Wedding Photos of Shadows

The following “Shadows” images were created by documentary wedding photographers from the WPJA, who regularly submit their best candid moments, artistic portraits, details, and scene setters for review by our WPJA competition judges.

WEDDINGS + ELOPEMENTS + ARTISTIC PORTRAITS & DETAILS + ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS

Some of the “Shadows” marriage photography samples below may have come from the getting ready events, the actual wedding ceremony, the reception after-party, an engagement session with the couple, or possibly be artistic portraits or detail shots.

FINE ART WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: Our Artistic Guild award winners take a more creative approach to wedding day Portraits and use their innovative skills to capture the Details of each couple’s special day. The Artistic Guild’s Scene Setters are some of the most notable and breathtaking from within the artistic WPJA contest categories. Playing with light and shadow, special effects, and post-production editing, these images embrace the artistic component of wedding photography.

PRE-WEDDING ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY: The story of every couple starts long before the wedding day, and the engagement marks one of the most important milestones in their story. Engaged couples often want to celebrate the occasion and announce their upcoming wedding with a photoshoot. Pre-wedding portraits of an engaged couple can be just as moving and compelling as the images taken on the wedding day. Engagement portraits can win a Diamond Award, an exclusive WPJA award whose winner is selected from the best engagement photography in the world.

In Zug, Switzerland, a captivating wedding photo captures three rings casting striking shadows against a serene and minimalistic backdrop

Zug's Mesmerizing Marriage: Three Rings Dance with Shadows in Serene Wedding Snap

Old Town Alexandria at The Morrison House - Hotel: A stylish duo poses in front of a captivating book collage

The Morrison House - Hotel in Old Town Alexandria: A stylish duo in front of a captivating book collage

shadows stylish duo silhouettes Old Town Alexandria Virginia Alexandria captivating book collage

A soft kiss of light and shadows on the bride and groom for a portrait in Montpellier, France

Montpellier, France captures the bride and groom in a portrait with soft light and shadows

soft kiss portrait Montpellier Wedding Portrait light and shadows bride and groom captures the bride and groom shadows

A couple stands in the forest at Domaine du Bois Saint Mard in France, illuminated by sunlight and shadow, creating a striking chiaroscuro effect

Domaine du Bois Saint Mard, France showcases striking chiaroscuro effect with couple standing in forest

Tracy le Val Oise Wedding Portrait forest illuminated shadows Oise couple Oise

The couple ran along a sunny street in Alexandria, Virginia, with shadows stretching before them, creating an eye-catching photo

Alexandria, Virginia: Engagement Photo Perfection Sparked by Running Couple's Shadows

Alexandria Engaged Couple black and white Alexandria shadows middle of street Virginia walking

In Moselle, the bride-to-be is portrayed looking away from her groom-to-be while her long hair swirls around her face

Lovely Moselle Engagement Photo: Bride-to-be's Hair Surrounds Her on Special Day

hair Moselle black and white portrait Moselle engagement portrait shadows

A fun and romantic lifestyle engagement portrait session for a couple in Angers, France, showcases their love as they hug and capture their shadows on the wall

Engaged couple hug in Angers, France, capturing love and shadows in fun portrait session

Angers Engagement Portrait Angers shadows shadows on wall

This bridal portrait in Sao Paulo is a black and white shot featuring the bride in the shadows

The bride is captured in a black and white portrait in a doorway, wearing white bridal attire

white shadows bridal attire São Paulo bridal bride bridal portrait São Caetano do Sul

This engaged couple have a beautiful lifestyle portrait taken in Istanbul, Turkey with their shadows visible on the iconic, graphic bridge with its repeating lines as a stunning backdrop

The happy couple posed for their engagement portrait, their shadows visible against the iconic bridge's graphic lines, creating a stunning backdrop

stunning backdrop Istanbul engagement photography repeating lines Turkey Istanbul shadows graphic bridge

The couple posed for their pre-wedding engagement announcement picture in Venice, Italy at Fondamenta degli incurabili, with a brick wall and shadows as the backdrop

Venice, Italy - Fondamenta degli incurabili pre-wedding lifestyle portrait session for couple in the sun with shadows

Venice engagement photography Venice shadows sunlight and shadows Italy brick wall Fondamenta degli Incurabili

A loving couple posed for a lifestyle photoshoot in the historic city of Lyon, with a beautiful black and white portrait taken from a high angle on a circular walkway with a unique pattern

In Lyon's historic streets, the loving couple posed for a romantic photoshoot

Lyon engagement photography Lyon black and white historic city shadows lifestyle portrait Pattern

The engaged couple embraced in Black Park, London, UK, as they had a lifestyle pre-wedding portrait taken, utilizing the shadows and contrast of the setting to create a dynamic and moody image

In London, UK's Black Park, the couple embraced for a dynamic, moody engagement portrait

London shadows moody London engagement photography cloudy Black Park

The engaged couple posed surrounded by foliage in the National Gallery of Art Museum with a reflective artistic grid overlay

At the National Gallery of Art Museum, the couple posed amid foliage with an artistic grid overlay below them

Washington DC National Gallery of Art Museum DC engagement photography shadows grid overlay

An engaged couple in Évora, Portugal were captured in a lifestyle session while walking at the end of the day, with shadows of trees and the couple on the wall behind them

The happy couple are strolling at the end of the day, with their shadows cast on the wall behind them by the trees

couple walking Portugal Evora Engagement Photographer sunlight and shadows shadows Évora

At the Washington DC Wharf, a 3D-like colored light display of the spectrum of love was projected onto the wall, casting dramatic shadows of a couple embracing

A chromatic light show depicting the breadth of love was projected onto the wall, creating a romantic image of an embracing couple

shadows Washington DC fun portrait DC photographer 3D colored light

At the Mayflower Hotel, DC, a detail image of the shoes and wedding bands, with the shadow of the engagement ring

Mayflower Hotel, DC: Picture of shoes and wedding bands with an engagement ring's shadow

shadows Washington DC Mayflower Hotel wedding rings DC photographer

At Terra Residence, Sofia, a glass of wine silhouetted against a backdrop of warm light and shadows at a romantic sunset wedding

At the romantic sunset wedding, the silhouette of a glass of wine against the warm, flickering light created a captivating scene

Terra Residence light and shadows silhouettes Sofia Sofia photographer wine glass warm light

In Sofia, Bulgaria, the newlyweds shared a romantic kiss for their wedding portrait in the shadows of an urban street

The couple shared a kiss, captured in a wedding portrait amidst the shadows of an urban setting

Sofia urban street shadows Sofia photographer Bulgaria romantic kiss

The bride stands in Turin just before her wedding ceremony, her shadow cast upon the wall along with a graphic pattern created by the window frames

A bride portrait with the patterns of light cast through the windowpanes on the wall behind her

Turin Turin Photographer Turin bride shadows graphic pattern

shadows from wire fencing on couples faces

shadows Lyon photographer France Castille Alma fence Lyon Couple Session

On their wedding day, the bride basked in the sun, her back to a wooden door, while the groom stood in the background of this stunning portrait

Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul wedding photography | the bride and groom posing for this Turkey wedding portrait

Turkey Suleymaniye Mosque shadows Istanbul Istanbul photographer

At the wedding reception, a photographer from NL captured a beautiful doorway portrait of the bride and groom, their long shadows stretching across the floor

At the Noord Brabant wedding reception party location, the bride and groom pose for a doorway portrait

North Brabant Photographer Freek Nagtzaam Noord Brabant shadows framed in doorway

Istanbul bride is getting ready with lipstick and light

An Istanbul bride is preparing for her special day by applying lipstick with sun shadows to her body

Nilufer Nalbantoglu shadows bride getting ready lipstick Istanbul photographer Istanbul

On the wedding day at Hanbury Manor Maarriott Hotel, London, UK, the couple had a creative photo session on the streets with Speed Bumps and repeated graphic shadow lines in the roadway

London, UK: Creative photo session at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel, with street speed bumps and graphic shadow lines

shadows roadway London sunlight and shadows speed bump Hanbury Manor United Kingdom

The bride and groom walking together, throwing their own shadows as they ascended the concrete steps in Chelles, France on their wedding day made for a unique and creative picture

In Chelles, France, the bride and groom's shadows cast on the concrete steps on their wedding day made for a creative detail photo in BW

Chelles Artistic Photographer black and white concrete steps Seine-et-Marne shadows France Chelles

A creative wedding photo from bridgeport art center, of the chicago couple toasting during cheers

An artistic wedding image of a couple toasting during a special moment of cheers captures the happiness of the day

Bridgeport Art Center shadows Chicago toasting cheers chicago wedding photographer

Shadow of bride and groom hands and their wedding rings

shadows China wedding rings Fujian Fujian photographer

A Sao Paulo bride is captured in a portrait in the sunlit backdrop of a wall with window frames casting shadows

In Sao Paulo, a bride is photographed at a sunlit wall with window frames' shadows

shadows dark São Paulo window frame shadows sunlit wall sao paulo photographer

A bride's portrait in the sunlit backdrop of a Sao Paulo wall with window frames casting shadows

Sao Paulo portrait of a bride in sunlit backdrop with window shadows

Sao Paulo Bridal Portrait sao paulo photographer São Paulo shadows

Melbourne couple poses in the park under trees and shadows for fun portraits to announce their engagement

Melbourne Park Jacob Gordon couple kissing Victoria-AUS trees Melbourne Australia

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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.