of their portfolio.

kreativeangle

Also try photographer listings on WPJA
Here is the link.
http://www.wpja.com/for-photographer/

toothpastechica

look for 'traditional' style wedding photographers, that is what you are looking for if you want less candids and more posed pictures. Most photographers are fairly comfortable with portraits, but make sure they are also comfortable with GROUP portraits..this is where sometimes photographers lack the skill in knowing where to place people within a group to get the best shot. I would look up traditional photography and look through websites and blogs to make sure their picture styles are something you can live with.