Traditional wedding photography means something obvious for every one of us, doesn’t it? We grow up in different countries, therefore, our cultures differ and this fact is forgotten when we think about the traditional wedding pictures. Wedding cultures have had different histories and what we have now – is a modern version of everything that our ancestors used to do. We might be a little surprised or, on the contrary, very much surprised, when we find out, what is truly traditional to the other country, or nation, or even a specific tribe. Photographers have to deal with wedding photo editing service no matter how went the wedding itself and in what country it was made. Moreover, he has to need the specific traditions and rules of the ceremony to perform it well and to place the accents in the same manner as the wedding shooter. 

In this article we will discuss those various traditions and styles of photography that are typical. Or trends, because there’s always so many of them. Our article “Eco Friendly Wedding – The Power of Zero-Waste Weddings” will perfectly proves it. As for the traditions, these are the most unusual wedding ones.

So many people, so many customs, as they say, and often very specific. In some areas and villages of Switzerland is still preserved the tradition of sloshing the bride on the day before the wedding from head to toe. In the truest sense of the word, with mud. The more repulsive that slime looks and smells, the happier are the members of this unusual procedure. In the preparation of this hellish mixture in everything is used that you can get easy: ketchup, mayonnaise, eggs, beer, yogurt, rotten leftovers and so on. In addition to taking stinking shower, the bride is faced with visiting all the pubs and drinking institutions of the town, accompanied by the convoy of the friends of the groom to demonstrate to the onlookers the observance of this tradition. It is believed, that after such humiliation, all the rest of the future excesses from the husband’s side pious will seem just a childish prank. And scandals in the family simply will not happen. Besides, no other man would not hanker after such a slatternly woman. Artistic wedding photography becomes hard at this point, but not impossible.

On the island of Bali, the locals adhere to ancient custom of rasping the teeth of the newlyweds just before the wedding ceremony. Six pieces for each, incisors and canines. The ritual symbolizes the entry into the adult, independent life. Girls under the wing of parents are moving under the guardianship of the elected person, taking with them the burdens of self-care. It is a real burden for the fathers of the grooms, they'll have to pay for the wedding and to help the part of the new society of Balinese settle down. According to aboriginal legend, teeth that had not been rasped can become a source of animal instincts (the fangs of the beasts are identified with the human’s), which inevitably leads to the troubles. In addition, during such a procedure the vices of the devil are expelled from lovers, six of them: anger, lust, envy, gluttony, greed, and stupidity. Can you imagine traditional wedding photography with teeth rasping?

Strange wedding rituals in Borneo: in Tudong tribe inhabiting the island of Borneo, according to old traditions it is customary to test your willpower and newlyweds’ organisms about the endurance. If they pass the test, then a happy and carefree life is awaiting them, and if not, - they will not be able to avoid the disagreements and quarrels, and terrible grief. And the essence of the test lies in the fact that within three days after the marriage ceremony the spouses are not allowed to go... to the toilet. They have to forget about food and barely sip water. There are observers who follow them and watch the obedience to the tradition. Well, who said it was easy to achieve happiness? Artistic wedding photography is in the skill of making the faces of the couple look happy, and not stressed in that period.

Strange wedding in Korea are also a fact. The peoples of the Tujia people living in China have quite a bitter and plaintive tradition. They make the bride cry with bitter tears a month before her wedding daily as soon as the sun hides behind the horizon. After ten days, instead of comforting her, she is joined by a mother, and after another ten days - by other female relatives, and on the eve of the wedding ceremony – by bridesmaids, who all tear up near the bride. Moreover, while crying all the ladies sing special songs. They are taught to do so from early childhood because it is believed that the more tears you cry before the wedding, the happier and more carefree will be the life run in the future family. Watch this video to find out more about Korean weddings.

But that is nothing compared to the customs of the inhabitants of Africa. 

Unusual wedding traditions African countries: Nigeria. All grooms of the tribe are subjected to physical test, only after which he can marry the girl he likes. The whole family of the beauty stays in the straight line and her future husband need to get through that crowd. It sounds easy only this time the future relatives are fiercely beating him up with sticks. The man who passes this is happily accepted to the family because it’s considered, that he’s ready to get married. But Nigerian brides, to be considered a real beauty, have to gain as much weight as possible before the ceremony. They are given into special institutions where people ensure that they eat the millet in kilograms and drink liters of fat camel milk. They're also quite limited in their physical activity. Wedding photography styles in this country are quite unusual when you see them for the first time.

In Kenya new husband has to wear the women's clothing for a month, to feel on himself all aspects of being a woman. And his wife has her arms decorated with red and black ornaments due to the change of her status. In Nepal the mothers of the future spouses agree upon the upcoming wedding ceremony. They agree in advance... from fifteen to twenty years beforehand, while the kids are still in their tummies. If two boys or girls are born, the engagement is ruptured. But it is not so surprising, as tradition of the Nevar nation, which consists in getting girls to get married to the fruit, symbolizing the sacred Vishnu. Wives in Rwanda are to be envied. After the wedding they are allowed to hit, push, bite and scratch their husbands at night and during the day to rest from this intense occupation. Though not for long, just for a couple of weeks. The natives sincerely believe that after this ritual the wife will get rid of anger for the rest of her life and so there will be no quarrels in the family. As you can see, each of those countries will have different wedding photography styles.

Different wedding photography styles

There are not only differences in styles, but also in the formats of the wedding ceremonies. If you prefer minimal interrogation in the process, then your style is called Wedding Photojournalism and it means that you tell a story of this wedding. You simply watch everything unfold in front of your eyes and catch beautiful moments. It looks very natural. If you are prone to something more artistic and unusual, then you should choose the Fine Art Wedding Photography. Complicated compositions and advanced wedding photography post processing services and techniques have to be done meticulously to avoid any flaws. Another popular variant is Fashion Wedding Photography. The accents are made on clothing and beautiful surroundings. It is often demanded into the big cities where people tend to feel themselves part of the high fashion like Los Angeles. Of courses, facial impressions and poses are very important, you can make your background dramatic and it will be good, but be ready, that you have to be more involved than an ordinary photographer. 

And then there is Traditional Wedding Photography. This style needs a lot of your involvement just like the previous one. You act both as a shooter and as a coordinator, you guide and direct people in this style. But this doesn’t mean that you have to intervene everywhere you can, you still may capture some really good moments unnoticed. This style is often called classical. In developed countries it’s probably most common nowadays. While you pose people, you have to do it carefully and make sure, that when they are posing, they know where your camera stands and where to look. Of course, some of the brides will find a shooters present so close disruptive, but others will be happy to get some help during such an important day. Make sure you know how to deal with portraiture, because this styles usually means making a lot of close-ups and then the excellent result seen in the photo retouch before and after.

Wedding photography styles – which suits you the most?

To decide on a photographer is just a half of the problem, because after that the bride and the groom need to choose which way they want to get the photographs from the big day – in the digital format or in film. There are, of course, shooters, who can do both at the same time, but if they do not like one of the options, the process of deciding will be easier. If customers choose only digital it will take you as a shooter less time to post process them and to handle it to them. And in case this wedding is going to happen in the afternoon or in the evening, there is one more advantage: modern cameras are able to shoot in low light, so you will still catch them in high end quality. There will be more options to try different angles as you are not restrained with the number of the shots and you know you can always take a spare space card with you and a spare battery for your equipment. There will be more than enough pictures to choose from for the young family when it’s all over.

Everyone knows, that shooting in film will result in a totally different type of quality. The picture will be softer, it will be done in more of the old fashion way. It is very romantic, although it may cost your clients more due to the several rolls of film, that are not cheap these days. For example, one shooting and retouch in film may cost you $15000 for a single wedding. This is not a modest price, so the newlyweds have to think about their wishes and financial possibilities. After the format they start to think about the style. Traditional wedding photography looks like your parents’ photos or even grandparents’ ones. They are very formal, but still striking. Ordinary moments that you may not even notice are captured and turned into something deep, meaningful, beautiful. Family photo editing is very close to these examples, because it’s the precious moment together that we love. If you prefer film, perhaps you know, that such shootings are often made in one certain spectrum of the colours. And there are even various trends! For instance, you can read our article “Olive green wedding color trend in 2017” to find our more.

Then there is artistic wedding photography. Being unique in some way is often important to the couples, so you never need to stop on some frame portraits. The loving people enjoying their day and moment are the best material you can get. If you do not wish to be classical, you can go more like a journalist and invent something new. Dramatic style depends mostly on the lightning. Beam deflectors will help you with creation of the unusual atmosphere and making your plans come true. If you are keen of documentary cinema films, it’s a good piece of news, that documentary photo style exists. It often involves shooting many pictures one by one so there are many spontaneous and lively of them. Like movies, documentary images help people get the real picture of the day.

Traditional wedding pictures or journalistic style?

If you aim is to catch candid actions and feelings, it is about journalistic photography. Because traditional style is all about making the family take some pose, adjust the camera, lightning etc., shoot, and move on to the next spot to repeat it. By choosing journalistic style you choose trying to become one of the crowd so that people do not see you and act as freely as if there were no strangers around them at all. All of this details make your pictures more intimate and add them some artistic points as well. When we compare these two wedding photography styles we can see that the journalist one is more glamorous and the emotions are inimitable. You can mix those styles thus making something classical look more modern and out of the banality borders. Each shooter’s visual perception differs, so while traditionalists are more prone to the portrait making, photojournalists can turn your wedding into a storybook with each character and action being real as never. 

Of course, shooters also often use graphic design, and you must be ready that your clients will ask for it if they have some ideas you cannot make happen otherwise. It should not surprise you if the client asks you to use both styles at the same time either.

If your customers are all about experiments, then go for the photojournalistic style, and if they’re all about making hundreds of similar pictures and portraits with all the relatives, go for the traditional. If you want to take a closer look at the photojournalism, this video will help you understand the concept better. 

Why people choose to turn to the Wedding Retouching for help? 

Different wedding photography styles demand different measures applied before, during, and after the wedding ceremony. And if the client wishes to mix them up, we have nothing against it, because our specialists love interesting tasks. But all of them are done with various equipment, in different places, with more or less intervention from our photo shooters’ sides. We can make you a part of our photographing team or help you with the post retouch, there is nothing wrong with asking help with that, especially if your clients want to get ahold of the images as quickly as possible and you are just tired, or bad at post processing, or you simply don’t have any inspiration for it at the moment. Our support will help you anyway. Look at our photo retouching rates  and read some reviews to make sure of it. Trust us and you will not regret.