The 411 on Wedding Photography Jargon

By: Kristen Castillo

BEFORE THE WEDDING

E-Session

These photo sessions are formally called engagement sessions during which you and your guy pose for shots of you as a couple.

These sessions are great for a few reasons: 1) you get professional images of you and your guy for your use in things like photo albums, save the dates, social media and of course to frame and display at home and at work; and 2) this session gives you the chance to work with your photographer before the wedding day, which ensures you’ll get to know each other better and therefore will be comfortable working together throughout your big day.

 

AT THE WEDDING

Mini Boudoir

This sexy photo session is done on the actual wedding day after the bride has had her hair and makeup done. There’s no nudity, just sensuality.

“Minutes before she sees her groom, we take her off to the side and do some window silhouette shots or on the bed in the hotel room,” says Stephanie Sundell of Creative Photography Inc. by Stephanie, who calls the mini boudoir photos, a “surprise for later!”

First Look

It’s not necessarily bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the wedding. The first look is “where the bride and groom get to see each other before the ceremony, often set up to be very private and romantic,” says Chris Austin of White Haute Photography. “This is an up-and-coming, and highly recommended, trend that couples should seriously consider as it allows more time for photos, more time to socialize with your guests at the cocktail reception, and less stress overall.”

Formals and Family Photos

Even couples who want un-posed pictures, typically want these traditional wedding images.

“These are posed pictures taken either before or after the ceremony,” says Holly Ireland of Holly Ireland Photography, noting the photos often capture the couple with each other’s parents, siblings, and other family members.

Second Shooter

This is a second photographer “who will also be photographing the wedding, normally hired by the photographer for four to six hours,” explains Shayna San Nicolas of Mr. & Mrs. {A Video & Photography Duo}.

The second shooter is there to capture all the candid moments and shots from other angles to create the full story of the day.

Forehead Snuggle

Just as it sounds, this term is all about getting the couple to move in close to each other. “Used just for posing and it’s just us I believe that use it,” says Adriana Rodriguez of Love Art Photography. “Either way it always gets the point across and the couple always cracks up.”

Uncle Charlie

This photo jargon isn’t about a specific member of your family. Instead, it refers to “any family member with an amateur video camera that thinks he owns the show,” says Sundell.

Detail Shots

“These are the photos of all the details you spend money on,” says Ireland.

Your photographer will capture all the special elements of your wedding day such as close-ups of your flowers, rings, your gown and shoes, your guest book, the food, and favors.

Bogie

Referring to a person in the background, bogies are best avoided whenever possible. Otherwise, the photographer will have to remove that person out of the photo during postproduction.

Drag the Shutter

This technique, which you often see on Pinterest and wedding blogs, is typically used during nighttime photography. As Austin explains, it’s “where a slow shutter speed is used in conjunction with flash to stop the action and freeze motion while still allowing more of the ambient light to get into the photo.”

Eat and Run

A term most popular with photographers, videographers, DJs, and other on-site wedding vendors, “Eat and Run” refers to when a vendor’s meal break is very short, typically after all the guests have been served.

 

AFTER THE WEDDING

Editing

This is the process of narrowing down a large number of images.

“A wedding may have 3000 images,” says Aaron Feldman, CEO and founder of True Photography. “But many of those pictures taken are test shots. Or there may be 10 dancing shots, to get the best two or three images.

Trash the Dress

These photo sessions, which can happen any time after the wedding, are all about ruining the bride’s dress for the sake of great photography. For example, the bride may run in the ocean, wetting the gown; she may paint in the dress, allowing paint drips as they happen; or she and her husband may stand in the rain, stomping through puddles of mud.

Day After Session

These sessions are similar to “Trash the Dress” but they’re “not meant to ruin or destroy the wedding dress,” says Austin, explaining day after sessions are “meant for couples who didn’t get enough time for photos on their wedding day and want to take pictures at a more unique location and don’t want to feel nervous about getting the dress a little dirtier.”

Sneaks

These are a preview of the photos your photographer shot at your wedding. Often a few photos are posted to the photographer’s blog and/or their Facebook page, tagging the bride and groom when possible.

Digital Negatives

Presented on a disc or flash drive, the “negatives are exactly how the image was shot,” says Ireland. “So no retouching or cropping.”

Post

This term refers to after-the-shoot editing using Photoshop. Sundell says post accounts for “about 40 percent of the job.”

Enhancement

This term is about an image’s styling such as boosting an image’s color, choosing black and white or color, and even darkening an image’s corners.

Actions

Sundell describes this photo lingo as a “special way we retouch the photo with layers of Photoshop expertise.”

Retouching

When a photo is retouched, the photographer or editor is “adding or taking away something from the image that didn’t exist” in the original photo, says Feldman.

Flush Mount Album

“A flush-mount album is a contemporary alternative to a traditional matted wedding album,” says Ireland, explaining each page is a “borderless photographic print that can include multiple images and backgrounds.”

Parent’s Album

Known as a Mother’s Album or a Parent’s Album, this album features wedding day images for the parents of the bride and groom. A “great gift idea,” says San Nicolas.