South West Reportage Photography

Christian Michael are rated amongst the best reportage wedding photographers in the Country working out of their base as wedding photographers in the South West. Reportage photography is very popular amongst Bride and Groom getting married right now but what exactly is Reportage Wedding Photography?

Reportage or Photojournalistic photography is a style of recording the events that unfold in a situation, in this case at a wedding as they happen with no interference/direction from the photographer. It has become increasingly popular in recent years as couples try to move away from the traditional posed wedding photography of previous generations. As a Reportage Wedding Photographer you are required to blend into the background, and provide no orchestration to the guests or bride and grooms. You would usually shoot your photos with just available light, so that your flash does not influence people’s reactions. It is common to photograph using a powerful telephoto lens so that you can stand far away from your subjects so that they are unaware of their photograph being taken. Quite often these images are reproduced in black and white to add to the timeless feel and reportage effect.

Photojournalism or Reportage is nothing new, as it has been around since the introduction of using still photographs to illustrate stories in newspapers. Weegee, a New Jersey press photographer working in the 1930’s was in our opinion one of the founding fathers of Reportage/Candid photography. He had no photographic training, and just captured the scene as presented to him without thinking too much about the technicalities or techniques. In fact his camera settings were nearly always the same. It later transpired that some of his photographs, despite being photojournalistic in style were in actual fact staged. This is a style which we have adopted, shooting the majority of our images in a reportage style, but giving direction at times where we see fit to allow us to capture the best possible photos. We know that the couples who book us really want, amongst others, beautiful images of the two of them together, and quite understandably aren’t sure what to do when placed in front of a camera. It is at this time we will provide some direction but still retain reportage in influence. It is this blend of influences that we have mixed together that gives us our unique style.