Documentary and editorial are hot words in wedding photography, but what do they actually look like when you get your gallery back?


Documentary wedding photography focuses more on capturing the organic interaction happening between you as a couple, and during portraits this might involve some prompting, like to hold hands and walk, or to dance together. They result in some lovely organic photos like these:

Couple kissing in red dress and olive suit against a textured stone wall, holding a colorful bouquet outdoors.
Couple in red dress and suit dancing near ancient stone castle ruins outdoors.
Couple dancing in red dress and green suit near ancient stone castle ruins on a windy day.

Editorial photos are much more like something you would see in Vogue, and require more direction and input on a wedding day, including styling beforehand. For this reason, most couples choose to have mostly documentary coverage with just couples portraits or just family portraits in a stronger editorial style, so as to not interrupt the main wedding! They look more like this:

Elegant bride in strapless white gown and groom in black tuxedo pose on grand stone steps adorned with floral arrangements.
Bride in white strapless gown with slit holds bouquet on cobblestone street as groom in tuxedo watches.
Bride in strapless white gown and groom in black tuxedo holding hands crossing a street in London.

So, should you choose editorial or documentary wedding photography?


The answer is completely up to you - whatever makes you feel most comfortable and confident!