Why Candid or Wedding Photojournalism?
Do you know - A wedding shot by two different photographers can give you altogether different impressions of the same event?
Traditional - Good Coverage but Missing moments
For years, we have been looking at these wedding albums which are so monotonous that sometimes you skip pages without missing much. It's really hard to connect ourselves until we see our own picture in the album. It's often an album with many pictures, but all posed and often emotionless. No matter how much you spend on your wedding, these albums will be the same. At the most, you can buy the most expensive album. To my amusement, I have often heard praises of albums, rather than images. And that's why when you interact with most photographers, they would be interested in selling their top or most expensive albums. They hardly talk about images. All you discuss with them is the quality of the paper & the album. You don't even ask them who is actually going to click the images. You know it will be one of their team members. But what's his style, how much experience he has? Most of the time you don't even have much expectations from them.
But things have changed now. Couples are now looking for more personalized images.
After all, it's their once-in-a-life event. They want images of their precious moments which they can cherish lifelong. And that's the reason Candid photography or wedding photojournalism is getting very popular.
Wedding Photojournalism is a form of art.
You get high-quality images of your special moments, which are often needed to be clicked in a fraction of seconds and weaved together to present a story. A good artist will be able to recognize these moments.
The traditional photographer who, in an attempt to cover all guests, is hard-pressed to click hundreds of images will not be able to capture those blink-and-you-miss moments. And remember it's an Indian wedding, where we will have at least 400 guests !!! Do you really think he will find himself connected with you? Will he be able to find those emotional moments?
The candid photographer has to be very attentive. He has to make you feel comfortable. Most of the time he has to be mingled in the crowd or take a position at a distance with his long lenses. Traditional photographers can easily give you more than 1000 images in 8 hours. But for candid, a photographer has to work very hard to get 200 good images. He is a follower of an art form. That's the reason, candid Photographer refuses to take staged/group shots.
Most pre-wedding ceremonies start in the morning and go on till the afternoon. Receptions start in the evening and the main wedding happens the next morning. It's almost a non-stop shoot of 24 hrs for a photographer. Being attentive for 24 hrs is a difficult task. These images are further sorted to find the best 200-300 images. Each image is the enhanced or edited version which is again a very long process. It's hard work And that's why you need a photographer who is committed to his work. Often it is difficult for an amateur or part-time photographer to give you those perfect results in time.
Fair enough you need images of all guests, and no doubt it's important. Let the traditional photographer do his work. Take images from him, and arrange these images in a nice album to share with your guests.
If you're hiring both, it is your decision to prioritize the budget for traditional, candid, or wedding photojournalism.
