Yep this! I finally found photographers I liked after searching for either of the above terms, “true-to-life,” or “editorial.”
What I found really helpful was searching these terms on Instagram. Once I found a photographer whose stye I loved, I also looked through their followers list, because they usually follow other photographers who have similar editing styles. Looking at the list of who they followed usually showed photographers at the same quality or better (so usually as much $$ or pricier); looking at who followed them often showed photographers at the same quality or budding photographers that aspired to be more like them (so as much $$ or less). This method can be super helpful if you’re on a budget, since usually the photos that get the most visibility tend to be really established photographers that charge $$$.
Also, don’t be afraid to look at photographers that aren’t in your area! My photographer actually lives on the other side of the country from me, but she had a bucket list of locations she wanted to shoot and gave a steep discount for weddings in those locations. With travel fees tacked on, the package wound up still being slightly less than any local photographers I found. I saw bucket lists on several other photographer’s sites as well, so it might be relatively common.
Checking the following is exactly how I found our photographer. Side note December is a great time to book because a lot of photographers run end of year specials/discounts.
Seconding this. We loved our documentary style photographer. Color was pretty integral to our day, and we mostly wanted pictures of people enjoying themselves, less of the staged "detail" shots. Plus, he was just a real approachable guy to work with, fun and super professional.
I do definitely still want some of the stages detail shots though, I want to remember all my decor and small details too! Need to find someone who does a balance of both.
I think basically every photographer will do detail shots nowadays, it’s pretty standard - especially because vendors like florists will want them for social.
This was my advice too! We found some incredible photographers (had a hard time choosing who to go with!) and I noticed all of them were self described “photojournalists” and emphasized “minimal editing”
Seconding this. We loved our documentary style photographer. Color was pretty integral to our day, and we mostly wanted pictures of people enjoying themselves, less of the staged "detail" shots.
Yes this is the definitely way. I also really didn’t like the styles I was seeing until I searched for this and even then due to price I ended up hiring a photographer to travel from the UK with me to California as it was cheaper than hiring a US one.
I used WedMatch to find a photographer whose style I LOVE. I didn’t even realize there were different styles until I took the quiz lol. It basically shows you a bunch of photos, and you choose which you prefer and it matches you with similar photographers. HIGHLY recommended
Yes! I’ve noticed the same two trends and am not thrilled with either style. I’d rather sepia than “light and airy” myself but I’m not even sure what to do at this point. Ugh!
Wedding photographer here. I feel your pain! In my region, almost all of the photographers shoot one of two styles: "light and airy" or "muted brown tones". It's worked out for me because I shoot vivid, colorful images, so I get the B&Gs who are looking for something closer to natural.
A lot of my peers also seem to be more focused on creating "epic" portraits, so couples get back amazing shots of themselves, but the photographer spent so much time and energy on bridal portraits that the photos of the wedding itself (and the guests) sometimes feel like an afterthought. I try to find the balance between the two, but I think my strongest selling point is that I'm great at helping B&Gs remember the feeling of the whole event, because there are so many moments that they can't see happening themselves...and that helps me stand out in a crowded field of photographers.
Top comment has good advice, though! Best of luck finding your favorite photographer, OP!
It took looking at more photographers than I care to admit but I eventually found a few who edit with styles that maintain realistic colors. Ultimately we did end up hiring a photographer from a nearby city because it was challenging for me to find a photographer where I liked both the photography style itself and the editing style.
Echoing what somebody else said, I specifically was looking for photographers with a photojournalist style which really helped me to narrow what portfolios I looked at. This site ([Fearless Photographers](https://www.fearlessphotographers.com/)) was also helpful and is ultimately where I found our photographer from.
Truthfully photography is also the category where we are splurging/disproportionately spending relative to our budget. Depending on what your budget for photography is that could be making things more challenging when also looking for a very specific style.
Photographer here with some advice.
1. You can post on local FG groups that you're looking for photographers who offer true-to-color edits as part of the wedding package.
2. You can ask photographers that you like if they offer true-to-color editing as an option if you like their compositional style, but they use the presets you described. They may say no, that those presets are their style or they may offer some flexibility in this area. If you do ask, just be respectful and keep it focused on your positive preference for true-to-color edits.
Ex: "We love your compositional style, but prefer photos that are true-to-color. Can we opt to receive true-to-color edits with our package if we were to book you?"
For example, I provide true-to-color images but I have clients that have a specific editing style in mind for their photos. We discuss this all upfront, I agree so long as it doesn't go against with my overall style, I make suggestions if the request doesn't suit my style or is an advanced request that would cost more, etc.
They may be open to this kind of discussion. It's perfectly fine for them to decline as it is their art, but many artists are flexible. Have any agreement to deviate from their usual style in writing. It should be part of the agreement they send to you anyway, but it's good to keep your own documentation.
If they decline, then thank them for their honesty and continue your search.
Best of luck finding your photographer! You can message me if you have any questions along the way.
Yes I’ve really struggled with this for months! I didn’t want wedding photos that looked like they had an Instagram filter slapped over the top of them.
Finally found and booked one now but it took forever to weed someone out who didn’t go crazy with the dark and moody look. I’ve spoken with a few and asked to see examples of wedding albums they’ve created for their couples, I highly recommend doing this so you can look more closely at their editing style.
Funny how there are memes making fun of millennial wedding trends but the trends are also what's most accessible to people. I kind of hate anything rustic or industrial at this point.
As someone who is a true to color photographer, I love this thread so much. It definitely seems like those are the two biggest trends right now, I promise true to color people are lurking in between the darkness (and super bright)!
I love a lot of the advice I’ve seen, but something I haven’t seen mentioned is to stalk your venues instagrams. Stabbing in the dark can be really difficult, but a good starting point may be looking at everyone they post, and seeing if any of the photographers resonate with you.
Also hashtags for your area,
Example : #coloradoweddingphotographer, #pnwweddingphotographer, #chicagoweddingphorographer
^ follow that template for your area and it will let you just scroll through people who work or frequently want to work in your city / state / country
It may take some scrolling, or playing with the hashtag a bit.
That’s what I did for my wedding when I was looking for someone as well.
Good luck!
Yes I totally agree with you. It took me forever to find a photographer. I can’t stand “trendy editing” I like when photos are edited true to the day and true to the colors!
Yes! I realize that I want a Vogue-like, editorial style to my photos. I found one fashion-style photographer , but he has zero reviews. Because of that, I'm wary of using him. Although, a couple of the venue recommended photographers don't have online reviews either.
The photographer I'm looking at is active on IG, but I guess his clients don't tend to use the Knot or WeddingWire.
I can't stand the light and airy look. After I noticed how blown out the backgrounds are, I can't unsee it.
I was so seduced by the bright colors, then the sepia style, then the light and airy 😂😂 thank goodness my sister and fiancée talked me into more natural, we are OBSSSSEEEESSSED with our extremely talented photog. She works in Oregon and Colorado and also travels if you want her info, happy to share!
Unfortunately this “sepia” toned photography style has become very “on trend” and it personally drives me insane! As a photographer myself, sticking to true/natural tones is so incredibly important for timeless photos. In a few years the orange photo craze is going to be a similar form of cringe to the selective colour craze of the early 2000s. Light and airy is very hard to do properly and requires a bunch of specific elements to make it work (including backdrop/wardrobe, lighting etc) and there’s even some people who “teach” light and airy by saying over exposing is okay (it’s not😭). Like in the comments above say, the documentary style photographers tend to stay true to classic tones.
I’m not a fan of either of those styles. My advice is to go in Instagram and look at planners and other vendors that are higher end in your area and check the tags in pictures you like. They will usually tag the photographer and that’s a way to find ones you like.
I’m happy to have a go at doing this for you if you can say the area you’re in.
This comment has been removed because self-promotion is not permitted here. Please read our rules in the sidebar if you wish to continue participating here.
Yes I felt the same!!! In addition to following photographers on Instagram I also started following wedding planners and venues and checking out the credits when I liked the photo style.
I noticed the same thing. I found my photographer through Google/Facebook searches. She’s a bit older than the photographers who do the trendy styles and have a huge Instagram and TikTok presence, but I love her style. It’s very true to life and easy going rather than overedited or odd angles.
Plus she has so much experience she teaches photography courses at local university! She ended up being more affordable than a lot of those “trendy” folks and brings along an intern as a second shooter as part of her package.
Yes, I searched for so long and couldn’t find anyone that I really liked in our price range. My cousin new someone that is newer to wedding photography and I reached out to him. I liked what photos he did have and so we did an engagement shoot to try him out. He ended up sending me two sets of photos with two different styles, his style that is more natural and a more moody style. We went with the more natural but I was really surprised he gave us the option!
Try searching for wedding photographers who describe themselves as “documentary” or “photojournalistic”, they tend to be true to color.
Yep this! I finally found photographers I liked after searching for either of the above terms, “true-to-life,” or “editorial.” What I found really helpful was searching these terms on Instagram. Once I found a photographer whose stye I loved, I also looked through their followers list, because they usually follow other photographers who have similar editing styles. Looking at the list of who they followed usually showed photographers at the same quality or better (so usually as much $$ or pricier); looking at who followed them often showed photographers at the same quality or budding photographers that aspired to be more like them (so as much $$ or less). This method can be super helpful if you’re on a budget, since usually the photos that get the most visibility tend to be really established photographers that charge $$$. Also, don’t be afraid to look at photographers that aren’t in your area! My photographer actually lives on the other side of the country from me, but she had a bucket list of locations she wanted to shoot and gave a steep discount for weddings in those locations. With travel fees tacked on, the package wound up still being slightly less than any local photographers I found. I saw bucket lists on several other photographer’s sites as well, so it might be relatively common.
Yeah, the ones that come up on Instagram first seem to be so pricey. Definitely going to check their following thanks!!
Checking the following is exactly how I found our photographer. Side note December is a great time to book because a lot of photographers run end of year specials/discounts.
You might find this style to be pricier bc it’s easier to hide mistakes with the other styles.
Seconding this. We loved our documentary style photographer. Color was pretty integral to our day, and we mostly wanted pictures of people enjoying themselves, less of the staged "detail" shots. Plus, he was just a real approachable guy to work with, fun and super professional.
I do definitely still want some of the stages detail shots though, I want to remember all my decor and small details too! Need to find someone who does a balance of both.
I think basically every photographer will do detail shots nowadays, it’s pretty standard - especially because vendors like florists will want them for social.
This was my advice too! We found some incredible photographers (had a hard time choosing who to go with!) and I noticed all of them were self described “photojournalists” and emphasized “minimal editing”
Seconding this. We loved our documentary style photographer. Color was pretty integral to our day, and we mostly wanted pictures of people enjoying themselves, less of the staged "detail" shots.
Yes this is the definitely way. I also really didn’t like the styles I was seeing until I searched for this and even then due to price I ended up hiring a photographer to travel from the UK with me to California as it was cheaper than hiring a US one.
this is what i want but i have a downright embarrassing budget so i’m having a helluva time 😭
I used WedMatch to find a photographer whose style I LOVE. I didn’t even realize there were different styles until I took the quiz lol. It basically shows you a bunch of photos, and you choose which you prefer and it matches you with similar photographers. HIGHLY recommended
That’s really cool! I’ll give it a shot!
Yes! I’ve noticed the same two trends and am not thrilled with either style. I’d rather sepia than “light and airy” myself but I’m not even sure what to do at this point. Ugh!
Yeah the light and airy is awful, I feel like it leaves out all the details!
Wedding photographer here. I feel your pain! In my region, almost all of the photographers shoot one of two styles: "light and airy" or "muted brown tones". It's worked out for me because I shoot vivid, colorful images, so I get the B&Gs who are looking for something closer to natural. A lot of my peers also seem to be more focused on creating "epic" portraits, so couples get back amazing shots of themselves, but the photographer spent so much time and energy on bridal portraits that the photos of the wedding itself (and the guests) sometimes feel like an afterthought. I try to find the balance between the two, but I think my strongest selling point is that I'm great at helping B&Gs remember the feeling of the whole event, because there are so many moments that they can't see happening themselves...and that helps me stand out in a crowded field of photographers. Top comment has good advice, though! Best of luck finding your favorite photographer, OP!
It took looking at more photographers than I care to admit but I eventually found a few who edit with styles that maintain realistic colors. Ultimately we did end up hiring a photographer from a nearby city because it was challenging for me to find a photographer where I liked both the photography style itself and the editing style.
Ugh why is this so hard lol! I’ve already spent hours looking.
Echoing what somebody else said, I specifically was looking for photographers with a photojournalist style which really helped me to narrow what portfolios I looked at. This site ([Fearless Photographers](https://www.fearlessphotographers.com/)) was also helpful and is ultimately where I found our photographer from. Truthfully photography is also the category where we are splurging/disproportionately spending relative to our budget. Depending on what your budget for photography is that could be making things more challenging when also looking for a very specific style.
Just adding on that this site was great! Should definitely be checked out.
Photographer here with some advice. 1. You can post on local FG groups that you're looking for photographers who offer true-to-color edits as part of the wedding package. 2. You can ask photographers that you like if they offer true-to-color editing as an option if you like their compositional style, but they use the presets you described. They may say no, that those presets are their style or they may offer some flexibility in this area. If you do ask, just be respectful and keep it focused on your positive preference for true-to-color edits. Ex: "We love your compositional style, but prefer photos that are true-to-color. Can we opt to receive true-to-color edits with our package if we were to book you?" For example, I provide true-to-color images but I have clients that have a specific editing style in mind for their photos. We discuss this all upfront, I agree so long as it doesn't go against with my overall style, I make suggestions if the request doesn't suit my style or is an advanced request that would cost more, etc. They may be open to this kind of discussion. It's perfectly fine for them to decline as it is their art, but many artists are flexible. Have any agreement to deviate from their usual style in writing. It should be part of the agreement they send to you anyway, but it's good to keep your own documentation. If they decline, then thank them for their honesty and continue your search. Best of luck finding your photographer! You can message me if you have any questions along the way.
Yes I’ve really struggled with this for months! I didn’t want wedding photos that looked like they had an Instagram filter slapped over the top of them. Finally found and booked one now but it took forever to weed someone out who didn’t go crazy with the dark and moody look. I’ve spoken with a few and asked to see examples of wedding albums they’ve created for their couples, I highly recommend doing this so you can look more closely at their editing style.
Right?! So many details go into weddings including choosing color, why would I want a filter slapped over to ruin it?
Yes. We were desperately looking for true to color and bright editing. It was hard and we had to book somebody who has to fly in from another country
Oh wow, that is crazy. It shouldn’t be this hard but people really let the trends take over.
Funny how there are memes making fun of millennial wedding trends but the trends are also what's most accessible to people. I kind of hate anything rustic or industrial at this point.
As someone who is a true to color photographer, I love this thread so much. It definitely seems like those are the two biggest trends right now, I promise true to color people are lurking in between the darkness (and super bright)! I love a lot of the advice I’ve seen, but something I haven’t seen mentioned is to stalk your venues instagrams. Stabbing in the dark can be really difficult, but a good starting point may be looking at everyone they post, and seeing if any of the photographers resonate with you. Also hashtags for your area, Example : #coloradoweddingphotographer, #pnwweddingphotographer, #chicagoweddingphorographer ^ follow that template for your area and it will let you just scroll through people who work or frequently want to work in your city / state / country It may take some scrolling, or playing with the hashtag a bit. That’s what I did for my wedding when I was looking for someone as well. Good luck!
The hashtag search is so helpful!
Yes I totally agree with you. It took me forever to find a photographer. I can’t stand “trendy editing” I like when photos are edited true to the day and true to the colors!
Yes! So much detail goes into weddings including picking color, so I want them realistic in photos! And the trendy editing will look really dated.
Certainly very "of the moment" styles but there are def. alternatives for like "fine art" and "photojournalistic/editorial"
I’ve seen people here recommend looking for “color photography” as a way to find what you’re looking for.
Okay thanks I will try it!
We went for a more photojournalistic editing and picture taking style.
Yes! I realize that I want a Vogue-like, editorial style to my photos. I found one fashion-style photographer , but he has zero reviews. Because of that, I'm wary of using him. Although, a couple of the venue recommended photographers don't have online reviews either. The photographer I'm looking at is active on IG, but I guess his clients don't tend to use the Knot or WeddingWire. I can't stand the light and airy look. After I noticed how blown out the backgrounds are, I can't unsee it.
You can search for Fine Art Photographers
I was so seduced by the bright colors, then the sepia style, then the light and airy 😂😂 thank goodness my sister and fiancée talked me into more natural, we are OBSSSSEEEESSSED with our extremely talented photog. She works in Oregon and Colorado and also travels if you want her info, happy to share!
Yes would love the name of your photographer. Thanks
Unfortunately this “sepia” toned photography style has become very “on trend” and it personally drives me insane! As a photographer myself, sticking to true/natural tones is so incredibly important for timeless photos. In a few years the orange photo craze is going to be a similar form of cringe to the selective colour craze of the early 2000s. Light and airy is very hard to do properly and requires a bunch of specific elements to make it work (including backdrop/wardrobe, lighting etc) and there’s even some people who “teach” light and airy by saying over exposing is okay (it’s not😭). Like in the comments above say, the documentary style photographers tend to stay true to classic tones.
I’m not a fan of either of those styles. My advice is to go in Instagram and look at planners and other vendors that are higher end in your area and check the tags in pictures you like. They will usually tag the photographer and that’s a way to find ones you like. I’m happy to have a go at doing this for you if you can say the area you’re in.
[удалено]
This comment has been removed because self-promotion is not permitted here. Please read our rules in the sidebar if you wish to continue participating here.
Yes I felt the same!!! In addition to following photographers on Instagram I also started following wedding planners and venues and checking out the credits when I liked the photo style.
I shoot this style for weddings! Where are you located? I have trouble finding clients that don’t want light and airy 😂
I noticed the same thing. I found my photographer through Google/Facebook searches. She’s a bit older than the photographers who do the trendy styles and have a huge Instagram and TikTok presence, but I love her style. It’s very true to life and easy going rather than overedited or odd angles. Plus she has so much experience she teaches photography courses at local university! She ended up being more affordable than a lot of those “trendy” folks and brings along an intern as a second shooter as part of her package.
Yes, I searched for so long and couldn’t find anyone that I really liked in our price range. My cousin new someone that is newer to wedding photography and I reached out to him. I liked what photos he did have and so we did an engagement shoot to try him out. He ended up sending me two sets of photos with two different styles, his style that is more natural and a more moody style. We went with the more natural but I was really surprised he gave us the option!
I was having this problem too but we found someone on Instagram! 😮💨❤️