3rd place in Ceremony
The WPJA contest judges presented Ben Chrisman, a South Carolina, United States wedding photographer, with this Master Piece Award as recognition for top wedding photojournalism in the industry.
The leading documentary wedding photographers in the world enter their best photos to the Wedding Photojournalist Association's photography competitions. They want their wedding reportage photographs to be evaluated and selected by some of the most notable and respected working picture editors and photojournalists in the news industry (these are not wedding photographers or other WPJA members judging their work). Winning these competitions is a true accomplishment for a wedding photographer.
2008 Q4 Judges
Judges
- The lines lead right to the penultimate emotion, which is why I choose this image. It is a wonderful moment and the photographer used focus and composition to take me straight to it. The inclusion of the hand of the person doing the service in the upper right hand corner was the touch that made the final difference. The shallow depth of field was perfect. The high contrast helped eliminate some of the ceiling, a distraction that I think could have been avoided only by 1) the use of artificial light--which would have helped with the background but probably would have ruined the moment or 2) getting slightly higher to take the image which would have helped with the ceiling but could have meant compromising the “hand” and also would have moved the bride’s parents into a different background, again defeating the purpose.
The best and top wedding photographs from this category
WPJA contest judges have been recognized by their industry peers, winning top awards as staff picture editors, staff photojournalists, and newsroom mentors while working for these and other leading publications and journalism organizations.
Wedding photographer Ben Chrisman, was awarded 3rd place for photo 69366 in the Ceremony category for the WPJA's 2008 Q4.