Photography Editing Styles Explained

Everywhere you look, you’ve probably seen phrases that describe a photographer’s editing style.  You might find a photographer that will edit in many styles, but most photographers have a single preferred style. In this blog post we’re going to take a look at the three most common editing styles:  

Light and Airy

True to Life

Dark and Moody

No one style is better than another. It’s completely subjective. As they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

The big question is: What kind of wedding pictures do you want to reflect on for the next 50 years?

To help you differentiate between the styles, here are some ways that they could be described.

Light and Airy

          Muted, soft, overexposed, fairy-like, dreamy, faded, unsaturated. Colors in your images may not reflect what really was.

True to Life

          The name says it all. It’s editing that showcases colors as they really are. For example, if you have garnet red wedding party attire, your pictures will show vibrant garnet red attire. If you have pastel blue wedding party attire, then your pictures will show clothing that is a lovely pastel blue. This is our editing style. 

Dark and Moody 

          Understated, muted (but not necessarily unsaturated), underexposed, heavy, grayer.  Colors in your images may not reflect what really was.  Note: Photos done in black and white are NOT the same as Dark and Moody.

This graphic shows you how these different styles might be edited.