Framing is a photographer’s way of seeing the world. Composition is key to telling the story of the couple’s wedding day in an impactful way. This week, we asked five of our 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography for advice on composition in wedding photography. Find inspiration in this week’s Photos of the Week from Natallia Nikolaichik, Timi Oshin, Yana Petrova, Sam Rose and Chris Grandy, and Anna Sauza.

View the full 30 Rising Star Winners Gallery for 2024.

Natallia Nikolaichik, Nikolaichik Photo

This sunset during a Dolomites elopement left both the photographer and the couple speechless. Inspired by the magical light, Natallia Nikolaichik of Nikolaichik Photo set up her DJI Air 3 to capture the scene. Centering the couple on the misty valley helps them stand out from the dark landscape.

“I would say to don’t think too much if the composition is perfect, or you can miss the moment! (Or sunrise magic light),” Nikolaichik advises budding photographers.

Timi Oshin, Timi Oshin Studios

When the bride shared her mother’s wedding photo taken with a vintage car, Timi Oshin of Timi Oshin Studios was inspired to give the couple a similar memory. The bride’s father helped arrange for the car, while Oshin asked for the car to be parked against this matching backdrop. Adding to the challenge in wedding photography composition, the day was running behind schedule and the photographer only had less than five minutes to get the shot. He captured the image with the Canon R6 and Canon 35mm f1.8 STM.

“I believe the best advice I would give to a novice photographer on compositions, is to look out for recurring patterns, textures and colors in everyday life as a visual exercise,” Oshin says. “Over time, one’s judgement on hierarchy and placement of subjects will have greatly improved. Every bad image can be better if only composed properly.”

Yana Petrova, John & Joseph Photography

In this image by Yana Petrova of John & Joseph Photography, the simple sky and patterned half wall draws the eye to the couple and a quiet, intimate moment between them. In this wedding photography composition, Petrova was inspired by the setting, wanting to capture both the bride’s dress and an intimate moment between the couple. She captured the shot with the Sony a1 and a 17-28mm lens.

“My advice would be: Always be aware of your surroundings and how they can frame your subject,” she says. “Don’t be afraid to experiment with different perspectives and angles to capture unique, memorable shots.”

Sam Rose and Chris Grandy, Isle + Oak Photography

This couple flew five hours for a West Coast engagement shoot with Sam Rose and Chris Grandy of Isle + Oak Photography on Vancouver Island. The photography duo took the couple to one of their favorite hidden locations to watch the sunset for the session. The shot was captured with the Canon R5 and a 50mm lens.

“Composition is literally everything in a photograph,” Rose and Grandy say. “When photographing in front of a big landscape (ocean views, etc.), our number one piece of advice is to be extremely aware of where the horizon line is in the image, ensuring that it never interrupts your subjects in a jarring way (i.e. don’t place your horizon line through your couples’ heads, but instead position your couple so that the horizon line is either below, above or at their waist). If the horizon crossed our couples’ faces, the image would have been less impactful. We also love to incorporate foreground blur as a way of leading the eye to the subject in a photograph. To create this image, we crouched down in some tall grass and adjusted our F-stop for more impact. The blurriness of the grass leads your eye to our beautiful couple, which we just love.” 

Anna Sauza, Anna Sauza Photography

Photographer Anna Sauza of Anna Sauza Photography explains that Jess and Mitch wanted their wedding at the Nobu Hotel in Cabo to be stylish and artistic. Inspired by the couple’s artistic side, she captured this shot during a pre-wedding shoot. The prism filter adds repetition and a heart-like shape to the stunning, light and clean background. She captured the shot with the Nikon D850 and the Prism Lens Kaleidoscope FX Filter.

“Good composition is important in all aspects — as artists and professionals. As photographers, it is super important to be constantly inspired, and one of the things that has taught me the most is cinema,” she says. “The more art you see and practice, the more natural the creations in your photographs will be.”

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more timeless photos, eye-catching wedding photos and portraits. Submit your wedding, editorial, documentary and other interesting imagery (up to 5 images at a time) to: [email protected].

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