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 much more. View some of the eye-catching portraits and photos that stopped us in our tracks this week—all of them first spotted on the World’s Best Wedding Photos website, and all by photographers with their own distinctive photo looks.

Jason Vinson of Vinson Images in Northwest Arkansas says that this bridal portrait came about after he had noticed some sunlight shining through a window onto a small compact mirror the makeup artist had left on the table.

“The light was reflecting off the mirror and onto a nearby wall. I wanted to see what it would look like if I used the mirror to reflect that pattern onto the bride’s face,” he explains. “I grabbed the mirror and started moving it around. I tried it on her lips, on her eyes (with them open and closed), on her earrings, etc. The image with the light on her closed eyes ended up having the most impact for me.”

[Read: Creative Portrait Photography: Jason Vinson on Making the Ordinary Look Epic]

Vinson adds that while the subject’s eyes are closed and she looks peaceful, “the spot of light on her eye, the color of her lips, and her attire mixed with the black background gives a sense of quiet drama.” This is what creating a distinctive photo look is all about.

Mauricio Arias of Chrisman Studios says that in his conversations with his wedding couples, he always asks them what they like, the better to understand their personalities and what is important to them.

“This couple talked about how much they liked the show Mad Men and how much they liked the fashion of that time, plus the cinematography and imagery of the show,” says Arias. “This image is my interpretation of all of that, as adapted to their wedding day. Trying to include all of the groomsmen was something that was very important for them.”

Arias continues: “I like the fact that it seems complex but everything was very simple. It was just about seeing and arranging what the natural light and the architecture offered to us to work with, in combination with the inspiration from the personality of the couple.”

Fer Juaristi says this image is all about the motion and blur, and not your typical wedding portrait.

“Shooting in iconic places can be overwhelming,” he says, “but choosing a simple background and slow shutter speed makes it about the couple and not the city. It creates tension; it’s not really a wedding picture.”

[Read: Wedding Photographer Fer Juaristi Confronts Fear and Doubt in a Letter to His Younger Self]

Ralf Czogallik of Eppel Photography had an idea to use the beach beds at this beach club in the Netherlands but says he couldn’t find a nice angle to shoot from so he decided to take to the air with his DJI Mavic Drone.

“I saw the symmetry and asked them to lay down on the chairs,” he says. “The funny part is that they didn’t have a clue at first of what it would really look like until the finished image came out after I edited it.”

[Read: Drone Portraits: A Guide to Making Images That Soar]

The photographer says he loves this image so much because, “it’s something you do not expect. We are not used to seeing the world from above and that always amazes me.”

What also amazes him are the stories he says viewers of the image make up to describe what they see in this image. “It’s so funny. Some people ask me why they are jumping from a building!” [In full disclosure, that’s what we saw as well initially!]

Jamie and Heather Schneider of Dark Roux say the concept for this image was to, “get a group shot in a moody setting that showed how rainy it was while still having some fun with it and making sure the bride and groom stood out in a unique way.”

Says Jamie: “What I love here is that this photo almost didn’t happen. The couple wanted a group shot but it was raining outside and because of the rain, there wasn’t anywhere inside to do a large group photo—all the guests were inside.”

[Read: How to Freeze Rain with Off-Camera Flash]

The photo duo talked with the couple about going out in the rain and they were actually cool with it. “We randomly found two umbrellas that were see-through and knew we wanted to play with that. Originally, we had everyone hold their umbrellas up high to see all their faces and at the last second, we told them to lower the umbrella until their faces were hidden. At that point, only the faces of the bride and groom were visible. It wasn’t a well-thought-out or pre-planned moment; nothing like that at all. It was just a group of friends who were cool with rolling with the punches and were down to play in the rain. If they’re cool with getting wet, so are we. We’ve got insurance!”

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more compelling and eye-catching portraits and distinctive photo looks..