Over two million weddings took place in 2022, which meant that photographers had their work cut out for them. Joining couples at everything from backyard ceremonies and courthouse nuptials to far-flung destination affairs and glamorous black-tie receptions, these creative professionals were on hand to document every emotional, celebratory moment. With a combination of instinct and artistic talent, photographers created tangible memories newlyweds will cherish for a lifetime.

As this monumental year comes to a close, we’re pleased to present our Best Photographers of 2022. Our editorial team reviewed overall portfolios of professionals who submitted real weddings or were nominated by colleagues and clients. Narrowing our lists down to just 50 professionals out of the thousands who craft and capture stunning weddings was no easy task, which is a credit to all of the amazing work happening in this industry today.

 

Abby Jiu Photography

As a team of female photographers, you’ll find that Abby Jiu Photography is a group of playful and professional creative partners who rise (and dress) to the occasion. They go out of our way to finesse situations so their couples can stay in the moment. Though they photograph independently, their distinctive style is the same and so is our number one goal: To give you their all while they capture it all.

The Photography Style: “After over 10 years, we instinctively know when to step forward and take the lead, or step back and let a moment happen. But, we also know that capturing effortlessly editorial images actually takes a tremendous amount of effort and advance planning on our part.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “Unlike ‘traditional’ wedding photography, there is nothing formulaic or paint-by-numbers about our approach or the photographs. Instead, we each unique couple as our muse, and we let their unique story guide our every decision.”

 

Adonye Jaja Photography

Adonye Jaja is a Nigerian-born American who lives near the mountains of Colorado. He started photographing weddings in 2009. “This life has so much to offer and weddings are unique nexus where we are able to experience so much of life in one day,” shares Jaja. “The wonder of life is often expressed at weddings, and it’s become my pursuit to keep my eyes open to see it and share it with a picture.”

The Photography Style: “Style has always been a hard question for me. I learned to be a photographer while assisting another photographer at weddings. I learned very quickly that a good wedding photographer has to be able to transition through every style of shooting at the drop of a dime. So I describe my style as ‘your style,’ meaning each of my wedding assignments look different based on conversations with my couples. It’s still through my eyes, but it’s what keeps it fresh for me. Every wedding is a separate photo assignment. We don’t know exactly what we are going to create going in. There’s only trust, wonder, love, and an openness for the creative process to unfold. Technique wise, I use both film and digital cameras. They both have their strengths, so I use one or the other when the situation calls for it.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “It’s a world that allows me to speak in a language that is still and life-giving. It’s a space where I am more me than I’ve ever been. I working weddings because I must.”

 

Allan Zepeda Photography

Allan Zepeda has spent over 17 years shooting private weddings and events worldwide. Zepeda believes that it’s an honor witnessing and documenting the joining of two families and the emotions and traditions that occur during the momentous occasion. He specializes in capturing genuine emotions and joyful moments—the photos that clients don’t know to request and the ones that other photographers overlook. He documents events with an editorial eye without disrupting the couple or taking them away from the experience of their wedding weekend.

The Photography Style: “My style has been described as timeless, natural, and romantic with understated elegance. I’m always using a combination of film and digital and feel challenged to try new equipment and techniques to get the shot, while always keeping my cohesive look and feel.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “They are full of emotion, beauty, and art!”

 

Amy Anaiz Photography

Amy Anaiz is an Afro-Latina who is proud to lead a diverse, all-female team. She is an intimate wedding photographer based in New York City. Having started her career in the advertising and public relations space as a talent agent, she approaches weddings from an editorial point of view.

The Photography Style: “I’m an expert in photographing weddings that are comprised of a variety of skin tones simultaneously. I am focused on connecting with my subjects, and capturing the emotion and personality of everyone I work with while using beautiful, flattering light, paying close attention to detail, and ensuring the images are clean.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “It’s a moment that will forever hold significance to the couple as well as their family. It’s a milestone that brings two families together to merge as one.”

 

Amy and Stuart Photography

Amy and Stuart Bunton are a married couple who have been shooting together since they met on the first day of class at a prestigious photography school in Southern California. While at school, they began shooting weddings on the weekends as a way to be creative and make images that really matter. After college, Amy went on a quest to become a commercial and fashion photographer, and Stuart worked his way up the ranks in the world of commercial cinematography while they simultaneously continued shooting weddings on the side. After finding success in their respective avenues of interest, Amy and Stuart made a conscious choice to prioritize weddings and events because that is where their heart is.

The Photography Style: “A hybrid of film and digital, hoping to make classic images that will stand the test of time that represent our clients naturally and honestly.”

We Work in Weddings Because: “We love making images that really matter in a dynamic and creative work environment.”

 

Anée Atelier

Anée Atelier is a New York City- and Los Angeles-based photography duo, led by best friends Gina Esposito and Sheena Meekins. Gina is an award-winning photographer with over 20 years experience and 1,200 events captured across the globe. Likewise, Sheena is a seasoned creative who co-founded Anée Atelier following an esteemed career in fashion publishing; bringing a refined, editorial eye to a team widely known for their warm, evocative images, as well as their rhyming names.

Together, the duo’s creative signature is a sense of artistry, chemistry, culture, and style that’s as diverse as the couples they capture. Their aim: effortless collaboration, personalized experience, and images worthy of real estate as the latest piece of art within our clients’ homes.

The Photography Style: “As hybrid photographers, we utilize both medium format film and digital cameras to create images that have a sense of place, romance, composition, and a balance of light and gravity. We lead with an elevated, yet adventurous eye and look to capture a wedding weekend in a cohesive story that weaves between natural, photojournalistic moments and chic, cover-worthy portraits.

I Work in Weddings Because: “We see each wedding as a unique opportunity to create art out of an incredibly intimate and authentic experience—it’s not just about capturing the major milestone, but also the subtle moments and sub-stories that give texture to those memories.”

 

Charla Storey Photography

Charla Storey Photography is a Dallas-based studio specializing in elevated wedding and fashion photography worldwide. Embracing color and depth, she create images that are as artful as they are engaging. Guiding her clients, providing direction and the confidence to feel comfortable in front of the camera, Storey and her team capture their subjects as they naturally are and not overly posed mannequins. Storey has turned this skill into an art by utilizing a relaxed and intuitive style to produce photographs that will still look “damn good” 50 years down the road.

The Photography Style: “Effortlessly editorial. I love combining film and digital to capture images that are fine art with all the feels. It’s not as much about the camera as it is anticipating the moments that matter.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “I love documenting one of the most important days of someone’s life, and seeing so many people celebrating with such joy and love. It’s truly an honor to tell a beautiful story through my lens. Short answer? The joy of it all.”

 

Chi-Chi Ari

Chi-Chi Onungwa is a Brooklyn-based photographer and founder of Chi-Chi Ari. She moved to New York over a decade ago to pursue a career in fashion. After years working as a womenswear fashion designer, she decided to pursue a full-time career in photography. Having worked in the wedding industry since 2015, Onungwa has developed a style that she describes as natural, honest, and unassuming. She documents the unique mood of each wedding in a heartfelt and poetic manner to create images that are timeless and impactful.

The Photography Style: “My photography style is editorial, natural, and personalized. I shoot mostly digital with a bit of film. My approach is collaborative. I work closely with each couple to ensure their images are an authentic representation of themselves.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “It is an absolute honor to document a moment in history that will be passed down to multiple generations. Wedding photography is a personal and historical piece of art that ties people together like no other medium.”

 

Clark Brewer

Documenting marriage is like telling a good story; with any good story, the elements that tell it must be believable. Clark Brewer approaches weddings, not as photoshoots, but as a guest with a camera, capturing timeless and authentic moments that his client’s kids and grandkids will treasure one day. He strives to create imagery that transcends the literal, taps into a fleeting memory and reveals so much more than what can be seen. Brewer works with people who trust his creative process, allow him to document moments as they occur, and welcome him to join the party.

The Photography Style: “I fell in love with documenting weddings using medium format and 35mm film. I enjoy how much more present and creative I can be with my subject when I shoot film. I have to wait to see the photos I create until a few weeks after receiving them from my lab in L.A., so I have to trust my preparation and experience to get the shot. What is captured in these analog images is content that I could never have possibly created in Photoshop.”

“The photos I capture on film have so much character, beauty, and life to them that sometimes it isn’t fair to take full credit as their creator. They have an entire life of their own. Because of this, I will always lead with film, but I also use digital. Each has its place; they are tools I use to tell the story. More important than the medium I choose is my ability to set my clients at ease—never posing but allowing them to be themselves in front of my lens fully. My favorite captures are those found in the in-between—the moments that can’t be planned or orchestrated and the ones that encapsulate the essence of a moment in time. They are often unposed and slightly imperfect, giving them a quality that feels authentic and genuinely human.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “Each weekend I work, I am invited to document two people who are fully known by each other, and yet they choose to fully love each other regardless of their faults. This kind of love is all the reason to celebrate, and I consider myself fortunate to be the one that is trusted to tell their story.”

 

Corbin Gurkin

Corbin Gurkin is an artist photographing life’s sweetest celebrations, adding her own vision and inspiration to the imagery. She takes a loosely styled approach, bringing a subject into the best light or setting. Comfort and authenticity when capturing a couple’s legacy is essential to her process. The final set of photographs is a blending of spontaneous moments with lifestyle editorial compositions.

The Photography Style: “Deeply romantic, Old World imagery that’s timeless in sensibility and style. Rich textures, natural light reminiscent of an Italian Renaissance painting, and bold botanical fashions all inform my signature aesthetic. I am a primarily digital photographer with a film sensibility—but more important than the tool being used or the setting I find myself in is the light that I’m always drawn to. It comes up in beautiful and unexpected ways in each wedding I photograph. I feel I’m always searching for that.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “After over 20 years, I still get a feeling in my chest when I’m capturing their beauty. I love everything about them. They are a perfect blend of fashion, reportage, and, most thrillingly, a day that feels like the start of something for a couple. I love being there for that moment.”

 

David Bastianoni Studio

David Bastianoni was born in Florence, training in the linear perspective of the Renaissance and the endless search for the aesthetics of beauty, distinguishing a style based on the elegance of
form and light. He is able to transform situations into breathtaking images, with the ability to make each person feel charming and comfortable in front of the camera. Traveling among the most exclusive stories in the world, through style and editorial care, his studio grows with the desire to share these experiences. The team is a cohesive group of expert photographers, who have been working together for many years, with extreme passions and the same objectives.

The Photography Style: “I love the line, the perspective. Also, I love the elegance of the details, the finesse of the bride, the class, and the good taste. I love to capture the most exceptional moments and subjects in their most honest side. Our photography wants to offer perspectives always elegant and authentic, in an editorial and timeless way. Portraits and group images are my favorite cause we believe that these images will be framed and stay in their house forever celebrating their story. I shoot in digital and am a Sony ambassador.”

I Work in Weddings Because: “I discovered what photography truly is to me by shooting weddings. They are unique stories full of beauty, which make me feel like a privileged observer to experience the evolution of fashion and costume, surrounded by true and increasingly authentic emotions. I spent years telling the best day in the life of others, and this has filled my life with beautiful memories.