Light and Airy Wedding Photography is one of the four major styles of wedding photography. The style is also referred to as bright and airy, fine art, and filmic, and it can be described as soft, romantic and pastel. The style can be considered the “opposite” of our “Dark and Moody” Photo Editing Style.
The light and airy style of wedding photography is achieved with a unique shooting style and photo editing style. While there are no set “rules” to wedding photography style, there are general guidelines that photographers follow when photographing these types of images and general characteristics of the photos themselves.
Soft and Pastel Colors
Light and Airy Wedding Photos will generally be less colorful and vibrant than other styles of wedding photos. In this style, it’s acceptable to blow out brighter and lighter areas of an image, such as the skies. Our studio has refined and tested this look over thousands of photos. We then created a set of Light and Airy Lightroom Presets called the Pastel Pack.
Use of Natural Light
Light and airy wedding photography is often shot with natural light. Flash photography is not often used with this style of photography, and if it is, it’s typically used in a subtle way that mimics natural light.
This makes planning and shooting in the right places and the right times of the day critical for this bright style of photography, as heavy light manipulation with flash will often not work well with this look.
Vertical Orientation
Light and Airy Wedding Photos can be either vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) in orientation. However, they are more often shot with a vertical orientation.
There is no agreed-upon reason for this aesthetic trend beyond a subjective, stylistic preference. However it is our belief that a vertical orientation leaves less visual space on the sides of the subjects, keeping the focus on the subjects in the photos (and their expressions/emotions).
Displayed in Spreads
The bright and airy style usually looks great in spreads, with images displayed side by side in a storytelling format. Consistent lighting, editing, and storytelling, combined with this style of wedding photography, make these images perfect for album and wall art. See the example below.
More Examples of Light and Airy Wedding and Engagement Images
See the following gallery for more examples of light and airy wedding, engagement, and editorial photos shot by Lin and Jirsa.
If you are looking for this style of photos for your shoot, be sure to let your Lin and Jirsa client manager and photographer know!