What I Actually Mean When I Say “Documentary” or “Editorial” Wedding Photography
What I Actually Mean When I Say “Documentary” or “Editorial”
I’ve been thinking about the wedding world lately and the rhetoric that floats around inside it. There’s a bit of a wedding bubble we all step into, and before long you find yourself using the same handful of words. Documentary. Candid. Editorial. Capturing how it felt. I use them too. They’re familiar. They help explain things quickly. They work.
But when I look at my own photographs, those words don’t really explain why I shoot the way I do.
What I’m drawn to are the small, real things happening in plain sight. A bride standing by a window where the light falls in such a way that I choose to expose for it, letting the rest of the room soften behind her. Guests outside adjusting jackets before heading in. A candle burning in the middle of a table. A dessert buffet as people help themselves. A guest getting emotional during the speeches. A bride wiping her eye without trying to hide it.
They’re not orchestrated. They’re just part of the day.
I’m usually slightly to the side of things, but I’m not passive. I’m thinking about light, about balance, about where to stand so the frame feels intentional. Sometimes that means prioritising the window light over the room. Sometimes it’s direct flash against deep red curtains. Sometimes it’s film picking up texture and grain. I’m observing, but I’m also making decisions in real time.
I do direct when I need to. I’ve been doing this long enough to take charge of family photos calmly and efficiently. I’ll guide couples during portraits too, but gently. It’s not about turning it into a production. Usually it’s a short wander, a breather, a bit of movement so they can settle into each other. I guide when needed and step back when I’m not.
I’ve always been more comfortable observing than performing. That’s where photography started for me. I was never the loudest person in the room, and I didn’t want to be. Over time, this job has built a kind of confidence I never expected, but I’ve realised I still do my strongest work slightly to the side of the day. That’s where I can see everything clearly.
Couples don’t book me because I promise to disappear or because I claim to be “unobtrusive.” They book me because they’ve seen the work and they trust the experience behind it. They know I won’t make them perform or over-direct moments that don’t need directing. I can step in and take charge when it matters, and I can just as confidently let the day unfold without inserting myself into it.
So when I say documentary, what I mean is that I’m observing what’s already happening rather than constructing it. When I say candid, I mean you don’t have to perform. And when I say editorial, I mean I’m thinking about how the photograph is built – how light, framing and composition shape what’s already there.
For me:
documentary is observation.
Candid is honesty.
Editorial is artistic intention.
They aren’t separate lanes. They happen at the same time. If I had to describe it plainly, I’d say this: I’m observing what’s real and composing it carefully as it unfolds. And if I had to give it a phrase, maybe it’s this: Artfully Observed. Not a new genre. Just real moments, created with intention.
