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. Discover some of the eye-catching portraits and photos that stopped us in our tracks this week for their varied photo techniques, interesting locations and yes, even a smoke machine.

Traci Edwards of Adventure + Vow captured this photo using the Brenizer photo technique—characterized by the creation of a digital image exhibiting a shallow depth of field in tandem with a wide angle of view—by taking a lot of photos with her longer lens and then stitching them together in Lightroom to make this panoramic. “This was the only way I could take this photo getting the couple to stand out, be sharp and still get the entire rainbow,” she explains.

“I placed the couple in the middle and put them above the horizon line for balance and for them to stand out in such a big landscape shot. The winds were super high and the temps were cold. The lighting was changing every few minutes from sunny to dark and rainbows were appearing and disappearing everywhere. I had never seen weather like this before. It was a magical evening for sure!”

[Read: Two Photo Pros on Lighting Tools, Techniques and Innovations]

Lester Miyashiro of Illumini says that what he wanted to convey in this photo and pose was that even on a standard-looking portrait, you can give it a little quirkiness just to make it different.  

“First thing, the leading lines guiding you to the point of interest, in this case her face,” he explains. “Then having her tilt her head to her right just enough to break the monotony of what could be a typical bride portrait gave it that subtle ‘something’ to make you stop and linger on her for a moment. Simple but effective!” WPPI The Annual judges agreed, awarding this image Third Place in Pre-Wedding – Models: Non- Wedding Day.

[Read: WPPI The Annual 2022: Grand and First Place Winners]

Lindsey Michelle of photo brand Lensy Michelle says that couple Mark and Melissa’s unbridled and comically cute acquisition of books, as well as the fact that they met while working at a publishing company, were just two of the personal elements that inspired their “Garden Book Party” themed wedding venue, Misselwood Events at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. It also inspired this wedding portrait.

“Their wedding day was chock-full of personality-inspired details,” says Lindsey. “Melissa’s light lavender wedding dress was custom designed so that her floor length gown could turn into a mini-dress for the reception. Tables were decorated with pages from an old dictionary that belonged to Mark’s grandmother. The couple was married by their friend Tyler, who somehow ended up third-wheeling the couple’s first Valentine’s Day date together. For a non-traditional dessert, the couple served Whoopi Pies and had an ice cream truck on location.”

Lucy Schultz says that these two stylish grooms, Kaige and Patrick Ernst, pictured a romantic and dark Halloween theme for their wedding day in at the Grant Humphreys Mansion in Golden, Colorado.

“When they told me about their vision of a haunted mansion vibe, I agreed to shoot their wedding so long as they got a smoke machine to cap it off for a cool effect and photo technique to include,” says Schultz. “Their last portrait of the night featured all the spookiness and love they share, along with the plume of smoke surrounding them.”

[Read: 5 $Steps for Pivoting Your Photo Brand Towards More Profit]

This image by Aimée Flynn was taken at an elopement in Southern Utah. “In the words of the couple, ‘Epic views only get you so far; for us, it’s about the experience.'”

Flynn adds that in the land of epic desert views, this take was so refreshing and fun, and that the couple’s day reflected that intention. “The day started with an amazing hike through a slot canyon and ended playing among endless sand dunes. This image was captured after the couple—in full wedding attire—hurtled themselves down sand dune slopes on sand boards. We were walking back to our cars, sand boards still in hand, when the couple stopped to take in the otherworldly scenery around us, out of breath from playing and running in the sand. I tried to take a fly on the wall approach, and knelt down in the cool sand and snapped this frame, with the desert grasses catching the light and dancing in the foreground.”

Dig into our Photo of the Day archives for even more compelling and eye-catching portraits and creative imagery that features interesting and well-executed photo techniques.