An interview with a winner...

Remember this image? It won the title of Stellar Image of the Year. The photographer? Samuel Lippke, one young photographer whose work is admired by magazine editors and brides alike.. His talent takes him coast to coast, and as far away as Thailand to shoot an exotic wedding. Samuel Lippke Studios is one of the hottest names in Southern California right now, and if there's a photographer to learn something from, it's him. Check out my interview with him below..

About the winning image:

Samuel - I shot this with a Canon 5D Mark II. 24-105mm Lens and I believe a 5.6 F-stop. I knew that I wanted some motion blur, as we crossed the street the bride just happened to look down the road and I panned with her to capture her whole look. I made it B&W because I wanted it to be about what was in focus (the bride) and not about the background which was just a boring parking garage. Exactly how I had planned! I was thinking how dark it was getting and how I wanted to take advantage of the magic hour without using my flash. So I felt rushed, but comfortable at the same time.

I love the real & gritty sense of life in general. Wedding's can be very pure and clean feeling, but when you truly document the whole event, you can't be scared to get a few real life gritty images. In this case I tried to push the fashion and beauty even though its in some rough surroundings.

Secret to my Success: Hard work and an open mind. You have to enjoy what you do too, accept your role and run with it. Set goals and reach them one step at a time.