This month, we’re celebrating the newly designated 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography 2021, our annual competition that spotlights talented wedding photographers from around the world for moving the industry in exciting directions with their creativity and aesthetics. Follow us on Instagram to see a daily takeover from each one of the Rising Stars you see here, who are sharing behind-the-scenes insights on some of the photos they submitted to the judges for consideration. This selection in particular grabbed us for the various ways that the photographers captured a moody atmosphere.

Julie Blin⁠, a wedding photographer based near Paris, France, traveled to Corsica for the first time for this wedding back in August. Towards the end of the day as the sun began to set, she decided it was a ripe time for some more creative portraits of the couple.⁠

⁠”I like intentional camera movement for a blurry and poetic result,” Blin says. “This brings back memories that are sometimes very hazy, where the contours and faces have been erased from the memory. Only the emotion and the feeling of the moment remain.”

She opted for a motion-blur effect in this moment to capture that moody atmosphere and the feeling of a couple melding. “The rendering lets us look at a couple that is one, from two souls, that have found each other,” she says. ⁠ See her entire submission of images to the 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography competition and read more about her approach as a wedding photographer.

Dane Tucker of The Salty Shutter, based in Sydney, Australia, spent a fair amount of time studying Renaissance and Baroque paintings in order to understand how those artists painted with light, “because I absolutely frothed on the aesthetic,” he says. “I had had luck with portraits using window light but less so for large-scale scenes.”⁠⁠

Having noted that wedding filmmakers use LED panels to light scenes, Tucker figured he could do the same. “I was immediately blown away by the results you could get by using a mixture of ambient light, LEDs for direction and on-camera flash for a tiny bit of fill,” says Tucker, who frequently experiments with different lighting techniques to capture a particular moody atmosphere. ⁠ “The amount of depth and story in the scene was complete luck,” he says. “The expression on Ange, the bride’s, face, the wine glass clutched behind someone’s back as they dance, the older couple sitting in the booth with smiles on their faces as they watch the scene play out in front of them, the reflection of the little girl in the mirror, how you can tell the way the couple in the top-left corner are looking at each other, even though they aren’t in focus. ⁠Some days, you just get lucky. But the harder you work, the luckier you get.⁠” ⁠⁠ See his entire submission of images and read more about his approach as a wedding photographer.

Monterrey, Mexico-based photographer Paulina Bichara had spent the last 12 hours capturing a vintage-inspired wedding. As the night was drawing to a close and she was about to leave, Bichara went into the washroom where the bride was to thank her and say goodbye, when she looked around. “I realized I couldn’t leave—at least not before making some experimental portraits,” she says. “Even the washroom had an undeniable, inspiring elegance to it. “ ⁠ Bichara asked a guest to grab the groom so she could capture a portrait of them reflecting this elegant, moody atmosphere. “I pointed my flash straight at them, lowered my shutter speed considerably, reduced my aperture, and quite literally began taking my shot,” she explains. “This is the beauty that comes with the end of the day: the security of knowing you’ve got all you needed to tell a story magnificently leaves room for the unknown to take place. Playtime, if you will. A creative freedom that only we can give ourselves.⁠” ⁠⁠⁠ See her entire submission of images and read more about her approach as a wedding photographer.

Charlotte and Bruno of Charlotte Kiri Photography, a married photo duo based in Wanaka, New Zealand, knew they wanted to include this image in their portfolio for the 30 Rising Stars judges as it exemplifies a true melding of both of their talents as photographers: astrophotography (a side hobby of Bruno’s) and a golden-hour couple’s portrait (Charlotte’s thing).

⁠In fact, this photo is a composite of a starry photo that Bruno took later in the evening of this wedding and a portrait of the couple taken earlier in the day during golden hour. “So many stars have to align (no pun intended) to get a good astro shot,” Charlotte explains. “Often, nights are spent in vain when a cloud rolls in. You need a lot of patience and persistence to shoot the stars, but there is something so magical about them. “ ⁠⁠ See their entire submission of images and read more about their approach as wedding photographers.

UK-based wedding photographer Emily Black captured this during an elopement to the Scottish Highlands.

“We had experienced all four seasons in one day,” she explains. “A few minutes before this image was taken, it was bright and sunny on the loch. The couple was enjoying spotting the seals in the loch with their dog before the rain came out.” With the sky creating this naturally moody atmosphere that the Scottish Highlands are known for, she dashed back up the beach to capture a wide shot of the couple.

See her entire submission of images and read more about her approach as a wedding photographer.

John Branch IV, who’s based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has a different approach to sparkler exit photos than what you usually see from wedding photographers. He doesn’t use flash; he uses continuous LED light to capture the scene.

“The reason I like to do this is because it keeps the ambience of the sparklers, which is kind of the whole point of the photo,” Branch explains. “Flashes overpower the sparklers and get rid of their ‘magic.'” He also prefers a longer lens when he’s photographing—here, his Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 lens—instead of shooting wide. “The compression on the crowd behind my couple, as well as the bokeh on the sparklers, is just so magical!” he exclaims. “And I always perform my sparkler exits this way. “

See his entire submission of images and read more about his approach as a wedding photographer.

Kristi Boatright of Stori Photos, who’s based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, ⁠says she has slowed down her approach to shooting wedding photography within the last year. “I don’t need to be in a rush to tell their story,” she has realized. “Instead, I soak it up and document it page by page so they can remember it fully and honestly.”

So when it came time to photographing this elopement—with a bride and groom that were “both beaming with this beautiful chaotic energy,” she notes—Boatright decided to reflect this energetic moody atmosphere in the couple’s exit from their ceremony. ⁠ “I slowed my shutter speed down to 1/25 in order to create the motion-blur effect, but I kept my focus on her flowers, which would be the center of the photo,” she explains. “Since I was the only photographer present on their wedding day, I knew I couldn’t get both a beautifully in focus shot and this creative style of shot, but after getting to know them beforehand and knowing that they trusted me, I knew it was a risk that was worth taking.” ⁠ ⁠⁠ See her entire submission of images and read more about her approach as a wedding photographer.

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more compelling and eye-catching portraits and creative photo concepts.

July 18, 2022 This week, we take a look at a variety of wedding images that captured our attention with their unique photo compositions. More »

July 10, 2022 This week, we take a look at a variety of images that captured our attention with their candid moments and documentary style of photography. More »

July 4, 2022 This weeks' image selections celebrate love, connection and reflection with thoughtful photo memories. More »

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