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, glamour, boudoir, maternity sessions and much more. View some of the eye-catching portraits and photos that stopped us in our tracks this week and read the backstories on the how they were created. 

Lana Polic took this self-portrait in her at-home studio in Rijeka, Croatia. There, she has many different backdrops and tools that she’s collected over time to help create unique images and continue to improve her photography skills.

“It is often tricky to find people patient enough to pose for hours while trying out different lighting experiments,” Polic admits. “The easiest solution is to photograph myself. The challenge with self-portraiture is that it is hard to pay attention to all the details while being both in front of and behind the camera. However, the knowledge I gained by experimenting with my self-portraits has helped me tremendously in photographing clients. Witnessing my comfort level increase as I implement more advanced photographic techniques has done wonders to motivate me to create even more experiments, further pushing my current skillset boundaries.”  

Two ideas motivated the photographer in creating this self-portrait—”First, the colors that I noticed while watching incredible cinematic movies, and second, a dress that my dear friend lent me as she knows how much I enjoy them,” she says. “My goal was to show both of these inspirations most magically and interestingly possible. Simple lighting was not enough for me to present its magic, so I decided on a slightly different approach. I used a “dragged shutter” technique to get an ethereal look that seems almost like a painting.” Polic also experimented with gels and movement to get more exciting poses and elevate the image into “something a bit more.”

Petronella Lugemwa photographed this image at the Venetian Room in Atlanta, Georgia.

“This was lit with two speed light flashes,” says Lugemwa. “One was held by an associate photographer behind the couple, and me in front with an on-camera flash. When we know we’ll have a sparkler exit, we immediately prep for this setup. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. This time it did!”

Lugemwa says it’s an exciting shot because there are so many elements to consider and you never know exactly what’s going to happen. “It takes a cohesive team effort to nail the shot. The sparklers have a time limit before they burn out, so as a team you have to move quickly, be focused and observant.  I’m lucky to work with an amazing associate who is thoughtful about where and how to point the speed light, and also move quickly.”

As for the kiss, the photographer says she always has a conversation with her couples before their wedding about kissing after their ceremony and what it could look like if and when they decide to kiss as they walk down the aisle.  “They really wanted a photo like this, so I think they might have remembered that advice during their sparkler reception exit.”  

Keith Cephus says that as a creative, he’s always been inspired by exquisite art. 

“The Raleigh Room inside the Historical Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach showcases some of the most remarkable artwork that I have ever seen in a resort,” says Cephus. “I just thought it would make for the perfect backdrop to infuse myself in this array of artistic brilliance.”

Jonathan Banks stepped in to cover Peter and Kate’s wedding for a fellow photographer who had an assignment abroad. “I met the couple at the reception venue—Penhurst Place in Kent, England—and traveled to St. Mary’s Leigh Church a few weeks before the wedding. Both the church and reception were incredible places to be able to capture a wedding at, made even better with great weather on the day.”

Banks says he had spoken with the couple about the sort of pictures they wanted in advance. “Peter and Kate were interested in the beautiful moments that naturally occur at weddings,” he explains. “I tried to shadow them as close as possible without interfering with the proceedings and asked to be in the car with them between St. Mary’s Leigh Church and Penhurst place.”

As Banks sat in the front next to the driver, the newlyweds were in the back and in high spirits, talking about being officially married. “I photographed a few straight on shots but then began working out how I could include the driver as well,” says Banks. “I adjusted the mirror in the front (asking the driver first) and as I was facing forward, Kate and Peter quickly forgot I was there. I knew I would need a little fill-in flash; after adjusting the flash head to point back into the car, they suddenly kissed. The moment feels special because it was spontaneous with Peter and Kate oblivious to me. I believe that great wedding photography is all about capturing those spontaneous interactions.”

Gagan Dhiman took this double exposure in Lake Tahoe at 8 p.m. about 15 minutes after sunset.

“This was done with the Fujifilm GFX 50R and the 63mm f/2.8 lens. The ISO was set at 1000 and I shot this at f/2.8 because of how dark it was,” says Dhiman. “The camera does not save the raw image of the double exposure so the final image is in a JPG file.”

The first shot was taken at 1/1000 of a sec. to create the silhouette, Dhiman explains. “Then I took the second shot on the same image at 1/125 of a sec. But at this point with the lack of light I would really have to push the ISO to get a bright image and I didn’t want to do that because I knew the image would be in JPEG. So I kept the ISO to 1000, with the same aperture of f/.28, but I dragged the camera slightly at 1/125 of a sec. to get that slight blur. Then I used Adobe camera raw to process the image.”

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more compelling imagery.