It is well known that the wedding photographer (and of course the videographer too) does not have the value he deserves from the others. The wedding photographer is always shooting "under request", the one who turns Art into a job and whose every "click" is to fulfil the requirements of his client. In other words, that has nothing to do with "artistic like" photographers, fashion photographers or even photojournalists, that they have the appropriate "prestige" from common sense.

But what is the real truth? Is the Wedding Photographer just a "worker" of photography, is he at the bottom of the photography pyramid or he is something much more than that? The answer is easy, and maybe a bit bold. The Wedding Photographer is not only a “photography worker” but he may be all of the above in one.

He is some kind of the man-orchestra… At the same time he has to be, a fashion photographer, a photojournalist, a landscape photographer, a macro-photographer, a studio photographer, a portrait photographer, an event photographer, even a family shooting photographer too.

Unbelievable? Maybe… but true!

Photojournalist: Yes, the wedding photographer is absolutely a documentary photographer. Especially these days, the wedding photographer has to go unnoticed and capture the event. The wedding photographer may not be addressed to thousands or millions of readers, however, he is the photojournalist who will capture the wedding by creating a beautiful memory for the wedding couple.

Fashion Photographer: The wedding photographer has spent endless hours studying posing on the internet / and in seminars, so his couple in between all the photos of the day, will have a series of photos that will be more familiar to magazine models and not just two ordinary common people who decided to get married.

Macrophotography: Wedding rings, perfumes, earrings, wedding dress details, cufflinks and a lot of items and wedding elements, where they “convert” the Wedding photographer into a macro photographer or a still life photographer too. And all these, by having the necessary equipment and lighting so the final image looks like an advertisement in a magazine.

Landscape Photographer: Is it possible? Is it necessary for the Wedding Photographer to have the knowledge of a landscape photographer too? For one more time, the answer is "yes"! You may all have -more or less- seen a wonderful landscape with mountains, clouds and paths… and somewhere in the centre of the frame, quite small, the couple is embracing. Of course, the "landscapes" with the couple do not end here… Snowy landscapes, mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, meadows, sheaves and orchards are often "recruited" by the landscape photographer (oops sorry… wedding I meant to write) to add to the couple some more different images.

Portrait Photographer: Probably the most common practice of a Wedding photographer. Just because a wedding without portraits, is not possible at all. Spontaneous, dramatic portraits, with intense shadows, with endless editing to erase the last wrinkle complete the frame of the wedding photographer, who often captures more portraits even than the classic portrait or studio photographers do.

Event Photographer: The wedding party begins and the Wedding photographer becomes a party event photographer. He pierces among the aspiring "John Travoltas", many times he gets punched by mistake with a couple of elbows… but at the end of the day, he will have some amazing images full of movement, scherzo and dancing skills of the couple and their guests.

Family Photographer: That’s classic for a wedding photographer. In front of his lens, all the family members of the groom and the bride will be there, having the “necessary" all-time classic photos, perhaps in a more relaxed style depending on the photographer's skills to create the appropriate atmosphere.

I know there are many… too many options. Endless photographic skills needed for the most underestimated photographer on the market. The Wedding Photographer and the Wedding Videographer too! I could easily write many pages about the wedding photographer who must have knowledge of architectural photography, fine art photography, street photography and the list goes on.

Of course, if I start writing about the non-purely photographic skills needed from the wedding photographer, then the catalogue is endless. Photo Editor, graphic designer, stylist, marketing manager, web designer, web developer, business manager, social media content creator, etc, etc, etc (I strongly believe that I have forgotten many indeed).

So what do you think? Do you still believe that wedding photography and wedding videography is that simple?

UK Wedding photographer and videographer