Photo of the Day


Eye-Catching Portraits and Photos of the Week

February 26, 2021

By Jacqueline Tobin

Portrait photography can run the gamut in type and style—everything from the traditional “head and shoulders” shot to lifestyle and environmental, candid and street, glamourboudoirmaternity sessions and so on. View some of the weekly portraits and photos that caught our attention and read the backstories on the how they were created.

London-based Ash Davenport of MIKI Studios says he often talks about the importance of pre-wedding shoots and how it’s impacted and helped his work evolve over time.

“One of the biggest lessons I learned in my first year of capturing weddings was the value of the pre-wedding shoot,” he explains. “Looking back now, I noticed a clear difference in images where I had done a pre-wedding shoot and where I hadn’t done one. The ones with pre-wedding shoots were so much more intimate and had much more feeling and emotion. The couples were far more comfortable and relaxed around me and my camera.”

© MIKI Studios

Davenport says he loves this image because “the viewer feels part of the image without feeling like they are invading the couple’s space—that comes from getting close!”

Birmingham wedding photographer Chris Denner of Artisan X Photography had the idea to do a dark, moody alternative wedding shoot on the grounds of the Pumping House wedding venue in Nottinghamshire County in England. He says it was raining pretty hard and was extremely cold but he persevered and in the end, got the shot he was after.

“Working within COVID restrictions, I had just one model, and the dress was custom-made; the headdress was shipped over from Ireland,” he says. “I love creating portraits with depth and mood, and my fashion photography background does often get incorporated into my work.”

[Read: How to Make Good Portraits in Lousy Settings]

© Artisan X Photography

The mood and feel of this image is exactly the look Denner says he was going for. “We were definitely up against the elements but it came together so well. Especially with the smoke grenades in the rain.”

Tom Jenz says this quiet and thoughtful portrait was taken at the public Hubbard Park in Milwaukee. 

A portrait of older man in park as part of weekly portraits and photos selection.
© Tom Jenz

“As I was walking the path, I noticed this older gentleman alone. I think it so perfectly captures the isolation that we all feel during this ongoing COVID pandemic, especially older people,” says Jenz. “I also like how peaceful he looks and the voyeuristic feel of the shot.”

Andrea Verenini photographed this stirring black and white during a two-day elopement shoot in a little-known valley of the Dolomites called Val Nambrone in the Trentino Region of Italy (where he is originally from).

Black and white of couple in front of waterfall in the Dolomites.
© Andrea Verenini

“We shot very close to the water and they were perched up on a rock so I could get the most of the breeze from the waterfall behind them,” says Verenini. “It also allowed us to get some motion to the dress and the bride’s hair. What I love about this shot is how you have the elements of nature behind (the white flowing water and the black solid rocks) being mirrored in the couple in front. She appears ephemeral, free, with her dress and hair flowing in the wind, just like water rushing down on the rocks. He, in contrast, appears grounded, solid, strong, calm, protective, just like the black rocks which host the waterfall. The two are contrasts which blend together in a fully symbiotic relationship.”

Verenini decided to make the final image in black and white because, he explains, the natural lighting together with the background created an incredible tonal range of shades and highlights ranging from pure blacks to pure whites. “Also, the picture in itself was already quite monotone, but by taking away the colors fully and focusing on shades and highlights, it brings it all together, allowing you to focus on details of the shot more, like the way her golden hair is flying over her face.”

Photographer Francesca Floris says she was struck by couple Bryan and Jacopo’s long white tunics that they wore for their engagement service in Cagliari, Italy. She also liked their choices of white for purity and green for nature as their wedding colors. They chose as their backdrop the largest monument in the city, “Il Bastione San Remy,” made entirely of white marble. 

Eye-catching portraits of week include this engaged couple in Cagliari, Italy.
© Francesca Floris

“I am draw in by the light and their outfits in this image,” says Floris. “I also adore the connection between them and the feeling of calm and peace coming through.”