Terminology of wedding photography

As wedding photographers, we use a lot of terminologies that you may not understand. This blog is to help you get to know some of the terminology used in wedding photography.

Traditional

Traditional wedding photos are the standard portraits, poses, and events taken at weddings. These are the images that we get at every wedding, no matter what. For example, the bride and groom standing side by side looking at the camera, or the exchanging of rings and kisses during the ceremony.

Candid

Candid images are photos that are not planned but are taken just as they happen. They are very much in the moment and are different for every single wedding.

Romantic

These are images that are based on the couple and shows them interacting with one another and being lovey toward each other. They are sweet and more natural poses.

Fun

Fun photos are spontaneous, in the moment photos where the couple or bridal party acts silly and loosens up as opposed to the sometimes stiff feeling of formal photos.

Details

Detail shots are just that – pictures of the details of your wedding day – for example, flowers, your rings, place settings, shoes, jewellery, etc.

Formals

Formal photos are typically done after the ceremony where the family and the bridal party get together with the bride and groom and take photos where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling.

There are a variety of photo groups here depending on the family bridal party sizes and with whom you want photos.

Other terminology in wedding photography

• RAW – This term is used to describe the files before they go through their editing process. 

• JPEG – A JPEG is the type of file your images are converted to after they are edited and the format that most photos are printed from.

• Editing – This is where we adjust your photos. If we need to make them brighter or darker or enhance the colours. This is our editing process. We can also take the colour out and make the image a black and white photo. 

• Proof – Your proofs will be an album of the best images from your wedding, but not the final version. 

• Retouching – During our editing process, retouching is where we can remove blemishes and smooth out skin, minor adjustments, etc.

• Cull – This is the process where we eliminate ‘bad’ or duplicate images before you get your proofs. A bad image would be one that is way too dark, bright, blurry, someone blinked, etc. We also take out similar images so you don’t have to look through a million of the same photo over and over again, leaving you only with the best shots. 

• Digital Images – We are digital photographers, meaning that we use memory cards instead of film. All of the final images images are loaded to a computer and we send you digital copies of the images via an online gallery or USB drive.

• High Res – This term is short for High Resolution and means that the image is good for printing.

• Low Res – This is short for Low Resolution and is not suitable for printing. Low Res images can be used for sharing on social media.

• Bridal Party – This includes your maid (or matron) of honour, best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearer, flower girl, and ushers.

• Photojournalistic  – This is a style of photography that is based on candid images. There is no real posing to it, but rather capturing events as they happen.

I hope this has helped to explain some of the terminology used by wedding photographers. If you’d like to know more about photography terms used by photographers then this Pixpa article on Photography Terminology is for if you. Unsure about any other terms used by photographers, please drop me a message at hello@kathryngoddardphotography.co.uk, I will try to help.