Weddings are emotion-filled starting as early as the evening before at the welcome or rehearsal dinner, all the way until you start to board your flight to your honeymoon. When you take the time to look back through your wedding photos years down the line, you want to truly experience all the feelings all over again. It can be hard to put yourself back in that place if your photos feel more like a production and not authentic and in the moment.
It's become more and more popular that couple want to take a more documentary approach when it comes to how their wedding day is documented. Personally, I'm hopeful that the interest in this style isn't just a wave of a current trend, but something that will stick around. Beautiful photos don't always mean the most perfectly planned and posed image. It can be the one of you hugging your grandma tight; your now husband brushing away tears while talking to his mom; your little cousin staying distracted with phone games during the ceremony; your ring barrier using their ring pillow as a plate for his chips. It's totally reasonable to want a healthy mix of both a documentary and posed photos for your wedding day. If you want to lean more into that documentary approach, this read is for you - so let's get into it!
Throughout this post, there will be sprinkles of a wedding gallery that I documented back in November of 2024 in Huntsville, AL! This client went with a 6 hour wedding day with a second shooter. We were able to cover getting ready photos, the ceremony, and reception activities such as dances, toasts, and cake cutting. Once the dance floor opened up and guest were ready to mingle with the couple, our service was over. So, we didn't capture the last 2 hours of the night before they headed off in their getaway car. They did have a longer cocktail hour, so they could mingle with their guest right after the ceremony and before dinner started. They did not have a first look, and they didn't really want organized wedding party photos.
A true documentary approach doesn't have a strict timeline!
A wedding day is truly surrounded around one important moment - the ceremony. For weddings that I have had the honor to have been a part of that took this documentary approach, there are typically only a few line items on their timeline: Venue access, ceremony start time, golden hour couple portraits, dinner start time, reception end time.... That's it! The only other item that might be recognized at the end of the ceremony is for family to stick around after for a few family photos. However, some couples opt to just taking photos with family members as they naturally run into them throughout the day.
With a wide open timeline, it allows more opportunities for couples to live in the moment and absorb their day as it is. Nothing feels forced or rushed! Also this way, your photographs will be full of different textures and lighting scenarios! Instead of all your wedding party and family photos being in the same location, they'll be sprinkled in different locations throughout the day.
Since there isn't a strict timeline, communication is insanely important!
Communicating with your photographer is important no matter if you're going for this true candid approach or if your timeline is down to 5 minute increments. However when it comes to the documentary wedding style, you will need to be comfortable over-communicating your needs before and on your wedding day.
During the final meeting, make sure to include your photographer in on any shot list that you might have. This list should not be a CVS receipt long, but should include a handful of moments or items you know you want specifically documented based on different meanings. I wouldn't include the obvious ones like the kiss during the ceremony, but I would include items that only y'all (as a couple) would know the importance of. For example, if you have a terminally ill grandparent that you specifically want a photo of you kissing their cheek or a detail photo of stir sticks at the bar because your sister made them by scratch. Maybe even list specific moments that will happen during the day that don't have a specific time established to them such as a first look with your dad, gift giving, etc.
On the day itself, you and your photographer need to be on the same page as much as possible. If you recognize something or want a specific photo at a specific time, don't feel shy to let your photographer know! If you're feeling in the moment that it would be fun to take some posed, silly photos with your bridesmaids, don't feel bad grabbing your photographer who is taking detail photos of the reception space. But with that being said, it brings me to my next point - maybe it's best to have more than one photographer on your wedding day!
Tons of things are going on during a wedding day, so it might be beneficial to have more than one photographer!
Keep in mind that your photographer cannot be in two places at one time. Although there is a lot of attention on the bride during the wedding day, the groom is obviously just as important. If y'all are deciding to wait until the alter to see each other for the first time, I would highly recommend having at least two shooters on your wedding day. That way one photographer can dedicate their time to one partner's candid moments and the second photographer can focus on the other partner's.
I'll let you in on a secret (that isn't that much of secret if you really think about it). A lot of those big influencer weddings you see where there are a ton of candid moments captured along with fun artsy images, there are typically more than even two photographers involved. The photographer that I booked when my husband and I eloped had photographed a few A and B-list celebrity weddings. For those weddings, she would be focused on one specific part of the day. For example, when she was on the photography team for an A-list couple, she was entirely focused on just details for the entire wedding day. There was a team of 5-6 photographers for that one wedding alone.
Building expectations based on another couple's wedding gallery is a sure sign for disappointment. Is inspiration hurtful or helpful when it comes to a documentary approach?
Your wedding day is your wedding day. The photos on your Pinterest board are not you, your wedding, or even your photographer.
Comparison is the thief of joy. That's such a cliche saying, but it's totally true. Creating a Pinterest board for your wedding photography is perfect to just set the vibe, but it should not be the expectation. The couples on your Pinterest board are not the two of you. Their wedding day isn't y'all's wedding day, and their photographer is not your photographer. It's totally okay to have a few that you might want to recreate if there's time for it, but other than that... hear me out when I say the less expectations you have for your wedding photographer, the better your moments will be captured. You don't want your wedding photographer with his/her eyes devoted to a long check-list instead of being dedicated to the moments going on around him/her.
If you have a long list of "must have" shots on your shot list, it might be best to actually have a photographer dedicated to those moments. Going back to what I said before, another shooter may be beneficial for your wedding day. That way, your main photographer can be aware of life happening around them while the second shooter can focused on those niche moments and maintain the checklist.
Now that the day is over, It might be a hot minute until you see your final gallery...
Coming from a photographer myself, I shoot between 8,000 and 10,000 photos on a documentary style wedding day. Heck, I basically shoot that much on a wedding day regardless of the style approach. Because so many one-time moments are happening all day, there are hundreds on hundreds of photos captured. Of course you won't receive all 8-10k photos because several are either duplicates of the same instances or not really worth while. However, you will still receive a huge amount of photos by the time you get your gallery back!
My couples typically get between 1,800 and 3,000 photos back. That amount of photos takes a ridiculously long time to filter through and edit. Patience is so important when waiting for your final gallery. I know an extra week or two might feel frustrating, but what is 7-14 days compared to your whole life?
If your photographer is well past the date they promised you in your contract, then you should definitely reach out. But asking for updates on your gallery only a few weeks after the wedding day may cause your photographer to feel pressured and quickly float through your gallery. I can promise you that the wait is worth it!
I want posed photographs and candid ones, so how do I make that happen?
There's actually one simple solution for this, and it's time. The longer you have your photographer on your wedding day, the more buffer time can be placed between "timeline moments", which will allow you both to feel less stressed and be more involved in what's going on around you.
Here's a quick example from a client that I chatted through their timeline with this past week. Her contract was for 8 hours. By the time we got through the timeline, we were looking at 30 minutes devoted to wedding party photos, only 45 minutes for details, 45 minutes for candids of people arriving to the ceremony and detail shots of the ceremony and reception space, 30 minutes for maybe the longest family shot list I have ever seen... Needless to say, we would be rolling with a tight schedule all day. That doesn't really leave room to hang out with your friends and enjoy the day. Instead, she added on 2 additional hours! This allowed us to add in buffer time to each activity so we could roll from "timeline moment" to "timeline moment" throughout the day. You truly don't want your wedding day to feel like a photoshoot - adding time might be the solution to keep that from happening.
Therefore, my advice is to always add more time than you think you'll need. Back when I was an engineer, my manager taught me rule that I live by still to this day - however long you think it will take you to do something, times it by 3. So for example, If I believe that I can complete wedding party photos in 15 minutes if everything is going perfectly to plan, then I should actually set aside 45 minutes. Here's another example as to why... Say we start wedding party photos but your bridesmaid's heel breaks. So, she has to run back into the venue for a new pair of shoes... just to realize they're not in the bridal suite but in her car. Or you forgot to grab your bouquet and touch-up your lipstick on the way out? Or, your great aunt arrived and she wants to come over and give you a quick hug? On a super tight timeline, all these items would start to push us behind schedule and might either A) cause frustrations of feeling rushed or B) photo moments get missed.
The 3 times rule might not be the perfect approach for all your timeline items, but it's a good start! When reviewing your timeline with your photographer, ask them if they believe that this timeline has enough time backed in to allow the day to go by smoothly.
Oh, two other pieces of advice for documentary style: live out your emotions and don't get awkward in front of the camera!
A lot of the candids that couples save on their mood boards typically involve living out their emotions! For example, holding hands with your bridesmaids, putting your head on your partners shoulder during toasts, kissing your grandpa on the cheek, twirling your dress with the flower girls, etc. Whatever you feel like doing, do it! Kiss your partner's hand, hug your high school best friend, cheers your glass! The more you live out your feelings on your wedding day, the more engaging candids you will have to look back on!
Also, don't be alarmed if your photographer is just lingering around. We're waiting for a moment to happen to photograph it. If they point their camera at you, don't feel the instant need to strike a pose or plaster a fake smile. I know this can be overwhelming at first. But after a few drinks or chatting with your close friends on the dance floor, you will almost forget we're even there!
If you skimmed through this article, I want you take away these final words.
When it comes to your documentary style wedding photography approach, communication, time, extra eyes, and patience are the key. Over communicating with your photographer leading up to and on the day of your wedding is important to help them understand what is important to you. Your photographer doesn't live in your brain or listen to your thoughts.
Adding additional time to your wedding photography contract may be the perfect solution to have posed and candid documentation. That buffer time in your timeline will allow you and your photographer to be less stressed if things are behind or not going according to plan. Creativity always seems to find me in times that I'm relaxed and open minded, not when I'm stressed and checking the time.
Having more than one photographer on your wedding day allows multiple viewpoints and interactions to be documented. If you and your partner are opting out of a first look on your wedding day, then a second shooter should be a high priority if you're going for a more documentary style. That way one photographer can be dedicated to one partner and the other photographer to the other partner.
Patience is so important when it comes to waiting for your final gallery. A documentary approach typically means thousands and thousands of more images to cull through and edit. You want your photographer to treat your photos with care, Constantly asking for updates may cause them to rush through your gallery. Of course if they're past their contracted turnaround time, reach out. But otherwise, take a breather!! The wait is 100% worth it. When you really think about it, what's one to two more weeks of waiting compared to your entire life of looking back at your wedding photos. If there are specific photographs you know you will want before that contractual turnaround time (for example, family photos for a Christmas card), let your photographer know that before they wave goodbye on your wedding day! That way they can include them in your sneak peeks.
Releasing high expectations will also allow you to be more in the moment on your wedding day! Pinterest boards are fabulous for setting the vibe, but should not become the expectation. The couples on your Pinterest board are not you and your fiance. Their wedding day is not your wedding day, and their photographer is not your photographer. Give your photographer some grace, and more importantly - trust him or her!
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