Rf30 AWARD | NEW YORK
“ThE prestigious RISING STAR list RECOGNISES and honors wedding photographers who are creating an indelible mark on the industry.”
-Rangefinder Magazine
I am thrilled, incredibly proud and yes… still a little shell shocked… to announce that I have been named as one of Rangefinder’s Rising Stars of Wedding Photography. Aside from being an indescribable honour, it has comes with a reinvigorating effect in my work and has spurs me on to keep doing what I love and pushing my photography to new frontiers. I am so grateful to my past and future clients, friends, and my little but incredible family for their never fading support and love, and to the editors of Rangefinder Magazine for awarding me this honour. A special thank you goes to Jacquelin Tobin, Editor in Chief of Rangefinder Magazine, for having seen something in me from the very start of my career and for believing in me enough to put me forwards to submit for the Rf30 Rising Star award.
Grazie!
– Andrea
RF30: What is Rangefinder’s Rising Star?
Every year, New York based Rangefinder Magazine, one of the industry’s oldest and most prestigious photography magazines, selects 30 wedding photographers from all around the world to be crowned Rising Stars and join a small but highly coveted exclusive list of past winners which signify the best of the best in wedding photography. It is one of the highest honours a photographer can recieve and one of the most sought out prises in our industry. But there’s a catch! You only have five years of time from when you start your career as a wedding photographer to be crowned a Rising Star, after that the chance is gone forever. Rangefinder’s Rf30
Rangefinder’s Rising Star competition is incredibly secretive. Unlike other awards, photographers can’t simply join. Instead, you have to be nominated and invited to participate by the editors of Rangefinder.
The lucky few who are invited to participate are asked to submit a portfolio of their work in the form of 30 images, arranged in a harmonious way, which summarises the unique style and vision of the photographer. In the end, out of all the invited entries for around the globe, only 30 photographers are chosen to become Rising Stars, For those lucky 30, it is a career defining moment and a life changing moment.
The winners are told of their victory a month before the official announcement and have to keep the news totally secret until the official announcement at the end of the year… and then the celebrations can begin!
Let me tell you, those four weeks were the hardest of my life. I just wanted to scream it from the rooftops, celebrate with friends and family, and tattoo RISING STAR on my forehead BUT… I was a good boy and kept quiet (suffering silently inside) until the news was finally out.
THE ALL IMPORTANT PORTFOLIO
When you are invited by the editors of Rangefinder Magazine to submit for the Rising Star award, you are asked to produce a 30-images portfolio that best describe who you are as a photographers. They ask for a variety of shots sourced by all parts of a wedding: from prep to details, ceremonies, first looks, portraits, party and anything you think appropriate to showcase the depth and range of your work. Ultimately, what they are looking for is something new and industry defining. Originality of eye and vision is key.
My Rf30 Rising Star Portfolio
EXPLORE FURTHER
If you would like to visit Andrea Verenini’s Rf30 page directly on Rangefinder Magazine, then click here , or if this article has planted a seed of interest in the subject and you are interested in reading more about the Rf30 competition directly from the organisers, then click here.