Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars of 2016 Are Here!

We’ve been waiting for this day for months and are ecstatic to finally be able to share the names of this year’s unbelievable talent that make up our 30 Rising Stars of 2016! We’re sure the 30 talented photographers listed below are relieved, too, as they’re finally able to unleash their designation upon the social media stratosphere after eight very long weeks. For our part, of all the competition judging we do every year, picking just 30 honorees from 200 unbelievable submissions is always the most difficult, but it’s always an honor to get to see all of the beautiful work that pours in from all around the globe, and the challenge is well worth it.

As we celebrate this year’s honorees and hallmark our fifth year of the competition, we’d also like to briefly highlight some key observations made during the judging process: photojournalistic and documentary-style weddings are back in fashion with photographers and clients; detail shots are becoming more artistic and innovative (meaning fewer dresses hanging from tree limbs and curtain rods, thank goodness); couples set against grand sweeping landscapes are still a thing, but more spontaneous moments (veil mishaps and hair in faces) and big expressions are getting traded for dark, moody scenes; and we’ve unofficially dubbed this the year of the child—ring bearers, flower girls, dancing kids, etc­. They were everywhere and we loved seeing them in all their dressed-up glory.

Photo © Rosey Red Photography

Now without further ado, an enormous congratulations to…

Adonye Jaja
Age: 34 | Resides: Denver, CO | Years in business: 4
@adonyejaja

Don + Helen
Ages: 31 (Don), 28 (Helen) | Reside: Canary Islands, Spain | Years in business: 2
@donmashelen

Eclection Photography (Heather Shuker)
Age: 45 | Resides: London, England | Years in business: 3
@eclectionphoto

Francesco Spighi
Age: 39 | Resides: Florence, Italy | Years in business: 1
@this_is_fra

Gian Carlo
Age: 44 | Resides: Orlando, FL | Years in business: 4
@giancarlo_weddingphotographer

Hartman Outdoor Photography
Ages: 32 (Josh), 30 (Shelley) | Reside: In a traveling RV | Years in business: 3
@hartmanoutdoorphotography

Heather Liddell
Age: 29 | Resides: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand | Years in business: 2
@heather_liddell

The Hendrys
Ages: 32 (Darren), 29 (Sarah) | Reside: Forfar, Scotland | Years in business: 5
@the_hendrys

Igor Demba
Age: 29 | Resides: Peterborough, England | Years in business: 4
@igordemba

Jacob Loafman
Age: 32 | Resides: St. Louis, MO | Years in business: 1
@jacob_loafman

Jean-Laurent Gaudy
Age: 37 | Resides: New York, NY | Years in business: 4
@jeanlaurentgaudy

Jess Hunter
Age: 25 | Resides: Yakima, Washington | Years in business: 2
@iamjesshunter

Joel & Justyna
Ages: 39 (Joel), 33 (Justyna) | Reside: Ottawa, Canada | Years in business: 2
@joelandjustyna

Lato Photography
Ages: 32 (Tommy), 29 (Laura) | Reside: Modena, Italy | Years in business: 3
@latophotography

Laura Babb
Age: 36 | Resides: Bath, England | Years in business: 4
@bisforbabb

Lauren Scotti
Age: 28 | Resides: Orange County, CA | Years in business: 4
@laurenscotti

LOVE + WOLVES CO (Jacob Murphy)
Age: 31 | Resides: Brooklyn, NY/San Francisco, CA | Years in business: 5
@loveandwolvesco

Lucy Spartalis
Age: 32 | Resides: Melbourne, Australia | Years in business: 4
@lucyspartalis

Lukas Piatek
Age: 30 | Resides: Bottrop, Germany | Years in business: 4
@lukaspiatekphotography

Marko Marinkovic
Age: 31 | Resides: Dubrovnik, Croatia | Years in business: 4
@mweddings

Nick Tucker
Age: 45 | Resides: London, England | Years in business: 5
@nicktuckerphoto

Nicole Mason
Age: 23 | Resides: Portland, OR | Years in business: 3
@neekmason

Pablo Beglez
Age: 41 | Resides: Gran Canaria, Spain | Years in business: 4
@pablobeglez

Paulo Santos
Age: 40 | Resides: Northumberland, England | Years in business: 3
@_paul___

People TrueLove Tellers
Ages: 34 (Daniel), 32 (Gloria) | Reside: Miranda de Ebro, Spain | Years in business: 5
@peopleproduccio

Rafal Bojar
Age: 32 | Resides: Warsaw, Poland | Years in business: 2
@rafalbojarphotography

Rosey Red Photography (Ashley and Ben Kochanowski)
Ages: 29 | Reside: Columbus, OH | Years in business: 2
@roseyredphotography

Sullivan & Sullivan Photography
Ages: 32 (Laura), 30 (Tim) | Reside: Seattle, WA/Chicago, IL | Years in business: 2
@sullivanandsullivanphoto

Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen
Ages: 30 (Nadine), 29 (Tim) | Reside: Wellington, New Zealand | Years in business: 3.5
@timkellynadineellen

With Love & Embers (Ryan and Jillian McGrath)
Ages: 30 | Reside: Annville, PA | Years in business: 4
@withloveandembers

Follow Rf on Instagram @rfwppi to see more photos from the honorees—we’re dedicating a day in December to each Rising Star, during which they’ll share the stories behind their shots and tips to boot.

We also want to give an extra big THANK YOU to our sponsors, Richard Photo Lab and ShootProof. Check out the stunning ShootProof online gallery of all of the 30 Rising Stars’ submissions here. Thank you also to everyone who took the time to submit work (and congratulations again on getting nominated!), and a big shout-out to our awesome nominees! Check out who nominated photographers this year in our December issue.

Welcome to the Rf 30 family, 2016-ers!