Warmth

Today I thought I would bring you a little sunshine! During the winter months we often forget how bright, and fast summer comes! This was a quick something I snapped in between clients in CO last summer.

Sometimes it pays to stop, and smell the flowers around you.

VERTE TIP: Open your mind! Just because you are out shooting portraits, or animals at the zoo.... doesn't mean there isn't another opportunity if you simply look for it! 

Photography Styles

Today you have more choices then ever before for "types" of photographers... how do you chose? So many times I have brides approach me and simply want to book for their wedding or event... and I have to slow them down and really make sure they know "my style".

It's really hard with people pinning ideas for photography images, and then expecting any photographer to recreate that moment. Let's forget the differences in equipment, knowlage, location, and everything else... just the difference in shooting style can dramatically effect how your images turn out.

So how do you know what "style" of photographer you should be looking for? Let's look at some of the popular words photographers use to describe themselves and then you can sort by what style your eye is most drawn to!

Traditional Portrait: (Classic style) This typically referrals to a more formal and posed images. Straight forward, well composed, beautifully exposed, and simple images with a focus on the people. This can refer to any location and is common with many  photographers. This photographer is typically on top of posing, adjusting hair, placing hands... very much at the forefront of the action directing each shot. While older generations will be more comfortable with this style, some modern brides feel it makes them look stiff and uninteresting. The trick is to find a photographer that you enjoy so you will remain relaxed even in a "posed" session.. this will lead to great traditional images!

Contemporary Portraiture: Much more relaxed and lends towards less formal images, this style can result in more spontaneous images. Capturing the spirit of fun, while still incorporating formal elements. The photographer may be less involved in every moment, allowing your personalities and interactions to shine, however they may still set up some shots, or adjust details as needed to improve the overall image. This photographer will tend to seek out unique locations, or angles in which to set apart your wedding from others. 

Documentary / Journalistic Style: In the classical sense, this style is completely hands off. It is a direct record of your day, typically without any posed images, or real input from your  photographer. A sort of fly-on-the-wall approach, where the photographer blends into the crowd and simply records the events.  

This can also be described as candid photography... but candid simply means informal, un-posed and most photographers utilize candid images for reception shots, so be sure to clarify if "candid photography" is mentioned!

This style can also be referred to when people think of images that take great care to take advantage of aperture controls to blur backgrounds, and add interest to images by having greater control over the camera. You will need to see the photographer's work to know WHICH he is really describing,  with this term, as they can produce drastically different results. 



Artistic: I am not personally a fan of this description, it seems to be used as a "catch all" however, when used "properly" this term implies individualism of the artist or photographer. Depending on photographer this may require a great deal of intervention, or none. It may be heavily altered images by Photoshop, or it could be entirely produced by camera, filters etc. You simply wont know what this term is implying without viewing the portfolio of this photographer. Please do your research here!


 
Glamour or Fashion Photography: This is more of a type of photography then a description of a style, but we are seeing it used more and more often as a description for  modern wedding images where the images have the look of a fashion magazine or what you would think of as a model being posed. Typically a lot of attention to detail, along with lighting is given priority to comfort. 

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Many photographers will describe themselves somewhere along these lines, or within combinations of these.... some come up with their own "labels", but for the most part everyone will fall in one of these categories or a combination of them.

Professional wedding photographers views their work as art, and the only way to know if you enjoy that style is to read the descriptions and view the portfolios. Keep in mind a portfolio is representative of "the best of" from that photographer, not "every shot".  It is perfectly acceptable to ask a photographer to show you a sample wedding, cover to cover so to speak so you can see their style from start to finish of the same day.

Regardless of if you are looking for a commercial photographer, Wedding photographer, or family photographer... I hope understanding these basic descriptions helps you weed through some of the multitudes of choices you have! 
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Love is in the air

What better way to celebrate love then to talk wedding and couple photography this month!

I know, right! 

This month you can look forward to loads of tips about finding great wedding photographers, finding the right one for you, WHERE to find them, what to ask... OH and some of the secrets behind the success, of course! I will be answering some popular bridal questions in our first QandA post... as well as offering some other fantastic tips for doing your own couple images as well! As a special treat, you might also enjoy a few love stories along the way!


If you joined us in January you know I pumped it FULL of tech tips and photography 101 information, and we will be continuing to put what we learned in our "time to click" series to good use and building on those fundamentals of photography as well! If you are just joining us, be sure to review those posts so you can continue to grow and learn with us!

I love sharing a moment in time check out this love story on The Streeters Unlimited

Happy Love Month!

PhotoTrek: Butterfly Pavillion Denver

Not so long ago we took out annual extended vacation to Denver to visit friends and family. While we did several wonderful adventures there, one of my favorites was a quick afternoon trip with my mom and daughter to the Butterfly Pavilion.

Located in Westminster, if your from Denver you know this place, if your not and looking for a quick afternoon activity it's a great place to hang out!  Now, I went here maybe 10 years ago or so, and I left saying "really, thats all?" since then they have beefed up some exhibits, added in a kid play room complete with a learning maze.. cute idea! They also now have a large creepy crawly room host to loads of spiders, bugs and these bazaar things that look like sticks... I'm not big on this room - but my daughter loved it... of course. There was also a new small room which displays some fish, stingrays, and starfish which you can touch... now I know "whhhat?" - but this ties to a partnership with the Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Aquarium - plus its a nice feature to get kids hand on with nature.In fact, I have to say the best part was the interaction with the kids. While I enjoyed it from a photographers perspective, watching my daughter interact was by far the best part!

The butterfly room is small and you sometimes have to work around other photographers and viewers in order not to have someone in your shot. But patience pays off. If you know me you know I am not a nature photographer, I DON'T have the patience for that, waiting for something to land or for the light to be right just is not my thing, much less working around other people all trying to do the same thing. However, even with my limited investment of time I found some great stock images, along with some very cute memories.

PhotoTrek Review: 7 out of 10 Camera

We went on a Tuesday afternoon expecting it not to be super busy, and while there were only about 40 people, the tight spaces made it hard to maneuver or camp out a spot. Just when the butterfly would land, someone would turn the corner causing it to fly off.

Equipment Suggested:  Macro lens, with a large aperture. No flash. I would HIGHLY recommend a camera bag as they have misters and high humidity which could cause camera damage if your not prepared.

All images are ©Verte Photography. 

If you would like to own them or use them as stock photography please contact me for options.