Light and airy photos

I was disappointed this week to be turned down for a wedding photography job, apparently because my photos weren’t “light and airy.”

For those who are unaware, “light and airy” quality in photographs means that the photos have basically no darkness to them at all — there’s a lot of light, and details in the photo are blown out, meaning they are so bright you can’t really see them.

I’m realizing more and more that this “light and airy” style is a popular trend today. I did meet one photographer at a wedding who described her photos that way. I’ve seen photographers online who try to sell training programs and their photos are in this light and airy style. I, however, look at these photos and one word comes to mind: “overexposed”.

An overexposed photo is one that is too light. It has little shadow and everything is very bright and pale. Think pastel colors. The details of the wedding dress aren’t there because everything is so bright. Overexposed photos eliminate the intricate detail of a photo.

So I went to the Internet and googled “light and airy photos.” I was looking for articles that talked about why light and airy photos are bad. But, I couldn’t find them. I saw plenty of articles written by photographers on how to make photos look “light and airy.”

Now I realize it is easy to make any photo look light and airy. Simply open the photo in an photo editing software and turn up the exposure slider. But I’ve always been one to want a photo to be balanced in light – with an appropriate level of darks to lights. I like using dark and shadows in some photos as it can really bring out the mood in the photo.

I’m concluding that maybe I need to start asking my clients what they prefer — normal exposures or overexposures. I’ve put two photos of the bride in this blog post. One was exposed normally and the other I increased the exposure. What do you think? Which do you prefer?