WPPI’s The Annual: 16×20 Print, Album and Filmmaking competition for wedding and portrait photographers and filmmakers takes place every year and is the capstone event of the WPPI Conference + Show. During a gala awards ceremony complete with trophies, everyone at WPPI comes together to honor the winners who advance through individual divisions and categories, and achieve points towards their Honors of Excellence designation. We highlight the Grand Award and First Place winners here.

Many of these winners have spent their entire year preparing for this competition. Why, you might ask? Lester Miyashiro, a wedding photographer based in Hawaii and Japan who earned a Master of WPPI designation a few years ago, explained his decision to first enter (he won First Place in the Pre-Wedding Division – Model Bride or Groom Alone Non-Wedding Day) a couple of years ago.

“I can wholeheartedly point to the WPPI competition as the single most important step in my growth as a photographer. The experience of having your work judged by industry leaders and educators is undoubtedly nerve-wracking but essential for reaching your full potential. The feedback you get is invaluable if you want to aspire to get better at your craft.”

There were 8 Divisions that entrants submitted work in WPPI The Annual 2022:
1. Wedding
2. Pre-Wedding
3. Portrait
4. Creative
5. Filmmaking
6. In-Camera Artistry
7. Premiere
8. Album

Within each division for WPPI The Annual 2022 are several categories. Below are WPPI The Annual winners in First Place Grand and First Place in their respective divisions and categories. You can check out ALL the winning entries in First Place Grand, First, Second and Third place HERE. (See the gallery above for all First Place Grand winning images. First Place winning images are below.)

WPPI The Annual 2022 Divisions & Categories

1. WEDDING DIVISION

Couple Together – Wedding Day: Anthony Lemoine, First Place
Bride or Groom Alone – Wedding Day: Feng He, First Place Grand Award
Bridal Party – Family and Friends: Andre Brown, First Place
Photojournalism: Amber Henry, First Place

2. PRE-WEDDING

Couples Together – Non-Wedding Day: Aries Tao, First Place Grand Award
Bride or Groom Alone – Non-Wedding Day: Feng He, First Place
Models – Non-Wedding Day: Fuminori Sasaki, First Place

3. PORTRAIT

Animals + Pets: Shawna Hinkel, First Place
Boudoir: Tatiana Lumiere, First Place
Maternity: Andre Brown, First Place
Newborn + Baby: Cassandra Jones, First Place
Groups + Families: Cassandra Jones, First Place
Children + Teenager: Rachel Stewart, First Place Grand Award
Individual: Amber Damour, First Place

4. CREATIVE

Details + Decor: Sean Tan, First Place
Landscape + Travel: Chris Saunders, First Place
Open Creative: Chris Saunders, First Place
Fashion + Beauty + Fine Art Nude: Rachel Own, First Place
Pre-Wedding Creative: Roger Tan First, Place
Portrait Creative: Vicente Esteban, First Place Grand Winner
Wedding Creative: Roger Tan, First Place

5. FILMMAKING

Wedding/Engagement Short Film: Grace Cardona/Bottlebrush Film, First Place Grand Award
Open Short Film: Manpreet Pabla, First Place

6. IN-CAMERA ARTISTRY

Open: In Camera: Didar Virdi First Place Grand Award Winner
Wedding: In Camera: Sanjay Jogia First Place

7. PREMIERE

Portrait: Lera Lyman, First Place

8. ALBUM

Open: Rachel Owen, First Place Grand Winner
Wedding: Mario Muñoz, First Place

View the complete list of winners in First Place Grand, First, Second and Third place HERE.