Wedding Photography Resources

Welcome to our Wedding Photography Resources page for newly engaged couples getting married in the Bay Area. This site is brought to you by Dubnoff Wedding Photography of Northern California. This page provides valuable information for anyone searching for a San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer.

Choosing a wedding photographer can be a difficult process especially if you don't know what to look for.  We have published a few articles on this subject, if you are interested in reading them they can be found by clicking the links below:

How to NOT Choose a Wedding Photographer

Wedding Photography - Focus on Results! 

Its important to figure out what type of photography style you prefer when trying to choose your photographer. In the Bay Area there are so many different styles available to you.  Some of the names for these include the following:  Photojournalism, Traditional, Documentary, Illustrative,  Candid, and many others.  However, when shopping for a wedding photographer you cannot assume that the name fits the actual work.  The only way to figure this out is to research each website and look at the photos.  I will attempt to provide a very brief summary of the 3 major styles that are most prevalent:

PHOTOJOURNALISM
A documentary approach to wedding photography that emphasizes candid photos with little or no posing.  The final wedding album should tell the story of the day in an artistic fashion.  Hopefully a true photojournalist will capture emotion, laughter and the fun present at virtually all weddings. Photojournalists will interact much less with the bride and groom throughout the day and will usually take less of the couple's time.

TRADITIONAL
Traditional photographers like to call their style "timeless".  Some will work off of a so called "shot list" that the bride and groom completes before the wedding.  They will use classic, romantic poses and there is more emphasis on capturing the family and friends in posed photographs.  Much more interaction with the bride and groom is present and it may take more of the couple's time to complete the shoot. An excellent traditional wedding photographer should be an expert in lighting, posing and family portraits.

ILLUSTRATIVE
Illustrative photography may be one of the newer style designations but its been around for quite a while.   It's not exactly a mixture of photojournalism and traditional photography but it does contain some elements of both.  An illustrative photographer will try to shoot a wedding in a documentary fashion, but will improve the circumstances where possible.  This may include choosing a great outdoor background to shoot the couple in front of, or changing the lighting indoors to improve the end result.  One example of illustrative wedding photography involves the photographer asking the bride to get dressed and put on her jewelry, etc. close to an open window.  In theory, this should improve the photos, by providing complimentary lighting.

A very large majority of photographers will tell you that they incorporate all these styles into their work.  However, the true test is the photos themselves.  Ask the photographer how they fit into these categories, but most importantly, look at the work!

This page is still in development, please check out our other wedding related sites for destination wedding photography, Sacramento weddings and planning your wedding.   Your can view them by clicking the following links: Sacramento and Destination Wedding Photography page  or Bay Area Wedding Planning site.

Dubnoff Wedding Photography Blog 

If you know of any great wedding photography information sites, please email us the link and we will consider adding it to this page.  Thank you.