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Recently in the world of wedding blogging there has been a bit of an uprising from those who are tired of looking at inspirational sites filled with posts that are portraying anything but “real weddings.” Though there are certainly beautiful, detail filled weddings out there, with details that brides have slaved over for hours (I know how hard my Weddingbee gal-pals work!) some of what you are seeing comes from staged shoots, done specifically for building the photographer’s portfolio. I have nothing against those shoots, but it can be disheartening for an everyday bride to log on to Style Me Pretty or Ruffled and wonder why their wedding photos don’t match up.
I agree with those who call for more transparency on the wedding inspiration blogs, and that both photographers and bloggers should make it very, very clear when they are posting something that’s staged. When you are hiring someone, you need to know that the images you see in their portfolio are moment caught during the wedding day, because a Wednesday afternoon staged shoot with hand-picked vendors and controlled lighting is completely different than a chaotic Saturday wedding filled with abandoned timelines and difficult lighting situations.
A new wedding inspiration blog that has grown out of the desire for more authentic photojournalistic wedding photography is called moment junkie.
It’s run by several stellar wedding photographers, and as a photographer I view it as the best wedding inspiration blog I’ve ever seen. You might not find inspiration for fabulous unique wedding details there, but you will be reminded that the best type of wedding photography captures the moments you might have missed that you’ll be talking about for the rest of your life.
Who needs expensive or time-intensive details when you’ve got tears, laughter, mischief, and love caught on film for generations to cherish? This is what wedding photography should really be about.
What are your thoughts on staged wedding shoots? Do you see value and endless inspiration in them, or as a bride, do you find them discouraging?
At first, the staged photo shoots were inspiring. Now, on the other hand, I’d definitely say they are discouraging. I think staged shoots that offer up some of kind of how-to are great, but otherwise, they’re just making me feel like I haven’t spent enough money, done enough DIY, or spent it in the wrong places :-/ Not at all how I want to feel just 2 months from the big day. I think I’ve learned to spot the real from the fake, and Weddingbee has been my main source of inspiration. I’ve ditched those other websites and when I do stop by, I remind myself (or my planner reminds me), those aren’t REAL weddings. Glad you tackled this topic, and thanks for a better source of inspiration!!
I can’t stand staged wedding shoots. I don’t even understand their purpose. No one is going to have a wedding reception that has one table in the middle of the woods.
Discouraging for sure. It just isn’t real, but that’s not made clear. (In fact I didn’t know about staged shots until this post!) I think people need to be up front about this stuff!
I can’t lie - I did draw inspiration from so many wonderful posts on Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes and a bunch of other wedding blogs. Very quickly, I knew that they were not real weddings but from a creative standpoint, they were great inspiration for putting together my own wedding day decorations and just drawing up ideas. I didn’t use them though when picking our photographer because while they were very pretty details, I didn’t see any pictures that showed any real emotion. So I guess I had a love/hate relationship with those website blogs throughout all the planning.
I’m so excited that you linked to this - one of the organizers is our photographer and she linked to it on her own blog the other day.
I think my feeling about staged shoots isn’t so much annoyance or envy as it is that I don’t care. I know I stink at design and decoration so I’ve made a conscious decision not to worry about it for our wedding. The occasional inspiration picture is ok, but I’m choosing inexpensive napkins, comfortable shoes, and skipping the centerpieces entirely and those decisions are pretty removed from outside influences.
Whereas graphically stunning pictures of poignant or adorable or hilarious moments? Awesome.
@Entangled: Ohhhh, who is your photographer? I am familiar with those who are behind the blog.
Wow! Thanks for sharing. In 2 minutes, I got chills, smiled and teared up. Great photography.
@Mrs. Avocado: Kyle Hepp - she went to high school with my best friend and we met her last year when she photographed her wedding. Otherwise I would have never thought to use someone from so far out of town, but I’m really excited about her. We even got a chance to do engagement pics when she was in San Francisco last fall.
I did want to clarify that I don’t think sites like Style Me Pretty are a bad thing. I used it a lot when I was planning and I still hop over every so often to see the beautiful pictures.
BUT
I think Moment Junkie fills a big void in the world of wedding blogs, and I hope that it will cause more brides to look through photography portfolios with an eye for photos that really accurately capture the day, and not just looking for pretty details.
When you are on sites like SMP, try to pay attention to the text in the post, usually they will say something like “photo shoot” in the paragraph that introduces it (like they did here http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/02/18/vintage-english-garden-wedding-inspiration/). When you’re scrolling really quickly up and down the page to try to get in as much as you can during your lunch break, little hints like that can be hard to miss though!
@Entangled:Kyle is fabulous. What an awesome choice! You will certainly have all sorts of “moments” captured in your wedding album 
Thank you for sharing! I love the ‘real’ moments that great photographers capture. Definitely my new favorite site!
This is an exaggerated analogy, but in a way, I feel like it’s spot-on when we refer to staged shoots as “wedding porn.” It is a bit like a form of pornography, in that it stimulates our senses and makes us swoon with delight, but it sends all the wrong messages about what brides and grooms might want to strive for in creating their special day. It gives me a very weird feeling when I see a real wedding that looks exactly like a staged shoot - I wonder, if it was so picture-perfect, then where are all the guests falling down laughing, the relatives busting it up on the dance floor, the mom trying (and failing) not to cry? Where’s the beautiful chaos of the emotions of the day? Did anybody actually have fun at this wedding, or were they too afraid to touch anything and ruin the photos? In summary, thanks so much for linking to this blog, Avo, it is just what the wedding-o-sphere needs! I love it when you post on the ‘bee, you know you’re welcome here anytime.
@Mrs. Avocado: Thank you! Both my fiance and I are super excited to work with her and Seba. 
Moment Junkie seems like a great blog-but it serves a totally different purpose than SMP so I don’t get the comparison. I used SMP a lot for ideas for my wedding, and I think they DO do a good job in letting readers know what is staged and what isn’t. I don’t think a lot of people go on SMP to look for a photographer, but maybe I’m wrong?
I guess I also wasn’t really interested in other people’s wedding photos unless they were detail oriented-seeing someone’s grandmother cry is very touching, and emotional, but it didn’t really help me with my wedding planning. Blogs like SMP are for detail/planning inspiration and I don’t think they pretend to be anything else.
Yes, the bride sitting on the couch in the middle of the woods is a bit much sometimes, but I just think of these blogs as high end fashion mags. I wouldn’t roll around the beach draped in Chanel with whore makeup on, but I may try to find a cheaper version of the shoes or jacket the model is wearing. =)
if I had it to do over I would have TWO photographers. One capturing the moments and the other taking the staged shots.
I love the site, but bristle at the emphasis on realness. I don’t like the binary that’s being created: either you have photojournalism or portraiture and if you don’t have photojournalism, your photos are meaningless and joyless. I love my portraits. Love them. I like my candid photos too, but I think my portraits capture something much more complicated than a stolen kiss: life as brevity. Beauty, youth, joy — it’s brief and sparse but in the portraits I have, it’s frozen. I adore that.
I think everyone has to choose what photography style is right for them. I chose what spoke to me, that’s all!
I’m so excited to see this on here! Moment Junkie is a breath of fresh air in the wedding industry. Blogs like SMP and Ruffled definetly have their place in wedding planning and preparation but I think we often get cauaght up in plans and forget about what the day is really about. Love and family. Moment Junkie is inspiring and I think challenges brides to really sit back and think about the goal for their wedding photography not just their flowers and gowns. I love it!
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Mrs. Avocado, Seattle Age and Occupation: 23, Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Consultant Engagement Date: July 27, 2008 Wedding Date: October, 2008 Blogging Since: June 30, 2008 Venue: LDS Seattle Temple & Hotel 1000 About Me: Somehow this little farm girl found herself a genuine Pole to fall in love and eventually move away to Poland with. I am an LDS bride attempting to plan a private religious ceremony, ring ceremony, seated reception for 100, and an open house while coordinating for guests flying in from across the United States and as far away as Poland. I try to avoid fads, excess waste, and saturated fat. I strongly endorse photography, DDR, calorie counting, rss feeds, cooking, and utilizing your resources.
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