How I Approach Editorial Wedding Photography

If you’ve come across the term “editorial” while researching photographers, it’s worth explaining what it actually means, and what it looks like in practice on your wedding day.

What Editorial Style Actually Means

Editorial photography borrows its approach from magazine and fashion shoots. That doesn’t mean posed, stiff, or overly staged. It means every detail of the day, your dress, your florals, the light in the room, is treated with the same intention a magazine editor would bring to a story. The goal is images that feel considered and elevated, while still capturing the day as it genuinely unfolds.

A lot of couples assume editorial and documentary are opposites, one styled and one candid, and you have to pick a side. In practice, the best editorial work sits between the two. I’m still chasing real reactions and unscripted moments. The difference is that I’m also thinking about composition, light, and setting the way a stylist or art director would, so those real moments land in frames that feel intentional rather than accidental.

My Process

I start well before the wedding day itself, usually by coordinating with your planner or stylist so the timeline, locations, and details all work together rather than competing for attention. That might mean suggesting a slight change to your getting ready timeline so we catch better light, or talking through which details are worth building a few extra minutes into the schedule for.

On the day, I shoot with a mix of documentary observation and light direction. For the ceremony, the toasts, and the dancing, I stay out of the way entirely and let the day happen in front of me. For portraits and detail shots, I step in briefly, not to pose you into something unnatural, but to put you in the best light, in a setting that does the moment justice, and then get out of the way again so the interaction between you feels real.

I often shoot on a mix of digital and film. Digital gives me the reliability I need for anything time sensitive or low light. Film gives the quieter, in between moments a tone and texture that’s hard to get any other way. Combining both across a single day takes more planning on my end, but it gives your final gallery a range that a single format on its own can’t match.

Why It Matters for Your Day

An editorial approach gives you a gallery that holds up the way a story would: images with mood, pacing, and a clear sense of place, not just a folder of individual photos. Years from now, that’s the difference between a wedding album you flip through once and one you keep coming back to.

It’s also the same care that got a wedding I shot in Las Vegas featured in Vogue UK, along with Junebug Weddings, Rock and Roll Bride, and Rocky Mountain Bride. Publications look for the same thing you should be looking for in your own gallery: intention, styling, and a real sense of place. That standard isn’t reserved for weddings that end up published. It’s the standard I bring to every couple I work with.

What Working With Me Looks Like

Once you inquire, we’ll talk through your day, your venue, and what matters most to you. From there, I handle the planning conversations with your planner and/or stylist, so the photography fits naturally into your timeline allowing you to enjoy your day, and in the moment.

In the weeks before your wedding, I’ll walk you through what to expect: where I’ll be during key moments, roughly how long portraits will take, and any small adjustments to your timeline that will make a real difference in your gallery. None of this requires you to become an expert in photography. It just means you’re not guessing on the day.

On the day itself, my job is to be present, watch closely, and direct only when it genuinely improves the shot. After the wedding, you’ll get a gallery that feels like a complete story of your day, not a highlight reel of disconnected moments.

What This Doesn’t Mean for You

Editorial doesn’t mean a stiff, catalog style wedding, and it doesn’t mean sacrificing your actual day for the sake of a shot. I’m not going to ask you to redo your first look for the camera or hold a pose through your own reception. The direction I bring is subtle: a suggestion here, a small adjustment there, always in service of the real day you’re having, not a version staged for Instagram.

Is This the Right Fit for You?

If you’re drawn to weddings that feel intentional, a little bold, and worth showing off, an editorial approach is likely the right fit. If you’d rather your photographer stay fully in the background with no direction at all, a purely documentary style might suit you better, and that’s worth knowing upfront so you book the right person for your day.

I’d love to hear about your day… I can’t wait.