What Is Reportage Photography?

Reportage means "news" and it is reporting things as they are in an unbiased manner. In photography this translates to taking photos of things as they are, with no fixed poses or direction from the photographer. A reportage photographer must think on his feet and use his ability to take great images to tell a story in pictures.

Reportage photography is becoming increasingly popular for weddings because of it's informality, creating a set of more relaxed, fun and contemporary images. A wedding reportage photographer aims to capture the action and intimate moments, being unobtrusive to the subject. A reportage photographer usually attends the ceremony and the reception, but is is also common for him/her to come to the preparations and take photos beforehand. This is most popular for the bridal preparations, as there are generally more special occasions to capture. For the ceremony, provided there is permission, the images will cover the arrival of the groom's party, guests, the arrival of the bride, the ceremony and the signing of the register. At the reception, the normal photo opportunities will generally be covered, such as the cutting of the cake, speeches and the first dance.

You might feel that a complete reportage wedding album is not for you, so many reportage photographers will line up some particular group shots at your request.

Reportage wedding photography aims to be innovative and challenging, whilst capturing your special day in all it's fantastic glory. It is important to all photographers that they capture the emotion and the feelings of your wedding day, and reportage photographers aim to do this with an extra contemporary twist and an eye for the smaller details of the event.

The service usually involves an initial consultation and loading of your photographs onto an online site for viewing. You then get options with different services, such as wedding albums, DVD presentation, reprints etc. Some photographers have an assistant who will assist them with aspects of the shoot, such as spotting opportunities. So do compare your additional services when choosing a wedding reportage photographer.