Editorial Pre-Wedding Photography in Chateau De Fontainebleau

Nowadays, the most popular wedding photography styles consist of fine art and even dark and moody images. However, you can always spice things up and step away from the crowd by trying out something different. And, who knows? Maybe your uniqueness may inspire some clients as well. There are a lot of options out there to pick from, and it can be difficult to settle on a style at first to eventually figure out whether it can be good for your passion and portfolio. Having said that, the best way is to just try one out. And in today’s blog, we will delve into something called Editorial Photography for pre-wedding sessions.

Let’s find out what editorial pre-wedding photography is, why you should give it a whirl, and how you can go about incorporating this new style into your shoots.

What is Editorial Photography?

It always excites me to describe the difference between editorial photography and other styles. If you have heard of journalistic photography, where the photographers take candid and documentary-style photos of naturally and organically occurring moments between the couples, editorial photography can be easily understood as the exact opposite of it. Instead of letting stories unfold by themselves and pressing the shutter button as things go, editorial photography involves a lot more posing and planning. Therefore, this style is relatively rarer compared to others in the photography industry.

The best way to think about editorial photography is that the image is set up in a way that is considered “magazine-worthy.” This means it will fit nicely for print or in an online publication. Obviously, art is subjective and it is near impossible to pinpoint all the guidelines to producing a certain style because every photographer has their own touch. However, there are certain characteristics that can help you tell an editorial pre-wedding shoot apart from other styles:

· Posed, creative, and dramatic.

· Cleaner overall, with less background clutter or excessive people.

· Suitable for a magazine spread and full of space that is ideal for layering text directly over images.

· Focuses on and showcases the fashion aspects of images.

Why Choose Editorial for your Pre-Wedding?

A traditional portrait is about creating the perfect image with the perfect tilt of the head and the most aesthetically pleasing lines. An editorial style also wants perfection, but instead of technical perfection, it aspires to perfectly illustrate the point. Nevertheless, editorial photographs can look like something straight out of a fashion magazine, and therefore, if you can master this style, you can build a whole business by specializing in it. You can really show not just your love but your style and fashion sense when deciding to shoot a pre-wedding in an editorial style.

There can be many reasons that a photographer, or a couple, might want to pick the editorial pre-wedding style, such as a chance for the soon-to-be-wed to look like professional models. One of the main reasons, however, is that it can tell quite a compelling story. In the editorial style, photos are composed and planned so that they connect and stitch together in a way that a tale can escape the static images into the mind of those who view them. Couples can look at these photos in their albums one day and essentially relive a story as it unfolds from one shot to the next. In editorial, all things are precise, posed, and perfect.

How to Apply Editorial Photography to Your Pre-Wedding

Though editorial photography is a unique style, it is still photography and still abides by the same rules and guidelines that other wedding photography styles follow. Since editorial is heavily reliant on creating extraordinary photographs, specific elements will need to be well-planned, such as the posing, lighting, and style. Let’s go through what you need to know about key elements that you should nail when applying editorial photography to your pre-wedding shoot.

Create Unique Story Concepts

As storytelling is a major advantage of editorial pre-wedding, let’s start with this aspect first. Determine the story that you want to tell and compose a series of photos to tell that story. Think of an event, a lifestyle, or a story that occurred in the couple’s life to form a unique story concept. This story will then act as a guideline for your entire shoot.

You don’t always have to tell a convoluting plot. You are not a novelist, after all. Start with something simple. Start with an emotion and concept that piques your curiosity, edging you towards exploration. Put together all your ideas into a mood board to inspire what kind of shots you want to capture, which also helps ground your aesthetic and keep it consistent across the shoot.

Determine a Location

Depending on what story you are capturing, location can be everything. The first decision you must make is if you will be shooting in a studio or on location. Some shoots will require the controlled setting of a studio with solid backdrops. Some will benefit from going to the outdoors. A historic location with its story & beauty can contribute a lot to your editorial photos, while modern architectures can accentuate the personalities and dynamics of the couple.

Think about how you will design the wedding album when choosing a location so that it can fit into the overall theme. A good album always tells a story of a wedding from the beginning to the end. The location should also reflect the couple’s personalities and their relationship. It should mean something to both of them. Planning a location can be exhausting at times, but in the end, the pay-off is infinitely more rewarding.

All in all, location selection is something couples often overlook, and it is our job as photographers to make the decision for them.

Styling

The location is important, but the models are the main characters of the show. They need to look the best and most fitting for the occasion. However, deciding what to wear is no easy task, and a lot of confusion is bound to happen. Start simple by going for safe options such as matching outfits to the shoot’s themes or outfits that fit into the location that you have picked. By choosing outfits that work with the overall design of the album, you will have an easier time posing for shots and telling your story since the couple is now part of the environment itself.

For example, if you are going to do a shoot in an urban location, brightly colored outfits can work well. On the other hand, stay classy for dreamy spots like an old mansion or an enchanting forest.

Direct the Shoot

Once all the preparations are completed, we get down to what matters most, taking the photographs. Knowing how to pose couples for their editorial pre-wedding will help you get picture-perfect scenes. Remember, in editorial, we no longer rely on “seizing a moment” or taking candid shots. We plan out every single detail, even for the photos that appear to be candid. Most of the time, photographers can choose to pose couple separately but still together, or in a way showing that they are engaging each other in the story of the photos. Even when there are other people in the shot, such as the bridesmaids or the best men, they still must be posed in a creative way to suit the overall concept of the shoot.

And, since editorial photography is all about planning, the lighting must be heavily controlled as well. Using lighting equipment plays a huge role in this style. Find time to fix the lighting in-between each shot when you are posing your couples. Think about the story and light accordingly. For example, go dark and moody if you are going for a dark fairytale theme. Last but not least, you can throw in a couple of unique angles as a wildcard to create interesting spots scattered across the album. It is also a way to showcase your creativity. Try a wide-angle shot or a telephoto close-up on jewelry and see what you can find to highlight your style!

All this directing work is hard, but if you can do it well, you will set yourself up for an easier time with the editing.

Post Process Your Editorial Photographs

When it comes to editing, we look for perfectionism and intensive retouching for the skin, hair, composition, color grading, etc., to create photos that look like they belong to a magazine’s front cover. This is actually where most of your time will be spent as a wedding photographer. There are certain tasks that you can do, such as erasing the haze, reducing the noises, and assessing the lighting values by converting to black and white.

Remember to edit in batch to save time because there are hundreds (or even thousands) of images to sort through, which can take you a whole day if you don’t organize your editing process. Rather than editing every single photo, try applying a setting onto all the photos that look similar to each other to enhance your workflow.

Now, it’s time to enjoy the editorial style pre wedding of S&S in Chateau De Fontainebleau & Paris