Biography

Orlando wedding photographer Wayne Lukens has been photographing Central Florida brides for twenty-five years. He has attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (photography emphasis), Florida State University (philosophy major) , the University of Southern California (film), and Reformed Theological Seminary (visual communication of Christianity). With his doctorate in hand, his original objective was teaching and research.

"However," Wayne said, "I found that doing photography and visual art was more fun than talking about it! After photographing a few weddings for friends, I was hooked. Wedding photography became my primary interest. I opened a studio in Orlando in 1983 and have been doing wedding photography ever since."

For ten of his twenty-five years, Wayne spent much of his time photographing weddings at Disney. During that time, he was named "Wedding Photographer of the Year" by the Unofficial Disney Wedding Guide, based upon votes from couples married at Disney. His wedding and portrait images have appeared in a variety of publications.

He describes his photography style as a blend of photojournalism and classical portraiture. Although eighty per cent of the wedding images he creates are candid in nature, he has an ever-present awareness of classical lighting and composition that make his photographs distinctive.

Wayne's office is located at the Historic Village Inn in Longwood, a three-story Victorian hotel built in 1885. The ambiance of the turn-of-the-century
architecture lends itself well for interesting portraiture backdrops.

Wayne and his assistant, Linda Wilson, use high-resolution Canon digital cameras to capture their wedding images. All photographs are enhanced by using Adobe Photoshop software.

"One of the key elements in producing good photographs is good listening," Wayne said. "In my interviews with couples, I try to get a sense of their outlook on life and the people who are important to them and why. By so doing, you can produce photographs that tell a visual story about them and those whom they love."