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 so on. View the eye-catching portraits and photos we’ve zeroed in on this week and read the backstories on the how they were created.

Scott Stockton, a self-described “sucker for reflections” took this photo in St. Augustine, Florida, after the couple flew him in for an engagement shoot at Disney World. The day before that shoot, he brought them to St. Augustine Beach to get them feeling relaxed and comfortable.

“As soon as we got to the beach I noticed some sitting water that was creating beautiful reflections,” Stockton explains. “Immediately I knew I wanted to snag a shot with them and their reflections in the water. I posed them so that the wind would blow her hair and dress backwards to keep the frame clean. I also under exposed a pinch so that more detail from the sky and the reflection would show.  In doing so, my couple were shaded a good bit so I added flash, camera left, to light them and make it all come together.”

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Photographed with the Sony A7R III and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Dg DN Art lens, the image made the couple feel, says Stockton, like they were “walking in the clouds.” To light them, he used a Godox AD200 flash, and the MagMod Sphere to soften the light.

Abby Liga photographed this image for The London House at the Orlando International Airport on a private tarmac. The setting included The London House owner’s private 737 jet, Rolls Royce and helicopter in the background.

“The concept was an effortless balance between British ‘royalty-like living’ in real day-to-day life situations,” Liga explains. “This scene in particular conveys the feeling of these two families arriving at their destination and getting off the plane with their kids, dogs and luggage in tow while looking blissfully unfazed by the chaos. They wanted a classic and timeless look with an almost Mad Men vibe.”

[Read: 6 Ways to Make Outdoor Family Portraits Shine]

Liga says what she loves most about the shot were the challenges that came with it—”directing this many people, kids and animals and then getting this killer shot as the end result. I thank my Hold Fast camera strap and my trusty assistant for helping me get back up from shooting on the pavement,” she laughs. “We had to run extra long extension cords from the plane to power my strobes as this image was captured in full 2 p.m. sun with little to no clouds, and it was a very hot day. Not to mention, I was about 7.5 months pregnant at the time!”

Jack Sorokin loves this image, taken in Leicester, North Carolina, at family-owned Gaining Ground Farm because, he says, “it evokes a sense of sincerity on the farm through this little boy and his potato.”

Hired by the farm’s husband-and-wife owners to produce images for their marketing purposes, Sorokin suggested photographing the assignment in a documentary style, so he and his assistant spent their time shooting the day’s work as it unfolded on the farm. “I wanted the photographs to convey the deep, emotional, hands-on relationship between this family, their farm, and the food they produce,” the photographer explains. “I love that the boy’s cockeyed stance, his dirty shirt, his awkward expression and the enormous sweet potato in his hand all make him appear totally unaware of himself.”

Vanessa Hankins of Vanessa and Johnny says that “an almost kiss can be better than the actual kiss.” That’s why, in this engagement session, she positioned couple Julian and Karina—who had recently taken a 3-month road trip in their car and wanted it in the shoot—in front of the car’s headlights to outline them in light. Then she asked them to inch slowly towards each other until they almost kissed to, she says, create tension that the viewer can feel.

“Towards the end of their session, we found a quiet nook in the park that was lit by the full moon and the car headlights,” Hankins explains. “I had them sit on a blanket while he serenaded her with his guitar. We added a bit of haze to add to the mood and it turned out exactly how I envisioned it.”

Erum Rizvi, based in Washington, D.C., knows just how breathtaking the vistas from the terraces of the Lincoln Memorial facing out east can be. In this image, she captured two of the most well-known symbols in that view—the George Washington Monument and the United States Capitol Building.

This frame was composed, Rizvi adds, with the end result in mind. “I wanted a timeless, framed work of art for the couple to display in their home. As such, I decided to play with geometry and depth to create a frame within a frame of sorts. Being a D.C. Photographer, I generally get bored of shooting in the same locations over and over again. I always try to challenge myself to create something unique for my clients so it is different. I worked this image for about 10 to 15minutes to get the framing just right and picked out the best lens choice—in this case, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8—to create.”

Because the couple’s wedding was due to happen during the pandemic and they were expecting a smaller production and significantly fewer guests, Rizvi turned her energy towards creating a more meaningful, intimate, and rich experience for the couple themselves. “This shot was the result not only of my vision, but more so the spirit of the couple, who were willing to put up with a day of posing and moving from one location to another around D.C.”

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