Rangefinder 30 Rising Stars Winner 2021 – Emma + Rich

Rangefinder 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography is the most prestigious industry award IN THE WORLD that a wedding photographer can receive.

Rangefinder started as a magazine in the 1950s. Based in New York, it is now the world’s leading online resource for photography education, inspiration, and motivation. When the Rangefinder 30 Rising Stars are announced, photographers around the globe pay attention. You have to be nominated by an industry leader before you are even considered for the shortlist and just making that list of two or three hundred nominees is considered quite an achievement. To make the final thirty, your work will be scrutinized by the editorial and creative staff at Rangefinder to ensure that not only is your work up to a world-class standard but that you’re also bringing something new to the table.

Some of our absolute heroes in the world of wedding photography have appeared on this list over the last few years. The people who’ve inspired us, motivated us to become better, and in some cases, given us a kick up the arse when we’ve needed it.

Basically, this is a big deal!

We were nominated to submit 30 photographs back in the summer, but 2021 has been the busiest season we’ve ever had. With all the weddings delayed by the pandemic rescheduling to the same few months, we had triple our usual workload. We kept delaying our submission until we had enough time to do it justice but no spare time appeared. We ended up staying up into the wee hours between shooting two weddings and just picked 30 of the photos that we loved, and explained ourselves openly and honestly. No time for a game-plan, no strategy, just Boom! “Here we are. This is us. See ya, thanks, bye!”

For the next few weeks Emma only occasionally dreamed about making the thirty. Rich had forgotten all about it as he was convinced we didn’t stand a chance. Then one night Rich was awoken by maniacal laughter from downstairs. Emma was just checking the emails before going to bed when she noticed the email letting us know we are part of Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars of 2021. We sat awake in a state of excitement, confusion, and pure shock for the next few hours.

That was a month ago and we’ve felt nauseous ever since. Emma is terrible at keeping secrets but the title is taken away from you if you blab before the official announcement. We’ve been in a constant state of butterflies and trying to fight off imposter syndrome ever since.

That’s the explanation and story done. We’ll try to keep the Oscar speech style “thank yous” short…

Most importantly, thank you to all the couples who’ve let us come and hang out at your wedding. You’re the true stars here. Without your joy, openness, relaxed attitude, and willingness to just let us get on with it, we wouldn’t have made it this far.

Thank you to Andy Gaines, Blair deLaubenfels, Alan Law, Lisa Jane, Laura Babb, Marianne Chua, and Tim Dunk. Whether you realise it or not, you’ve said something that has stuck with us and that has helped us become the photographers and people we are right now.

We’d also like to thank the people who’ve supported us, helped us, encouraged us, and been there for us over the last few years. Thank you to The Dignums, Nikki Cooper, Larissa Joice, Andrew Billington, Kevin Mullins, Anna Pumer, Katy Jackson, and York Place Studios.

Special mentions to all the people at SNAP, NineDots, Photography Farm, Welcome Home, Fearless Photographers, This Is Reportage, and DVLOP.

Oh! Here’s a fun fact, the person who actually made Emma pick up her camera and shoot her first wedding is a previous honouree. So here’s a very special shout-out and a huge thank you to the one and only Camera Hannah!

If we’ve missed anyone, we’re truly sorry. We’re just really, really tired.

Congratulations to all the other 2021 honourees. Yet another year of truly exceptional talent that we are humbled to be among. Has it sunk in yet? We should meet up for a drink. We could do with a drink.

Finally a huge thanks to Jacqueline, Libby, and everyone at Rangefinder for including us in the Rangefinder 30 Rising Stars 2021. You’re probably aware by now of how much of a big deal it is for your honourees, but we can’t overstate how much this means to us. Thank you so much.

Here are the photos we submitted and you can see the rest of the Rangefinder 30 Rising Stars of 2021 here.

a bride composes herself in a locker room before the ceremony. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

terror and laughter as confetti cannons explode over a bride and groom. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a family gets ready for a wedding in their living room. a flower girl grimacing as her hair is fixed. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride joyously dances away from her mother who is holding her lower back with an exasperated expression on her face. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a wide shot of a wedding in a beautiful and slightly dilapidated old chapel. the groom is wiping a tear from his eye.

a bride and groom kiss on the dance floor. next to them, a man drinks beer and adjusts his underpants. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a silhouette of a bride and groom laughing with the registrar during the wedding ceremony. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride and groom grinning during the confetti run. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride hugs her grandfather. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a young boy leans forward and cheekily grins at the camera as his older brother plays it cool during a group shot. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

an old lady claps along to the music as she is surrounded by trumpet players. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

two newly married grooms laugh in front of a hedge. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

bride eating an ice-cream in front of an ice-cream van.

a woman's eyelid being comically stretched as mascara is applied. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

bride and groom hold each other in a gap in a hedge.

bride and bridesmaids pulling silly faces at the camera. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

wedding guests welly wanging. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a small boy looks around furtively as he takes a bun from a wedding buffet. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride grimaces as she tries to uncork a bottle of champagne. the people around her, concerned, back away. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a groom wearing a comic book print suit dances with his bride in a farmyard. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a very young girl lifts her dress up to reveal her nappy in the middle of a church aisle whilst a priest blesses a newly married couple. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

three men headbanging at a wedding reception. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

two brides enjoy their first dance. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a young boy refuses to get in the wedding group shot.

a man's feet are tangled up in the wedding dress on the dance floor. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride is helped into her dress by two bridesmaids whilst another pours a glass of champagne. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

a bride and groom raving with glow sticks.

a bride and groom having a space-hopper race. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

slices of wedding cake on the lawn.

a man laid out on the floor at the end of a wedding reception. rangefinder 30 rising stars emma and rich.

Oh!

One more thanks to Emma’s Mum and Dad for supplying us with potatoes, sausages, and ramen noodles during those long, cold, skint winter months!

 

Multi international award-winning wedding photographers and husband and wife team, Emma + Rich take photographs with our own creative, fun, and unique way of telling your story. Based in Scarborough near York and Hull, we travel across the UK with our own style of fun wedding photography.

To view our portfolio visit www.emmaandrich.co.uk and contact us here to check our availability.