Couples say 'iDo' to iPhone wedding snaps as social media takes over age-old tradition

Home > Culture > Life & Style

Couples say 'iDo' to iPhone wedding snaps as social media takes over age-old tradition

Published: 20 Jun. 2025, 07:00

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Wedding day photos taken with an iPhone, called iPhone wedding snaps, are trumping the traditional digital camera shots for young Korean couples today [JOONGANG ILBO/CHATGPT]

For many, weddings represent the pinnacle of happiness, a milestone event regarded as one of the most sacred and beautiful days in a person’s life. It is also, in today’s world, a delicious opportunity to bump up one’s social media presence.

During the auspicious summer wedding season, social feeds are awash with posts, stories and reels containing effortlessly joyful and irresistibly authentic-looking brides and grooms. In many Korean weddings these days, what brings these magical images to life isn’t a high-powered camera lens — it’s the everyday iPhone.

Wedding photos taken with a paid iPhone photographer [HEUER]

Twenty-seven-year-old Kwon Se-young, a bride-to-be in Seoul, has entirely decided to forgo the traditional wedding day shoots for her June ceremony. Instead, she hired an iPhone photographer to take pictures throughout her wedding with a cell phone.

“I’m excited to have a document of the day that reflects me in my most natural state,” Kwon said. “I want the pictures to look like my friend took them.”

Unlike traditional wedding shots that use a digital camera and staged scenes of specific and controlled moments — like the bride’s walk down the aisle or the couple’s kiss after their vows — this style of photography, dubbed iPhone wedding snaps, uses a cell phone camera, specifically that of the iPhone, and takes much more casual shots of the couple and their guests throughout the wedding day, often more Instagrammable as well.

Wedding photos taken with a paid iPhone photographer [HEUER]

iPhone wedding snaps have surged in popularity over the past three years, driven by practical factors like affordability and speed, as well as cultural ones — most notably, Koreans’ strong affinity for iPhones.

By 2023, searches for “iPhone snaps” on Korea’s dominant search engine, Naver, had overtaken those for “traditional photography,” cementing the trend as a new staple in Korean wedding culture. Unlike conventional studio shoots, this movement is led by passionate iPhone users — primarily women — who bring a keen sense of social media aesthetics and a modern, intuitive take on photography.

*The graph shows the relative change in search volume on Naver for the given keyword.

The term iPhone wedding snaps first emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, when weddings became more intimate out of necessity.

“The general understanding is that iPhone wedding photos emerged organically during the pandemic,” said iPhone wedding snap studio Heuer’s director, Kim Dong-ku, 44. “But it started to become a commercial product and a real trend beginning in 2023.”

Kim is a founding member of Heuer Snap, a photography startup launched last May by a former operator of a traditional wedding studio. Heuer Snap currently employs 25 iPhone photographers and six digital camera photographers, with iPhone wedding snap packages starting at 250,000 won ($182).

“Some couples choose only iPhone snaps, while others want both iPhone and digital camera photos,” Kim said.

iPhone wedding snaps can appeal to couples because they are more practical: they cost less than traditional wedding photography, which ranges anywhere from 400,000 won to 2 million won, and couples can receive the photos almost immediately after the event instead of waiting weeks for them, as is typically required for DSLR-shot, computer-edited images.

“People rarely look at their physical wedding albums afterward, and I also have no intention of hanging a large wedding photo in our house,” said Kwon, also emphasizing the utilitarian aspect of iPhone wedding snaps. “What I want are photos I can use to change my profile picture, share on Instagram and keep as memories to look back on with my husband.”

A person tests the camera of the iPhone 16 Pro on the day of the phone's launch in Korea on Sept. 20, 2024, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

But many also favor iPhone wedding snaps because of the cultural significance behind the Apple device itself.

As of 2023, about 65 percent of Koreans aged 18 to 29 use iPhones, according to Gallup Korea, and the built-in camera is one of the key attractions of the device.

“The effect is commonly referred to as the ‘iPhone vibe,’” said Kim Sang-hee, 27, an iPhone wedding photographer. “iPhone cameras produce a specific tone. The images are slightly blurrier than a DSLR’s.”

The photos are technically of lower quality than those taken with a digital camera, Kim continued, “but they actually feel closer to how we see the world with our eyes. DSLRs pick up every detail — every pore and wrinkle — which we don’t necessarily want to highlight in a photo.”

The demand doesn’t extend to all cell phone models, however. “There is no such thing as a Samsung Galaxy wedding snap, for instance,” Heuer Snap’s Kim said.

Wedding photos taken with a paid iPhone photographer [HEUER]

Another defining feature of this scene is that it is overwhelmingly female-led. Most iPhone photographers are women in their 20s and 30s, many of whom hold full-time weekday jobs and shoot weddings on weekends.

“It’s a definite trend and a thriving market, largely powered by women,” said Heuer Snap’s Kim. He believes that women’s dominance in the space is no coincidence, given how emotionally nuanced wedding photography is. “Photographers usually communicate with the bride, and brides tend to feel more comfortable with a female photographer.”

Kim, who works in an office during the week, photographs weddings with her iPhone 15 Pro on Saturdays and Sundays — with sometimes up to three weddings in a single day during peak season.

“I love taking pictures, and I understand what works on social media because I use it actively myself,” she said. “But the best part is capturing beautiful moments between two happy people in love.”

She typically takes around 800 photos at each wedding, along with short video clips, sometimes working in tandem with DSLR photographers. Most of the images focus on the bride, often guided by detailed requests — everything from preferred angles to the best side of her face.

After the ceremony, Kim sends all the images to the couple, who select their favorites for her to edit.

The nascent industry has faced growing pains, including a high-profile fraud scandal last November, when several iPhone-based photography studios were exposed for hiring untrained temporary workers despite advertising professional photographers. The incident led to a class-action lawsuit involving over 3,000 couples who demanded refunds but were often left without compensation.

In response to the backlash, more established studios like Heuer Snap have begun requiring all iPhone photographers to complete several weeks of in-house training before taking on real assignments, which is part of a broader effort to professionalize a style that’s often underestimated.

Despite its casual appearance, iPhone wedding photography has evolved into a distinct genre — one that demands creativity, emotional intelligence and a sharp eye for aesthetics, regardless of a photographer’s formal background.

“The approach is completely different from DSLR photography,” said Jung Eun-hee, who shoots weddings with both an iPhone and the traditional DSLR. “With iPhone wedding snaps, the goal is to capture natural, candid moments, like the bride’s nervous but happy expression before walking down the aisle, or a quiet exchange between the couple during the festivities. In contrast, DSLR photography is more structured, with most of the shots planned in advance.”

But beyond technique lies the heart of the photographer.

“Anyone who’s ever taken selfies for social media knows that it can take hundreds of shots to get the one you like,” said photographer Kim. “I take pictures of the bride and her wedding, hoping that at least one or two of them will feel just perfect to the couple.”

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]