Have you seen our most recent Photos of the Day on social media? Each day on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, we feature a wedding photo or portrait that strikes us as one of the most interesting images in wedding and portrait photography, and we ask the creatives behind the photos to detail the image’s backstory and their technical approach. Here’s what caught our attention this week.

Busting Out of Isolation

Protests were percolating just a block away in downtown Lafayette, New Orleans, when LeeAnn B Stephan photographed portraits of Michael, a dancer. “His style of dance is emotional and the music he chooses to move to is powerful,” Stephan says. “I felt the intense need to connect to something creatively and Michael needed to dance, seeing as how we had been in quarantine and unable to create for a while.”

Of the images that day, “this one felt the most raw—a very real moment where his body seemed really suspended in light and time. It was incredibly moving to watch him that day.”

An Unexpected Composite

Benjamin Edwards tries not to take the easy route when he’s conceptualizing photographs. It challenges him not to replicate what other photographers have created before him.

“With this image, it would have been easy to place the bride and groom at the opening of the cave, utilizing the soft light of shade,” he says. “I asked, what if I put myself in the cave and used the opening to frame the couple?”

Edwards photographed through a 3-foot Photoflex Octodome with two Nikon speed lights. “I took two images: one with my assistant in the frame lighting the couple, one without, and I combined them in Photoshop,” he says.

The Hazy Halo Effect

The bride was the last person to file out of the church following formal photos. She had wanted to have incense burning during her wedding ceremony, so as she walked out, photographer Marlies Hartmann noticed a natural aura surround her as the light from above shined down.

“I asked the bride if we could photograph a quick portrait,” she says. “I had my assistant close the doors and crouch down about two feet in front of her, holding a speed light with a MagSphere. We noticed immediately that the residual smoke from the incense lit up to create a halo of angelic light as seen around her.”

When the Light’s Just Right

Following the couple’s wedding ceremony and first dances, Shelby Stewart looked around the room after the party scattered to different areas. She spotted a figure sitting alone in the back of the room: the bride’s grandfather.

“He was the only one sitting on that side of the room, and the light was hitting him so perfectly,” she recalls. “I just snapped the photo. And it was perfect.”

How to Shoot Portraits Using Reflection in Water

Pedro Olvera was exploring Isla Holbox in Mexico and noticed that on the beach, right where the water began touching the sand, he could make out a clear reflection. To make the most of it, he says, “I waited until the end of the session, to have the sunset and incredible clouds, to invite the bride and groom to walk a little by the sea, looking for a natural walk and the reflection in the water all the while. This couple trusted me a lot on that day.”

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