Australian Photographer wins International Wedding Photographer of the Year 2020

Despite many weddings being put on hold this year, the annual competition that celebrates the world's finest wedding photography still went ahead, with Australian photographer James Simmons taking home the title of International Wedding Photographer of the Year 2020.

Simmons’ photograph of Perth couple Lisa and James was the highest scoring entry in the competition’s Black & White Category, as well as the highest scoring image of all entries, which ultimately landed him in the overall prize of Grand Winner. 

Speaking on the story behind the image that secured him the win, Simmons shared, “After Lisa and James’ ceremony, we stopped outside the State Buildings for a drink and chill with their crew before heading on to the reception. The shot was taken on the corner of a column and was initially a portrait of Lisa to capture her stunningly-detailed dress and the backlight in her veil.”

The judging panel reviewed over 1,700 entries from over 60 countries to select this year’s winning images. This year’s judges were Simon Moore, Pablo Laguia, Emilie White, Cat & Jeff Chang, Oli Sansom and Nisha Ravji.

The annual Awards has a prize pool of over $22, 000 USD, including prizes from industry supporters like Canon Australia, Holdfast Gear, Atkins Pro Lab, Queensberry Albums, RAW Digital Lab, Narrative, Picellu Smart Albums & Smart Slides, Pic-Time and Studio Ninja.

Speaking more generally on his work as a wedding photographer, Simmons also shared, “I believe everyone deserves amazing images to preserve their own history and it gives my photography a purpose to help them remember how they felt at the time, not just what they looked like.” 

Overall-Runner Up

Antonio Crutchley from Miami, USA  

Notable winning and placed entries by Australian photographers

This year's competition also saw an impressive number of other Australian photographers recognised in the individual categories. You can see their incredible photographs below:

Black and White Category

7th Place: Lucy Spartalis

13th place: Eric Ronald 

15th Place: Jon Gazzingnato

Bridal Party Category 

6th Place: Kelly Tunney

8th Place: Lucy Spartalis

14th Place: Eric Ronald

Couple Portrait Category

2nd Place: Simone Addison 

3rd Place: Stephanie Kindermann

5th Place: Eric Ronald 

7th Place: Kelly Tunney

9th Place: Dylan Kovacevic

15th Place: Kelly Tunney 

Dance Floor Category 

15th Place: Stephanie Kindermann

Epic Location Category

2nd Place: Keegan Cronin

3rd Place: Damien Milan 

Equal 4th Place: Milton Gan and Keegan Cronin 

From Above Category

14th Place: Eric Ronald

Single Capture Category

1st Place: Keegan Cronin 

2nd Place: Richard Liston 

3rd Place: Scott Horsburgh

5th Place: Keegan Cronin 

9th Place: Stephanie Kindermann 

Solo Portrait Category

6th Place: Nina Hamilton  

11th Place: Anastasia Woolmington 

14th Place: Jon Gazzignato 

15th Place: Keegan Cronin 

Engagement/ Non Wedding Category 

5th Place: Eric Ronald 

7th Place: Piotrek Ziolkowski

10th Place: Eric Ronald 

Wedding Album Category 

Eric Ronald won first and second place in this category with his two different entries, you can view his albums here.

To find out more about the competition and see all the top placed entries,  you can visit the Awards' website here.