These days, it seems that many wedding photographers are wedding photojournalists. In fact, photojournalism, in relation to wedding photography, has become more of a buzz word in recent years than an actual description of a photographer’s style. But where does the term photojournalist even come from in the first place?
Photojournalism is a term that is actually used to describe a style of journalism accomplished through photography that is used in news, magazines and other publications. As a type of journalist, photojournalists were expected to observe and record events as they unfolded, without any interference or adulteration. In the late 1980s early 1990s, a group of photojournalists moved into the wedding photography industry and created a new unique style of photography called wedding photojournalism.
Photojournalism and Wedding Photography
When introduced to the wedding photography industry, this new style of wedding photography was a breath of fresh air. Prior to that point, wedding photography seemed to be firmly entrenched in a standardized set of perfect, cliché-looking shots and effects. Every wedding portrait had the same glamour-esque look with a soft wash over the image. Wedding photography consisted of capturing, and even fabricating, the exact same image with each and every client. “Let’s do the looking out the window shot, ok, now look into your watch, ok, now tie your shoes, ok, now button your cuffs, etc.”
Wedding photojournalism took the standard approach to weddings and turned it onto its head. Instead of wedding photographers helping guide and direct the wedding day, they now stood back and let things happen naturally. Instead of creating picture perfect scenes for every moment, the wedding photographer strove to capture the truth and realism in the actual moment. The result was photography that was no longer standardized as a canned product sold from the shelf of your grocery store. Rather, each client got customized pictures that may not have been flawless, but were perfect in capturing the actual emotion and atmosphere of the scene.
Wedding Photojournalism Today
Fast forward 20 years and it seems as though every single wedding photographer today appears to be a wedding photojournalist. Why? Well, because photographers are afraid of losing clients if they do not use the marketing term somewhere in their material. However, despite the usage of photojournalist, there are many photographers out there who have no experience in wedding photojournalism, or photojournalism in general. In fact, often times their portfolio doesn’t even exhibit photojournalistic style shots.
While it is not required for a wedding photographer to have worked at a newspaper agency in order to qualify him to be a wedding photojournalist, it should be expected that their training and educational background is in the field of photojournalism.
Our Experience and Training in Wedding Photojournalism
While the Lin and Jirsa master wedding photographers (Pye, Justin and Chris) have not worked in a newspaper agency setting, we have all been professionally trained in wedding photojournalism. In fact, our mentors, who are some of the best photographers in the world, are some of the best photojournalists in Los Angeles and abroad.
Our professional photography training and mentorships gave us a firm foundation in wedding photojournalism. However we spend hundreds of additional hours each year studying our art. Each year our master photographers are required to attend WPPI (the largest photography trade show and seminar in the world) in Las Vegas, Nevada, photography seminars, and photography workshops, each of which are taught and instructed by some of the world’s top wedding photojournalists such as: Denis Reggie, Joe Buissink, Mike Colon and many more.
Probably the easiest and most effective way of getting an idea of whether or not a wedding photographer is actually a wedding photojournalist is simply to take a look at their portfolio, as well as a sample wedding. Throughout our portfolio you will notice our roots in photojournalism. We would also love to show you a full wedding event in person. Simply call us to setup an appointment with one of the master wedding photographers.
About Lin & Jirsa
Creative. Clean. Different. We are a group of creatives in Orange County with a passion for storytelling. Founded in 2007, our studio has been recognized as the best wedding photographers in Los Angeles and Orange County by various publications, websites, and groups. We’d love to show you our studio in Orange County, California and walk you through our albums, canvases and other print photography products. We can also provide more information on our Wedding Videography and introduce you to our team!