History :

Like the technology of photography itself, the practice of wedding photography has evolved and grown since the invention of the art form in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. In fact, an early photograph, recorded some 14 years after the fact, may be a recreation for the camera of the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. However in the early days of photography, most couples of more humble means did not hire a photographer to record the actual wedding itself. Until the later half of the 19th century, most people didn’t pose for formal wedding photos during the wedding. Rather they might pose for a formal photo in their best clothes before or after a wedding. In the late 1860’s, more couples started posing in their wedding clothes or sometimes hired a photographer to come to the wedding venue. (See the gallery at White wedding.)

However, due to the nature of the bulky equipment and lighting issues, wedding photography was largely a studio practice for most of the late 1800’s. Over time, technology improved, but many couples still might only pose for a single wedding portrait.

Wedding albums started becoming more commonplace towards the 1880’s. And by then, the photographer would start including the wedding party in the photographs. Often the wedding gifts would be laid out and recorded in the photographs as well.

In the beginning of the 20th century, color photography became available, but color photography was still too unreliable and expensive thus most wedding photography was still practiced in black and white.

The concept of capturing the wedding “event” came about after the Second World War. Using film roll technology and the better lighting techniques with the invention of the compact flash bulb, often photographers would simply show up at a wedding and try to sell the photos later. Despite the initial low quality photographs that often resulted, the competition forced the studio photographers to start working on location.

Initially, professional studio photographers might bring a lot of bulky equipment, thus limiting their ability to record the entire event. Even candid photos were more often staged after the ceremony. However, in the 1970’s the more modern approach to recording the entire wedding event started evolving into the practice as we know it today.