Rangefinder's 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography

November 19, 2012 —

The honor of hosting this year’s Rising Stars of Wedding Photography has been passed along from our sister publication, PDN, to us and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

We began our selection process by getting nominations from editors, bloggers, veteran photographers and wedding industry professionals. Our criteria was that Rising Stars had to be in business for five years or less and show tremendous promise and staying power in the industry. We then asked the more than 150 wedding photographers suggested to upload their portfolios, and viewed and reviewed them with much debate in our New York City offices to narrow the selection to our resulting 30. Rangefinder Executive Editor Jacqueline Tobin, Associate Editor Jessica Gordon and Photo District News Photo Editor Amber Terranova made up the judging panel, and were delighted by the fresh, often funny and stellar quality of images we came across.

Some trends we noticed? Natural light and sun flares, which we couldn’t get enough of. An authentic, photojournalistic feel also came through in many of the images—a continuing diversion from the posed, more saturated portraits of years past. Also refreshing was the handful of photographers who have moved back to film. With all of the over-processing that occurs in a digital world, we appreciate the return to a slow, practiced craft that requires more deliberate composition.

Overall, we thank the industry pros who made nominations—we could not have scoured the market without your help. And a huge thank you to all of the contenders who uploaded photos; every single portfolio we viewed showed promise.

We hope you enjoy our selections as much as we did. We are thrilled by the color, creativity and distinct styles of our 30 Rising Stars. 

Click here for the feature.