So now that you the wedding photographer taken those wonderful shots of the bride and groom in their respective poses against the 13th Century Castle – looks like an award-winning image in the making. And here comes the million-dollar question – how much photo shopping or enhancements should you do to these photos before confirming and committing them to the wedding photo album?
This is a tricky one. There are many factors that affect the acceptability of enhancements to wedding photos. They vary by country, race, religion and even individual couple’s taste. But generally speaking, there are two schools of thought.
Photojournalistic School
If you or the couple see photography as a method to record truthfully the events of the day, then it is highly likely that any form of enhancements will be frowned upon. I find this thinking very prevalent among my clients from Europe especially Germany and the Nordic states. These couples often tell me in advance they want me to take things as they are. In fact they caution their guests that there will not be any posed photos so don’t bother smiling for the photographer. After the wedding, they specifically tell me they do not want ANY changes made to the photos. But I often tell them I need to at least adjust the photos for contrast and brightness. Otherwise, I am very happy with these types of clients because photojournalism is also a preferred approach for me, at least for weddings and other lifetime events that in my opinion are “sacred” and must be preserved “as is”.
Eye Candy School
Or at least that’s what I call them. There’s a group of photographers who want to win photographic awards. And so they enhance photos to make them more appealing to the judges. The photo shopping done could be heavy, to make the photos look almost surreal so that they catch the eye of the judges. This is where you see bluer than blue skies and the bride with the perfect complexion with oh-so-big eyes. But it’s not just the photographers. There are also a huge percentage of wedding couples that also subscribe to this school of thought. They feel that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to look good – so the more anything can be done (including photo shopping) to make them look great can only be encouraged. I had a client once who refused to pay me because I did not Photoshop away his wrinkles!!!
So why school of thought do you belong? There is no wrong or right in these things. But my advice is if an approach is uncomfortable and not natural to you, then do state up front during the pre-meetings so that your client can be sure what you do not do. Expectations will be better managed. I’ve often referred prospective clients to other photographers who can better deliver the type of photos they want. Tough but necessary. Happy Shooting!
Dennis Ng – Singapore Wedding Photographer