How I Photograph Orthodox Jewish Weddings Like A Street Photographer (Because I Am One)

I’m a street photographer who also happens to photograph weddings. I’ve been doing street photography since 1976 and I’ve taken my street-savvy approach to wedding photos—especially Orthodox Jewish weddings—since 1982. Lately I’ve started working side-by-side with the “official” wedding photographer, bringing my unique approach and photographing candid, real moments.

If you are planning a wedding and are interested in something different from the usual wedding album (or in addition to it), I’d love to chat with you to see if this would be a good fit. But if you’re considering hiring me to do wedding street photography, you should look at my work first.

Let’s take a look at one wedding that I shot recently. These 18 photos are among those chosen collaboratively between myself and my client, but there are many more. In fact, I culled these from over 750 photos.

Unlike a standard wedding photographer—when I’m doing wedding street photography—I do not bring lots of lights, umbrellas, stands, and tripods. Instead, I bring one small camera, one lens, and a single flash. This gives me greater mobility as I move through the crowd and the dancing at the reception. I love photographing the dancing; in my opinion, it is one of the purest forms of joy in Judaism.

I don’t have a single approach. Sometimes I shoot with just the camera and lens, no flash. Other times, I use flash and combine it with a slow exposure for a dynamic result that has both motion and frozen action.

Unlike a standard wedding photographer, I have no shot list. I’m not going to shoot “formals” of the bride and groom and their families or the wedding party. Instead, I will look to candidly capture their joy and spontaneity at the wedding and reception.

I do encourage everyone to hire a standard wedding photographer. You’ll want those posed photos of family members and the full story of the wedding. My role is to capture spontaneous moments in interesting ways. If hiring a street photographer to bring another dimension to your wedding photos interests you, let’s talk.

I Am Not A Wedding Photographer (But I Do Photograph Weddings)