Cape Fear Wedding: Journalistic style wedding photography

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Wilmington wedding photographer Gary Allen is a veteran newspaper and magazine photographer

   Many wedding photographers today go beyond the traditional formal shots to bring a photojournalistic style to their work. This means recording the event as it occurs, capturing as many spontaneous moments as possible rather than relying on posed situations. Done well, it can capture the activity, emotions and excitement of the day, with people dancing, talking, laughing or shedding a tear: the little moments that add personality to your wedding album.
    But not every photographer can do it well. It takes good instincts, a creative eye, and the highest technical skills to produce good results. Even with the best of skills, a journalistic photographer may not be able to guarantee that these "moments" will occur when he or she is in the right position to capture them.
    As you might expect, some of the best at this sort of coverage have worked as photojournalists. If you are interested in the journalistic approach to your wedding, ask about the photographer�s experience, and look at portfolios of their work.
    Of course, there is still a place for the formal, posed photographs. After all, weddings are one of the few occasions at which some far-flung families ever get together.
    A combination of approaches -- photojournalistic coverage of the event, plus a list of must-do group portraits -- is often the best approach.
    Experienced wedding photographers may not need a checklist of �moments.� They know to capture the cake-cutting, the bouquet toss, the champagne toast, etc. But they may benefit from a list of �must-have� personalities.
    If Uncle Ed is known to amuse the grandchildren with magic tricks, or a cousin has an especially flashy dance move, let the photographer know about it ahead of time.
    A combination of these approaches -- photojournalistic coverage of the event, plus a list of must-do group portraits -- is often the best strategy.
    If you prefer an emphasis on one approach or the other, discuss it in detail with your photographer so both parties are comfortable with your expectations and the photographer's ability to meet them.

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