Elle Wildhagen and Zachary Domes (Kindred)

“We want the long story, not the short one,” say Elle Wildhagen and Zachary Domes, a Los Angeles-based duo known as Kindred. They work to get close to the couples they photograph, both “emotionally and with the camera,” so they can draw inspiration from “the personal details of a couple’s love.”

The duo uses wide-angle lenses to get “inside the happening.” They also take visual cues from 35mm film, the format with which they learned photography. Even though they primarily use digital cameras, they add grain to their images and look to emulate “the texture, contrast and rich color that 35mm film offers.” They use composition, lighting and editing “to support the moment and evoke something real,” they explain, and “aim to celebrate honest emotion with attention to the small and often unseen tender exchanges that tell the story of the wedding day.”

Check out the official announcement of this year’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography, along with the editors’ observations on the list of 2020.