Henry Tieu

With a dual career as a wedding photographer and cardiac ICU nurse, Henry Tieu experiences the highs and lows of human experience and emotion. He carries his understanding of life’s preciousness into his wedding photography. “While the world is busy with ‘what’s next,’ I like to focus on what is happening now,” he says. That presence of mind helps him hone on small gestures and details, on the quality of light and shadow, and the feeling of each moment, which he looks to preserve in his editing process.

As “a gay third-culture immigrant living in America” who struggled for a sense of belonging, Tieu says, he carries an open mind and his memory of his upbringing into each wedding “so I can listen passionately and photograph intentionally.”

Check out the official announcement of this year’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography, along with the editors’ observations on the list of 2020.