Top 20 Cliché Wedding Photos

April 27, 2011 - PRLog -- As a I wanted to know what other photographers across the country photographed the most during weddings so I opened this topic to wedding professionals all across the country. Honestly, this list was originally called “Most Popular Wedding Photos”, but I would imagine most people wouldn’t have read it. For most people “popular” and “cliché” are interchangeable specially when you are starting out as a wedding photographer. Let’s get to the point and list them off. They are in no certain order.

•   Veil over the bride and groom kissing.
•   Wine glasses intertwined as the bride/groom look on or kiss.
•   Hands with rings over the bouquet.
•   The “jump shot”.
•   The couple in B&W with the bouquet in color.
•   The bride sniffing her bouquet.
•   Bride opening the curtains with her arms apart, with backlighting.
•   The "dip and kiss" with the bride’s leg sticking straight out.
•   The guys all walking in a line towards the photographer.
•   Rings sitting on top of the invite or a bible.
•   Bride/Groom laying down, groomsmen/bridesmaids holding him up like a corpse.  
•   Dress hanging in the dressing room.
•   Bride looking out the limo window.
•   Couples holding up their ring fingers.
•   The photographer Photoshoping a second image onto the first, ie; wine glasses with an image of the couple kissing.
•   The bridal party walking across the street a-la the Beatles Abby Road.
•   Shot of just the bride’s shoes.
•   The overhead shot of all bridesmaids holding their bouquets all together like one big blob.
•   Groom or bride smashing cake in the others face.
•   The entire bridal party staged "randomly" across a grass area.

Here is just a sample of what over 50 photographers (and other wedding vendors) have written back to me.

“The couple wants to remember the things they saw that day: the dress hanging up, their hands clasped together sporting the rings now, whether on the bouquet or not, and their friends dancing, as well as the group shots. I know a couple that were so glad they took some traditional shots, because a member of the family was gone the next week. It was the last time they had a family shot opportunity. Had those traditional poses been opted out for only artistic vision, that final opportunity would have been gone.”

“I hate Paul's letter to the Corinthians, and I could live a fully happy life without hearing that Canon ever again, but for many couples it wouldn't be a wedding without them. Same with those photos that they've always seen in their mind when they imagine their wedding....”


“I agree that in general it's all about how you take it, even if there are a few that will look cliché or 80's no matter how hard you try! I get a shot of the rings at every wedding, but I do my best to find something unique and different every time - not the hands over the bouquet or even the rings in the bride’s flowers unless they specifically request that, of course. I do have to constantly remind myself that I may have seen a million weddings but this is their only one (hopefully) and it's all new to them. Same thing when I get sick of a popular engagement session location. Just try to look at it a different way and incorporate their personalities.”

I know as a I can speak for the rest when I say it’s ultimately the bride and grooms decision whether It’s cliché or not. If the bride wants a specific shot I know I will shoot it for her. We all try to do our best to be creative and original because originality is one major way to set ourselves apart from the sea of photographers out there, but I will happily sacrifice my constant need to be original to make a person happy. I sum this topic up by reverting to the old saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the one holding the checkbook.”

Notes to Editors
For further information, images, or to set up interviews, contact:
Sacramento Wedding Photographer Ashton Boni
Webste http://www.boniimages.com
Email: info@boniimages.com
Blog: blog.boniimages.com