WPJA.com HomeWedding Photojournalist Association

2nd place in Ceremony

Contests / Past Contests / 2006 Summer / Ceremony / 2nd Place
United States

Matt Kim

View Profile

Wedding photographer Matt Kim, was awarded 2nd place for photo 51791 in the Ceremony category for the WPJA's 2006 Summer.

The WPJA contest judges presented Matt Kim, a 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.

2006 Summer Judges

Judges

  • This is one of those odd photographs that is appealing partly because of being odd. It has every appearance of being a grab shot: the two men (husband and father?) are caught shaking hands in a somewhat awkward manner and thier faces are only partially visible; the bride is about to get into the car and is partially turned toward the viewer; the groom's left hand is holding the car door open for the bride; and the strong shadows indicate that the photographer had his flash on camera. It almost looks like it was taken by a 1950s wedding photographer using a 4 by 5 Speed Graphic camera. And yet the moment has meaning. If this is artifice, and I don't believe it is, it is so well done that it seems genuine. It feels like an approach a Vogue photographer might take for a special wedding issue. But I don't think a wedding photographer would try to create an image like this. Most couples wouldn't buy it for their album. But I really like it.

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.