Bride and Groom portraits at the wedding

As a photojournalist most of the photos I take are when it happens actions shots. For stories often a few posed shots will be taken to show what a person looks like (i.e. a close up detail head and shoulders shot know as a mug shot), but the majority will not be posed. As a wedding photojournalist, the majority of my shots are also candid moments.

This page from Chauntel and Gerardo's wedding album shows many candid moments of them together (the one on top is her and her dad), in a book with a few formals (posed shots) chosen, but with them and other people, not just them alone.

Some couples want a few posed images of them for the album, and the question arises of when to do it. These were taken of Molly and Jeremy at cocktail hour, after a few formals of their wedding party, I took the two of them alone for a few moments and captured these.

I had a great question recently from a bride whose wedding I will be shooting in September. She wanted to know how the formals they wanted could be shot in such a manner that they would miss as little of the cocktail hour as possible.

I told her that I can do groups fast, and also offered her an option if she wanted to see her groom before the ceremony. Many people do not want to see their fiancee before the wedding and that is fine. For those that would consider it though, they could have the moment of first seeing each other captured in pictures away from the eyes of the crowd (blindfolding the groom and bringing the bride to him, really makes this an emotional moment when he finally sees her).

A few great emotion pics are taken, some brief time alone for them, and then when they are ready, some portraits of them with each other and if desired their bridal party can be a great use of time allowing them to miss little, if even any cocktail hour with their friends.

Aquariums and High ISOs

I had a bride and groom ask me on a recent meeting how I would photograph in a dark church without a flash. I answered them that many officiants have had me shoot weddings entirely without flash and even if given permission I to use flash I would do so only on the processional and recessional.

For the rest of the ceremony I would use the camera set to a high iso (800, 1600, or even 3200 if the conditions required it), with fast glass on my camera (I use f 2.8 a lot at many weddings). The professional cameras I have produce good results in higher ISO conditions than many consumer cameras would.

I photograph in a dark nightclub weekly without flash, and working for the newspaper has also put me in even darker conditions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you look closely you can see spots in both photos that were the results of the focus beams on cameras on people who did not obey the instructions to turn off their flashes on their cameras.


This is a very young shark. To give perspective, the turtle swimming next to him is a Great Sea Turtle.

Working with Clients to Create the Album

One question I often get from brides, and occassionally also from grooms, is how do the photos that go into the albums get chosen.

I use magazine style albums that are 15-spreads (30 pages if thought of in book terms). The photos used are chosen by the couple. I have them choose 60-65 images for the album and 2 images for the cover as photos are printed on the front and back. Sometimes they will choose more but list ones they cannot decide between and then tell me to choose one or the other for them.

I design the album to tell the story of the day, in some ways like building a photo story for the newspaper. I also have the couple tell me which photos to not include, for example I am often photographing the bridal party getting ready and perhaps a bride only wants photos of herself with her dress on for the album, whereas some like photos of the getting ready preparation.




The reason for having the couple list photos they do not want included is occassionally I will also have to include one or two photos to fully develop the flow of the story and/or page, and I like to know which photos ahead of time the couple do not want included for any reason. In this spread, the middle photo of Peter walking his daughter, Molly, up the aisle was one that I chose.



By letting the couple choose the photos for the album they are both part of the creative process and help me create a keepsake made of their favorite specific moments of the day.

Engagement Shoots: Location, Location, Location

I encourage all of my couples to do engagement shoots and they are in all of my standard packages. They give a couple the chance to see how I work before the wedding, and they get a little more used to having a camera on them. For many couples the engagement session is a kind of a warm-up of what it will be like, as most people have not had been the focus of attention all day as they will be on their wedding day.

Often I get a great question from my brides whose engagement session who want to know if I had any favorite spots for her session. I know many picturesque places and have told them so, but then I gave her my advice to all couples.

Whenever possible, I like my bride and groom to pick out their location. Sometimes they know great places I have never been. I encourage them to pick out a place that means something to them: where they met, where the proposal happened, a place they go as a couple that has special memories. When you look back at these photos, and some couples also choose one or more for their wedding album, the memories you had of the place before and the new ones of the engagement day shoot will go through your head. Past couples have greatly enjoyed the results.

Jill and Aaron moved to California from Texas, so they wanted their shots to have California imagery in them to share with the folks back home. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge and The Palace of Fine Arts, both in San Francisco.


Chauntel and Gerardo were both often brought to Pescadero Creek Park as children. It's quite possible that they passed each other there years before meeting. As adults they continued to go there together.


Many couples are able to envision such special places and I can see (or hear in the case of phone consults) them light up with the memories coming into their mind.

Hiring a Photojournalist for Your Wedding

I was on a wedding board recently where a bride posted a great question. I decided to answer it here, also.

Tanya inquired what would happen if a bride chose a newspaper photojournalist to photograph their wedding instead of someone who shot weddings exclusively.

My response:

Dear Tanya,

Thank you for an insightful question. Many photojournalists have entered the wedding field, shooting weddings full-or part-time, or making the transition from a photojournalist to a wedding photojournalist. The timing, people skills, and composition techniques can be similar in many ways. I am a photojournalist at The Pinnacle, in Hollister, and I also photograph weddings.

While every photographer is different, a photojournalist would not move people or objects or pose them for a news shot (though if a shot was for a feature story and/or portrait this might be done, with the knowledge and possible advance direction of his or her editor). A wedding photojournalist would take portraits "formals", or move objects if the job required.

Additionally, as a news photographer, unflattering photos may be taken purposefully to tell the whole story. An example would be at a sports event where injuries are not uncommon. I recently shot our local volleyball team's loss at the semi-finals. This was due to a key player twisting her ankle.

As it was a news event, I photographed her on the ground while help arrived (she was lead off the court with help and did not return to the game) and the girls' crying at their loss. Though I shot the whole game, my paper printed only these two photos:

While sporting events are more likely to have injuries than weddings, someone hurting themselves (i.e. while dancing) is not an unheard of event for a wedding. In the former case, it is my job, as it is every photojournalist to keep shooting, in the latter, I, and many of my colleagues, would not shoot that particular moment.

Danielle Stolman