Junebug Best of the Best Engagement Photography 2016
Updated: 6 days ago
Wohooo!!!! I'm So happy to announce that this year three of my images was selected The Best of the Best Engagement Photo Contest as winners 👏🏻🤓
These collections of the world's best engagement photos were chosen by the Junebug Weddings team for their quality, beauty, technical excellence, and distinctive personality. They raise the bar for wedding photographers and inspire photo aficionados everywhere, while celebrating the true art of wedding photography. Enjoy each and every one and stay tuned for more in the year's ahead. The stunning work featured above was photographed by Gabe McClintock, MANSANO FOTOGRAFIA, Nordica Photography, and Andreas Feusi.
What recognition can teach us about personal engagement photographs
In 2016, three of my images were selected for Junebug Weddings' Best of the Best Engagement Photo collection. I was excited, of course, but the value of that recognition is not a formula couples need to recreate. The photographs that work best for a competition can be unusual in composition while still needing to feel honest to the people in them.
A strong engagement gallery is more than one winning frame. I like to see how the photographer handles an ordinary expression, movement and the small interactions that happen between the portraits. Those are the photographs that give an artistic image a place in a complete story.
If you are looking through award galleries for ideas, try to explain what draws you to a photograph. Is it the light, the balance of the frame, the emotion or the feeling that nobody was asked to perform? Bring those preferences to a conversation with your photographer, but leave room for the session to develop its own identity. The best result will not be a copy of someone else's award.
The 2016 Best of the Best Engagement Photo Collection
The 2016 Best of the Best Engagement Photo Collection – Honorable Mention Winners
Curating the top 50 best engagement photos in the world is close to impossible, which is why we love curating our honorable mention images almost as much as the collection itself. Getting to recognize a few additional images on top of our set 50 is not only fun but rewarding. Our honorable mention winners this year showcase the creativity, emotion, and technical skill that make up a truly compelling engagement photo, and we cannot wait to show them off! A big thank you to our star judges Phil Chester, Samm Blake, and Hendra Lesmana of Cheese N Click Photography for helping us to curate this year’s collection. Enjoy!
Explore more engagement photography by Mantas Kubilinskas.
How to plan a session like this
Start with the experience rather than a long list of poses. Choose one or two visual priorities, build the route around the best light, and leave enough time to walk, talk, and settle into the session. When several locations are involved, fewer stops usually create a stronger gallery because there is more time to photograph what is actually happening.
What helps photographs feel natural
You do not need to know how to pose. I give simple direction when it improves the composition, then let movement and conversation take over. Comfortable shoes, an outfit you can move in, and a little flexibility with timing make a bigger difference than trying to reproduce photographs from someone else's session.
