On the evening of March 5, in a solemn ceremony, in the presence of representatives of the Latvian wedding industry, the best wedding photographers in Latvia in 2018 were determined and the winner of the BEST WEDDING PHOTO OF THE YEAR title, which became ROLFS VENDIņŠ.

The Latvian Wedding Photographers Association (LKFA) has been organizing a wedding photo contest for the ninth year with the aim of developing the wedding photography industry, identifying the best Latvian wedding photographers and promoting their services to the wider public. This year, the association received 73 applications from photographers, and the competition jury had to evaluate a total of 1087 photos.

The best wedding photographer of 2018 in Latvia was Rolfs Vendiņš , whose works are best characterized by the photojournalistic style.  Mārcis Baltskars won the second place with only one point difference, but the conditional bronze medal this year went to Sasch Fjodorov .

Submission and evaluation of photographs took place in 12 categories, including 10 basic categories, the overall evaluation of which determines the best photographer of the year:

• Preparation (winner – Rolfs Vendiņš );
• Ceremony (winner – Rolfs Vendiņš );
• Emotions (winner – Sasch Fyodorov);
• Minimalism (winner – Miks Šēls );
• Portrait (winner – Rolfs Vendiņš);
• New pair (winner – Ģirts Raģelis );
• Details (winner – Liene Leonovich );
• Celebrations (winner – Jānis Romanovskis );
• Humor (winner – Marcis Baltskars );
• Light games (winner – Benita Žogota ).

Also, the winners were determined in two additional categories, which do not affect the selection of the best photographer of the year - People's vote (winner - Vilnis Slūka ) and Wedding story , where the best wedding photographer of 2018 Rolfs Vendiņš won the laurels.

The photos of the competition were evaluated by representatives of the wedding industry in Latvia and worldwide:

• • internationally recognized wedding photographer from Great Britain - Emilie White ;
  • award-winning wedding photographer from Russia - Igor Bulgak ;
  • wedding photographer from Spain – Alberto Sagrado ;
  • 2014 and 2017 Best wedding photographer of the year title winner Inta Lankovska ;
  • 2009 The best wedding photographer of the year Andrejs Zavadskis .

On the other hand, category Wedding story was judged by photographer and founder of agency F64 Gatis Rosenfelds, wedding photographer Inta Lankovska, fashion and portrait photographer Aiga Rēdmane and wedding media. LĪGAVĀM Director and Chief Editor Iveta Rikmane.

According to LKFA , this year the competition in the competition was particularly fierce, so the jury had an even more responsible job to find out the winner.

There are currently many talented wedding photographers in Latvia, and it is precisely in the wedding photography industry that various photography styles have developed. Evaluating which photographer deserves the honorable title "the best of the year" this year requires a lot of attention, experience and responsibility on the part of the jury, says the representative of the jury, wedding photographer Inta Lankovska.

The 2018 best wedding photographer award ceremony at the pumping station was attended by 73 invited guests - representatives of the Latvian wedding industry.

LKFA expresses its gratitude to both the general sponsor of the competition Photo Space Riga , and to the other sponsors and supporters - Epson , Sony , Master Photo , Silver Grain Albums , Fotostudio Linda , Balmerk , Valmiermuiža , ligavam.lv , precos.lv. .

On the other hand, the team of decorators MintDeco took care of the visual presentation of the award ceremony.

More information about the results of the competition, as well as a unique calendar of wedding photographers, are available on the LKFA website - www.lkfa.lv