Every year, I try to set aside time to look back at the work I made during the previous wedding season—not to rank it or pick it apart, but simply to reflect with fresh eyes. For 2025, I used Junebug Weddings’ “Best of Engagement” contest as an excuse to curate (even though contests aren’t how I measure my success). I started wide, pulled a set of contenders from my galleries, narrowed it down to 32, and then defended my final Top 15 engagement photos. In this video, I walk you through the “obvious yeses,” the frames that were discovery moments (like walking hilly San Francisco streets), and the images that feel cinematic because of light, weather, and composition—Midwest clouds, Chicago train platforms, and even a rainstorm by the lake on Portra 800. I also share the tricky part: choosing between film and digital versions of the same scene. Sometimes the digital frame is cleaner and sharper, but the film version wins for me because of the tonality, nostalgia, and the way it renders color and shadow. I wrap with a few close calls that I personally love, even if they weren’t quite right for a contest submission.