Tuesday, March 4th at WPPI: The Wedding and Portrait "It" List of the Day

Huy Nguyen

As real-life moments unfold during the wedding day, Huy Nguyen is there to capture it all with a creative vision and skillset that has been shaped by his past experiences—as a photojournalist for the Chicago Tribune (1993 to 1994), The Virginian-Pilot (1995 to 1998) and The Dallas Morning News (1998 to 2004). “I strongly believe that wedding photography doesn’t have to look like conventional wedding imagery,” Nguyen says. “I strive to produce the most real, distinctive, authentic and artistic images that tell the stories of the day.”

© Huy Nguyen

That approach has definitely paid off for Nguyen who, in 2005, was named the Wedding Photojournalism Association’s (WPJA) Photographer of the Year, and in 2009, was chosen as one of American Photo magazine’s Top Ten Wedding Photographers in the World. In 2010, he founded Fearless Photographers to show couples fantastic wedding photography by photographers who are committed to making original, distinctive wedding imagery. “At that time, I noticed that there was no such organization that was committed to promoting such photographs.” With the help, he says, of “many, many photographer friends,” Huy started up the Fearless Photographers directory of the best photography around the world.

© Huy Nguyen

At WPPI this year, Nguyen hopes his “Shooting Fearlessly” course will help attendees “learn to think and see differently, and be motivated to shoot images that they have never shot before.”

Sara France

“Weddings are the reason that I became a photographer,” says San Diego-based shooter Sara France. “There is nothing quite like the energy on a wedding day, and I thrive off of that pressure to capture it all. I have photographed many other kinds of events over the years, yet nothing compares to the beauty of two people starting their journey as a family. One of my favorite things to do once post production is complete on a wedding is to visit my clients homes and help them pick out images to fill their walls.”

© Sara France

France, who will advise WPPI attendees in her seminar, “Top Ten Ways to Get On Top and Stay There,” says one of the most fun accomplishments in her career has been having her wedding work featured on Apple’s website, on iPads and in Apple ads. “I am a huge Apple geek, for obvious reasons,” she laughs. “The two core values that are the foundation of my niche are my love of technology and my love of making people look and feel beautiful. That combo allowed me to work with Apple providing [the company] with wedding images for their stores. It also attracts my ideal client to me daily.”

© Sara France

No matter where you are in your business, France says to “really figure out who you are and what you can bring to the table. Embracing my geeky side and really developing my talent for making clients look and feel gorgeous (with my editorial style) was the powerhouse combination that was the absolute turning point for my business.”

Kevin & Katie Hulett

As a husband and wife team, Kevin and Katie Hulett take absolute joy and delight in photographing couples, their friends, and their family from around the world. “We’ve been in business since 2005, working to always push boundaries and challenge ourselves artistically,” they say.

© Kevin and Katie Hulett

“Being married ourselves, we honor the commitment each of our clients make, and are energized by the love surrounding their wedding days. Our combined photographic styles of grand sweeping shots (Kevin) and every lovely detail (Katie) give our portfolio balance and our clients a broad range of artistry.”

© Kevin and Katie Hulett

Speaking at WPPI this year in the class, “Full of Confidence (Nervous as Hell),” Kevin says one of the couple’s driving goals in their business is shooting work they connect with…”not necessarily what happens to be trendy right now, or what we think every bride and groom wants to see. We do our best to be honest about who we are as artists and people. The idea is to attract couples who not only love our work, but who we instantly bond with on a personal level.”