A few months back, we reviewed another book on Photojournalism, The Best of Wedding Photojournalism. That was a pretty book, but it didn’t really seem too concerned about the techniques of photojournalism, and how it relates to wedding photography.

The new book Advanced Wedding Photojournalism: Professional Techniques for Digital Photographers, also from Amherst, swings almost too hard in the opposite direction. Where the previous book was lax in its attitude, this one is near-militant. Where the previous book had nearly boilerplate text, this one has an impassioned treatise on what it is to shoot wedding journalism.

I say it almost swings too hard in the opposite direction, but not quite. While the ethos of photojournalism (or at least, author Tracy Dorr’s interpretation of it) is laid down in the first few chapters, the book does realize that you are photographing weddings, after all, and not breaking news, and that you, the photographer, are a part of the event, too. Still, it isn’t until Chapter 8 that Dorr is willing to admit that yes, you don’t actually have to stand in the back taking pictures, you can actually interact with your clients. But only, she is quick to point out, as little as needed. She advocates “Natural Setups”, where you take the subjects to a place that has good lighting and good backdrops, and allow them to interact naturally. (In my world, I call this “setting the scene”.)

The book is well written, deep, and extremely inspirational and as practical as it can be, given that the book has chapters entitled “A Fresh Mindset” and “Emotional Resonance”. It’s tough to give advice on how to light emotional resonance, or which lens will give you a fresh mindset (though I hear the Lensbaby does help in that regard). So much of the book is inspirational, simply by its subject matter, and does not lend itself to practical advice.

Not all, of course. The section on important characters tells you who to watch out for during the day, and how to keep your eyes open for important interactions between people. And the section on equipment doesn’t talk about 5D Mark IIs (yay), but about how long lenses help you to stay far away from your subject, allowing them to interact naturally, and how flash can kill the interaction. It is a blessedly brief section, though perhaps a bit too brief, as there were a few points that could have been made (about how fast glass helps you avoid using a flash, for instance), but I’m not going to complain about that too loudly. Far too many photo books have the gear bag crawl that will be out of date by the time the book is published.

I haven’t talked yet about the images in the book, not because they aren’t great. They are. It’s just that the text is much more important to what the book is trying to communicate, and the photos, lovely as they are, are used to support the text. Imagine that.

I do have two beefs with the book, neither serious. The first is that not all the techniques in the book could be called “Advanced” in good conscious. A number of things here are very basic and foundational to the idea of photojournalism, and should be required knowledge before you even think about calling yourself a wedding photojournalist.

Second, Dorr has a habit of referring to the reader as advanced photojournalists. Something about that just set my teeth on edge. It’s the techniques, not the people, that are advanced. But that’s probably just me.

Otherwise, this is a very strong book, and worth reading by all wedding photographers, photojournalists and traditionalists alike.

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