THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE by the ALGARVE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

From a guest at the wedding that took photos at Club Nau in Ferragudo, Portimão

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

The Couple as the Main Subject of the Wedding Photographer

Not all wedding photographers consider the couple their main photographic subject.

I mean, it’s because of them that we’re there — they’re the ones who hired us — but they also invited all those people who are constantly doing things that catch the eye of a camera lens, always ready to glance sideways, to detect a scene that deserves to be framed and captured once more.

With no disrespect to the couples who kindly bring me along on their wedding day, if I had to rely only on them to photograph the day, there would be many long pauses, and, who knows, my eyes might start drifting toward sleep instead of always being alert to catch something with a camera in front — which is what makes them happy.

These photographs complete the story of the wedding day

The eyes of a wedding photographer are tireless in their curiosity and in challenging cameras and lenses, but if they feel there’s nothing to do, they have a natural tendency toward boredom and sleep.

As you can imagine, on a wedding day, the second option never comes up — at least not at mine — and the only thing that makes them close, in need of rest, is when we arrive home, knowing the mission is complete and we can finally enjoy a well-deserved rest.
Until then, no guest is safe from their attention, and as soon as someone positions themselves just right… It’s already a photo. These are the photographs that complete the story of a couple who said yes that day. Because the wedding photographer was there.

Point by point:

• When the couple invites all those people to spend the day with them, they know the wedding photographer can’t just focus on them.
• If the photographer didn’t, when the time came to deliver the wedding photos, the couple would feel that something essential was missing in the story of the day.
• That’s why my movement through a wedding is a sort of back and forth — sometimes with the couple, sometimes with the guests, and other times with both at once.
• It would be impossible to recreate the wedding day to try to capture the missed photos.
• It’s up to the wedding photographer to remain constantly alert to the photos everyone is handing over — the ones that will tell the story of how the wedding day was.

You need to know:

• Years ago, the only photographs people kept from weddings were of the couple, a few with guests, and not much more. What had actually happened, how people interacted with each other, how the tables were decorated, what the reception room looked like, whether there was much dancing or little — all of that remained only in memory, which with time faded, leaving only the essentials.

• That’s not how it is today. The wedding photographer is a photojournalist who, in real time and without interference, tells the story of the day using cameras and lenses. Everyone, without exception, becomes a protagonist in the bigger story.

At your wedding, that’s exactly how I’ll work. Of course, the couple is the couple, but everyone else equally deserves my attention. Come see how I do it in the photographs I have to show you, as well as in the wedding albums.