My approach to wedding photography relies almost completely on capturing natural, unposed moments. Sometimes though, a picture works so well that the result actually looks like it might have been posed. Here's some examples to show what I mean.
As far as I'm concerned, this picture is just about perfect. Everything about it is right - the light, the surroundings, the expressions, the composition, even the way Claire's foot is showing from under her dress. If I'd tried to pose this picture it would not have been this good.
Again, this moment is great. Its a chance capture - I had no idea it was going to happen. It looks like I could have set it up by telling them that I was going outside and then giving them a signal when I was ready for them to kiss.
Here again, there's was nothing to stop me asking Eluned to spin around a couple of times when I was ready and in position.
But the important point I want to make is this : The people in the pictures know whether I posed them or not. They know that these are natural, unposed moments, captured as they happened, with no intervention from me. When the bride and groom look at their album, they know what they're looking at.
I don't shoot wedding pictures with the intention of writing magazine articles about them, or sending them in to wedding blogs, or entering them in competitions. I don't care whether other people think that I posed them or not. My photographs are for the bride and groom. All that matters is what they feel when they see their pictures and they wouldn't feel the same way if they had posed for them.
So, to answer the title of this post, yes, it matters.