ISPWP Photo Award Winners {Summer 2016}

posted August 31, 2016 in Happenings, Weddings

Fist bump time!!! I entered four images in the Summer 2016 International Society for Wedding Photography (ISPWP) contest and found out this week that TWO images took top honors.

This photography organization represents some of the best wedding photographers in the world. My work has garnered over 30 Top 20 Awards since 2008. I am proud to be a Top 10 contest winner in Fall 2009 and a contest judge in Summer 2014. Not only it is an honor to place in an contests, but to just be invited into the organization requires an application process along with references from members. This is the Top Gun of wedding photography.

I share my thoughts on what it is like being at the judges table in this blog post: On Being a Fearless ISPWP Photo Judge

This image placed in the category, “Family Love” from Kris and David’s wedding in Minneapolis at the Mill City Museum:

This fearless image placed in the category “Getting Ready” from Danielle and Fernando’s wedding at the Lenox Hotel in Boston, MA:

In the above image, I had a lot to work with, obviously: a beautiful bride, a bit of time, and trust. I used the bounced light from her dress as my fill light. Joe McNally once said, “If you look more closely, you’ll see the sun is attached to a C-stand.” I detail this more in this post, along with what I call the Four critical decisions made every time you see an image published, entered into a contest, or hung in a gallery.

Ever few couple of months I enter images in wedding photography contests… it keeps me thinking critically during the wedding day so I am thinking with a creative eye for creating the best image possible for my clients. Over the years, this has been a rewarding way to keep my drive strong and skills sharp.