What language should I use to describe the vibe/tone of photos I want to a wedding photographer?
Is there a way of describing the different styles that is standard with wedding photographers?
Question Asked: 13/05/2021
Wedding Date: 9/08/2018
Most Helpful Response
(12) · Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, servicing all of South East Queensland.
Posted: 26/06/2026
Answered by: 11 Experts
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(107) · Tamworth NSW Based - Travelling Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Central Coast, Blue Mountains and beyond
Posted: 2/01/2023
What ever you feel works for you! I feel that all my couples are always different to one another and I am versitile so it works great in every case. I get to know you, and shoot for what is important to YOU! I would use these words if talking about myself: I personally like country vibes, nature, open spaces, and historic buildings, animals and rustic class. Hope that helps!!
I think you will match your style to the photographer that appeals to you most with experience as theres no second chance for your day.
Photographers are visual creatures, I know I am and even better if you have a photographic memory.
I always say to customers, please share with me the photos that you have seen online so I can get an idea of what you are after. I also suggest sharing pinterest profiles to get a collection going! This helps greatly for posing and general tone for editing!
Casual, however you like really, send us examples from insta or pinterst always helps. We will work with you and make sure the feel of your photos reflects your store and what you want.
Photographers use many different words and phrases to describe the vibe and tone of their photos and most of the time it will sound like gobldy guk to maost people ahahhaha. What I recomend doing is to save any images that you find you like to either a mood board or to pinterest. Once you know the syle your after look through your chosen photographer's instagram page and make sure that you are connecting with with thier editing style and it matches the images you have already saved.
Then I would sit down with them and show them the images that style you are after. You and your photographer need to be on the same page the whole time!
Each photographer has there own style, I would reccomend searching through their instagram feed to determine if the look and feel that has you interested is consistent. If there is varying styles (which is most likey editing styles) show the photographer the images that appeal to you and discuss with them all the things you like about the images. Photographers use lots of different terminolgy so discussing actual images will help you explain what attributes you like.
Candid and Formal are two clear styles. I see these as being the difference between, free-roaming photography vs very structured, with generally a common them and often static looks with regards lighting.
I often suggest that clients refer to something they have seen already, or we start a dialogue to establish a baseline for working together.
(3) · Tasmania, Victoria and parts of Queensland
Posted: 14/05/2021
We hear some typical terms like relaxed, natural, posed, formal, bright, dark, happy feel etc. Really though it's like trying do describe a nice coffee, or whiskey, there's probably many different ways you could describe the photos but if you just use terms as you see them the photographers will generally get an understanding of what you mean.
Really though, a great tip is just to show the photographer what you're after/thinking/meaning. We are very visual naturally so showing us will go a long way in helping us understand. Pinterest is a great way of doing this in particular.
As far as tone goes, choose a wedding photographer than has the same editing style that you like, whether it be warm and moody, light and airy, very natural ect. However with posing style you can most often tell your photographer what you prefer whether it be posed, candid or a mix of both. I hope this helped! X
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The good news is you do not have to nail the perfect terminology. There are a few common pairs worth knowing though. For editing, light and airy means bright, soft and true to colour, while moody or dark and rich means deeper tones and more contrast. Warm versus cool tells us whether you lean golden and sunny or clean and crisp. For the way people are photographed, posed or classic means we direct you into shots, documentary or candid means we hang back and capture things as they unfold, and most of us, us included, do a blend of both across the day.
The thing those words do not capture is the feeling you actually want, and that is the part I would lean into when you talk to us. Tell us if you want it relaxed and full of laughter, calm and romantic, or big and energetic. Tell us how you want to feel when you look back at the album in twenty years. That emotional brief often shapes our choices on the day more than any editing label does.
Honestly though, the single most useful thing you can do is show us. Pull together ten or fifteen images you genuinely love, on Pinterest or just saved on your phone, and we will read far more from those than from any description. One tip when you do this: look at whether your photographer's own feed is consistent in that style, because that consistency tells you the look you love is the look you will actually get, not a one off.
One last practical note for SEQ couples. A lot of that light and airy look you see online depends on soft, even light, so timing matters here. Our summer sun is harsh and high in the middle of the day, so if a particular glowy, backlit vibe is what you are chasing, a later afternoon ceremony and golden hour portraits will get you there far more naturally than midday. Worth flagging to whoever you book, since we edit everything in house ourselves and can tailor the final tone to suit, but it always starts with the light we are given on the day.