JUDGES COMMENTS: This looks to me like a true candid moment with the photographer able to capture this moment because he or she was able to anticipate the action and be in the position to make the photograph. Some would mind the fence of rail in the foreground, but I don’t. If anything it adds to this candid moment. This particular moment was not one of the many predictable moments of a wedding. Howard Chapnick taught me that a great photograph is a combination of elements: capturing the moment, conveying useful information, emotion, and composition. Howard wrote a book which I think is the Bible for picture editors and photographers: TRUTH NEEDS NO ALLY.

Everyone has similar expressions and that’s what makes this photo--as the bride is helped with her dress on the way to the ceremony.