How to Get Editorial Wedding Photos Without Turning Your Whole Day Into a Photoshoot
There’s been a lot of noise in the wedding photography world lately — “documentary-only,” “editorial-only,” “no posing ever,” “pose everything always,” and a whole lot of language that sounds impressive and aesthetically tortured but ultimately says… nothing.
So let me cut through the bullshit. I shoot weddings using what I call the 90/10 approach. You get 90% candid, observational, I’m-just-here-to-document-real-life and 10% intentional, creative, you may even say editorial wedding photos.
Or in less math-y terms: Your wedding day is for living, and your portraits are for playing.
This post exists because so many couples come to me saying some version of, “I love the documentary style… but I also want funky, artsy portraits that don’t feel stiff or traditional. Is that allowed?”
Yes! It is more than allowed. It’s the entire point. You don’t have to pick one, because, honestly, treating them as mutually exclusive is a failure of imagination.
Why Choose Between Documentary and Editorial Wedding Photos When You Can Have Both?
There’s a persistent myth in the wedding photography world that you must pick a lane:
You’re either:
a documentary photographer who never interferes, or
an editorial photographer who treats the entire wedding day like a Vogue submission
But life and weddings are rarely so binary, and your photography experience doesn’t have to be either.
Documenting real-life moments and creating moments of deliberate art are two genuinely different things. They require different goals, different strategies, and different kinds of attention. The key is being clear and intentional about which one you’re doing and when.
When we’re in documentary mode, I’m watching, waiting, chasing the light of what’s actually happening. When we shift into portrait mode, we all know it. We’ve agreed to step into the creative space together.
The 90%, aka the Pure, Unfiltered Documentary Wedding Photography
For most of your day, my job is to get the fuck out of the way of real, unplanned, uncontrolled magic. You will never see me in real moments, moving you into better lighting or repositioning anyone mid-hug. No recreating something that already happened because I missed the shot.
I want you to be immersed in your day through all the laughing, crying, dancing, and hugging, and NOT performing for the camera.
The 10% aka the Intentional, Creative, Editorial Wedding Photos
The 10% is where we make art together. Here’s where the fun, funky, artistic stuff happens.
A lot of my couples LOVE the documentary approach… but they also want creative angles, retro flash, artsy compositions, something weird and bold. This is where we step intentionally into creativity.
The documentary-style approach works best when everyone (including you) forgets I am there. But portraits are already a set-aside moment. You’ve already stepped away from the party, so that’s a natural place to inject some intentionality, some play, some creativity — without it bleeding into the parts of your day that are supposed to feel free and unscripted.
And then we go back to the party, and I go back to getting out of your way.
And if you want to take that creative slice even further, there’s a whole world beyond wedding-day portraits. Some couples choose to schedule a completely separate portrait session (before or after the wedding) so we can make something bold, intentional, and fully art-driven without the pressure of a timeline or cake cutting looming in the background. It's the difference between carving out a pocket of creativity inside a busy day and giving that creativity a whole room of its own. Check out what that can look like here!
Who This Is For
This approach is made for people who:
Want to actually be present for your wedding day — not spend it performing for a camera.
Are bored by traditional wedding portraiture and want something more creative, artistic, and “you.”
Love the idea of documentary coverage but still want to carve out some time for beautiful, editorial wedding photos.
Want a photographer who can do both.
The photo experience can be genuinely fun and creatively exciting — and it doesn’t have to come at the cost of being in your day. You can have the candid magic and the gorgeous portraits. The trick is just knowing that they require different things from both of us, and being intentional about when we’re doing which.
Art and presence can coexist on your wedding day. That’s kind of the whole point.
Let’s Make Something Real (And Maybe a Little Weird)
If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for — a wedding photographer who gets the documentary approach but who can also bring real creative energy to your portraits — I’d love to hear from you. I’m Caroline, a queer documentary wedding photographer based in NYC, and I work with couples who want to feel their wedding, not perform it.
Reach out here and let’s talk about your day!