Throughout the month of November, our Photo of the Day series will be taken over by each of Rangefinder‘s newly minted 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography in 2019. The 30 honorees are featured in our November issue, and each of their full, 30-photo submissions, reviewed by the competition judges, can be found in our online gallery. For more behind-the-scenes insights, follow us on Instagram.

Rosa Garrido loves telling stories with her camera and modeling images with light. “Although technique does come into play,” she says, “my closeness to my couples, along with being kind and always having a smile, makes them relax enough to show their true selves, natural and excited.”

Garrido, who’s based in Huelva, Spain, adds that a wedding is the type of event where the photographer has to always think about immediate solutions, and make decisions on framing, lighting, posing (or not posing) and location in mere seconds. “The most difficult part of being a wedding photographer,” she sums up, “is being able to combine art, sensitivity and agility.”

Below are her behind-the-scenes insights (in English and Spanish) on three of the photos from her submission this year.

This beautiful bride fascinated me from the first moment. Her wedding took place at the Palacio de la Riega in Asturias, and it was so beautiful that it seemed like it was taken from a story. The seduction of her gave us moments to photograph as sweet as this while she was dressing. The place had ideal light and formed a special atmosphere for this moment. I love creating natural light and movement for my portraits, helping to frame and give importance to the subject. These moments before the wedding are those that carry more emotional burden and where I try to show the calm and relaxed bride, as she is, and give us her most human side.

Esta hermosa novia, me fascinó desde el primer instante. Su boda tuvo lugar en el Palacio de la Riega en Asturias, y fue tan bonita que parecía sacada de un cuento. La seducción de ella nos regaló momentos para fotografiar tan dulces como este mientras se estaba vistiendo. El lugar tenía una luz ideal y formaba un escenario especial para este instante. Me encanta crear ambientes de luz natural y movimiento para mis retratos, ayudando de esta manera a encuadrar y dar importancia a la  protagonista. Estos momentos previos a la boda son los que conllevan más carga emocional y donde yo procuro que se muestre la novia tranquila y relajada, tal como ella es, y nos regale su lado más humano para así lograr estos resultados.

At this wedding, the light and the exotic atmosphere, loaded with thousands of aromas and colors, created an intriguing and subtly emotional effect while the bride walked towards the altar. It is a challenge to work with all that amount of residual lights of different colors and create something beautiful. Therefore, knowing your equipment and being quick to adjust your camera to those lights without losing a second is essential. Seeing this picture, the bride said: “This picture is beautiful because I can remember and even feel that moment and how our hands were shaking as we approached the altar. Too real and authentic.”

En esta boda, la luz y el exótico ambiente, cargado de miles de aromas y colores crearon un efecto de intriga y sutilmente emotivo mientras la novia caminaba hacia el altar. Todo un reto trabajar con toda esa cantidad de luces residuales de diferentes colores y conseguir al unirlas crear algo bonito. Por ello conocer tu equipo y tener rapidez para ajustar tu cámara a esas luces sin perder ni un segundo, es fundamental. Al ver esta fotografía la novia dijo: “Este cuadro es precioso porque puedo recordar e incluso sentir ese momento y como nuestras manos temblaban al acercarnos al altar. Demasiado real y auténtico.”

On a hot summer afternoon in Andalusia, Naima and Diana said “I do.” Crouched under the altar almost without wanting to disturb them, I set out to take this picture. They barely noticed my presence because they were so absorbed and relaxed that I could perceive that they felt alone, despite the many guests who witnessed their wedding. The biggest challenge I encountered was the light, which at 5 p.m., in Seville, is very hard and offers a lot of contrast—quite difficult to balance. My way of working in this situation is to rely on my 35mm Nikon lens for with that sweet spot, creating a framework where they are isolated from everything.

En una calurosa tarde de verano en Andalucía se dieron el “si quiero” Naima y Diana. Agachada bajo el altar casi sin querer molestarlas me dispuse a hacer esta fotografía. Ellas apenas se dieron cuenta de mi presencia pues estaban tan ensimismadas y relajadas que pude percibir que se sentían a solas, a pesar de los muchos invitados que presenciaban su boda. El mayor reto con que me encontré fue la luz, que a las cinco de la tarde, en Sevilla, es muy dura y ofrece mucho contraste—bastante difícil de equilibrar; mi forma de trabajar en esta situación consiste en apoyarme en mi objetivo 35mm de Nikon con ese punto tan dulce, consiguiendo crear un marco donde ellas estén aisladas de todo.