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 of the week that caught our attention, and read the backstories on the how they were created.

Cindy Brown of C Brown Photo in Atlanta, Georgia, says couple Nikki and Christian, already officially wed, planned a small ceremony and celebration for a date in late October, 2020 at Lillian Gardens in Newnan, Georgia. The guests would be wearing masks and the chairs would be set 6 feet apart. 

“A week before the wedding, Christian tested positive for Covid so the couple regrouped, chose a new date at the same location and contacted those on their small guest list to let them know that the celebration would take place in mid-April, 2021,” says Brown. “Then, a little more than three weeks before the new wedding date, an EF-4 tornado hit the wedding venue where they were to wed so once again, the couple had to regroup.”

The Kehoe House and the 1790 Inn and Restaurant, in Savannah, Georgia, proved to be the perfect combination for a small garden wedding followed by a reception of fine dining. Brown says that having successfully met the challenges thrown at them by the pandemic and a huge storm, Nikki and Christian let loose and had fun when the big day finally arrived.

“During the cake cutting ceremony, Christian ‘accidentally’ smushed a bit of cake on Nikki’s face,” Brown recalls. “I had positioned myself to focus on the reaction of the guests to whatever happened. I clicked the shutter the moment right after Christian put the cake on his bride’s face. Mothers of both the bride and the groom were caught with their mouths wide open laughing and astonished at what had just taken place. Christian seemed a bit surprised at himself, as well. And just enough of the bride’s expression is visible to see that she’s amazed and amused by the turn of events.” 

Scott Stockton took this photo in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the Central Avenue Bridge. “This bridge, in my opinion, has the best skyline view of the city and it’s special to my couple, as this is where Dan proposed to Shannon,” he says. “To get the golden ring effect you see here, I used a technique that a lot of photographers refer to as the ‘ring of fire.’ This involves holding a copper pipe up to your lens, and shooting through it. It gives a really cool effect to your photo and can frame your subject.”

Stockton says using the copper pipe is a super cheap way to add more interest to a photo. “You can find a 2-inch-long copper pipe to use at any hardware store for under $5. When you’re trying this out for the first time, experiment with moving the copper pipe closer and further away from your lens to get different effects. For best results, use a 50mm or 85mm lens, and try and do this at golden hour for the best colors.” 

The photographer loves this image because, he says, it has a lot of fun layers to it. “You get the Charlotte skyline in the background with a cool golden ring framing my couple and showing all the golden hour vibes. I also love it for the extra meaning it had for my couple, since it was shot in the exact spot where they got engaged.”

Jasmin Jade says that what she loves about this image, photographed on the Maryland shore, is “how all the colors came together perfectly—the whole session was a dream.”

After applying her Havana preset (available in her Embrace Presets Collection), she changed the white balance to Auto WB, increased the exposure and shadows, and made changes in magenta, purple saturation and luminance for the skin tone. She decreased the vibrance, then used the radial filter tool to add warmth to the sunset and increased the sun flare. 

Bragi Thor, of Iceland Wedding Photo, photographed this couple by the volcano at Geldingadalur in Iceland, which he says has been active since late March.  

“The couple had planned for a wedding in Iceland in 2020 with friends and family present. That all changed, however, due to Covid and the wedding was put on halt. But their plan to wed in Iceland did not change and so when the pandemic restrictions eased, they flew to the country despite the fact that friends and family could not join. The wedding had been delayed long enough.”

When their wedding planner at Lux Wedding, brought up the idea to have the wedding by the active volcano and fly there by helicopter, Bragi says the couple jumped at the idea. “We landed on a hilltop overlooking the volcano but the conditions were extremely difficult, with very strong wind and low temperatures, and at one point during the ceremony a cloud of hail descended upon us. But the couple managed to brave the weather and we were on a hilltop far enough away from the flowing lava. They went back home with an experience of a lifetime and some unique images to tell their story.”

“Chellie and Blake are truly one of the most incredible, in love couples I’ve ever worked with,” says Kathleen of Kathleen Elizabeth Photography. “Their happiness was so contagious and their love for one another so clear to anyone who came across them.”

The couple came to the photographer just two weeks before their elopement date but everything went off without a hitch. “We adventured around the Olympic Peninsula, exploring the coast and the Hoh Rainforest,” says Kathleen. “About a month or so later, we met up again and they exchanged longer versions of their vows since they felt that they had not gotten to write everything they wanted to say the first time around and they wanted photos documenting this celebration as well. So, we did an adventure session at a beautiful lake right at sunrise.”

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