Rangefinder's 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography 2020
This year has been such a wild ride. I don’t need to repeat it. You know exactly what I meant by it :)
Imagine us years from now, looking back on 2020, wherever you will be at that time, 2020 will forever be the year that taught us so much about life and what it’s like to be human.
With all the ups and downs of 2020, today, with teary eyes sitting here typing this, I am very honored and humbled to shared that I was named one of the 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography by Rangefinder Magazine.
When I first started learning how to photograph couples, I remember spending countless hours and sleepless night on the internet to learn more than just techniques, angles, and gears, but also how to produce images that are so captivating you feel like you’ve been transported to the exact moment it was captured. I stumbled upon the Rising Stars and I quickly became obsessed with all of their works.
Although I’ve been notified of the result about a month ago, it does still feel like a dream. If you had told me 3 years ago when I first picked up the camera that today I would get this prestigious award, I would have laughed. Not at you but more like a laugh of nervousness of not knowing for sure that this day could ever be a reality.
It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions the past couple of years. From quitting nursing to declining my admission offer to graduate school, from the constant lack of sleep and overwhelming amount of pumpkin cream cold brew I drink, my photography has never been about awards.
I grew into something I didn’t know was possible.
As a cardiac ICU nurse and as a wedding photographer, I get to see both ends of the spectrum of what life is. I witness human’s emotions on the best days of their life. I witness human’s emotions on the worst days possible. How I photograph is rooted from my love for the softest, quietest moments that are often the most important and can grab onto your heart in the most unexpected ways. While everyone is busy looking up to someone else or something else, I am physically and literally looking down at what’s in front of me to capture a soft touch, shadows of my couple dancing, or the way the couple is holding each other’s fingers so tight because both are so nervous. When we grow old, photos remind us of how we once looked. When times get tough, photos let us re-live those times when life was much easier and full of hopes and dreams. When we lose our loved ones, photos are the only thing that lives on and allows us to immerse in the nostalgia and memories. There’s a reason why my instagram is called “Henry’s Diary”, it is because I view moments as pages from a diary. Big or small, these moments are timeless, these moments are sacred, and I love documenting them in form of photographs.
As I opened one gallery to the next to find the 30 photos I wanted to submit, I was overwhelmed with emotions. I relived every single wedding and elopement I get to photograph. I felt the warmth, the love, the excitement, the nervousness, and the joy that each couple and I shared together as they poured their hearts into mine and allowed me to document their day in my own way. It’s such an incredible feeling to look back and to acknowledge the amount of trust my couples had for me even from day one. I didn’t know this at the time but in the year that is 2020, I truly needed that time of self reflection.
To everyone who’s been a part of my journey, thank you for following along. Thank you for lending me your ears when I just need to pour my heart out. Thank you for sitting at home, busy with your own life, and still give me your time to type our your words of encouragement and support.
Viet, my dearest husband, thank you for being my number one fan. I honestly don’t know if I could ever become the photographer I am today without you being my constant source of inspiration and support.
Will Khoury, thank you for nominating me for this award. You are one of the brightest Rising Star. I look up to you so so so much.
To my fellow 29 Rising Stars of 2020, your photographs are phenomenal and I am so honored to be among you for this prestigious award.
Here are the 30 photos I submitted :) All in order :)
