MOTHER EYES by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN PORTUGAL

The groom’s mother, looking at him with mother’s eyes, during his preparation for the wedding day

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

My gaze on the gaze of others, in wedding photographs

After all these years of photographing weddings, I’m still amazed by the looks my eyes find to deliver to the diligent camera. It is, for sure, in the gaze that we see, we read, what connects people — and a wedding day is nothing but that.

Many times, it’s not during the moment of capture that I notice these looks. It’s later, in the quiet of my office, when I’m editing the photos that came back, that I stop my gaze upon the gaze of others in a moment I had the pleasure of having stolen.

Enchanted eyes: the wedding photographer’s attention

A mother’s gaze always has something special about it. Perhaps it’s the last time she can give one last bit of affection to her son or daughter, or simply lay her enchanted eyes on what others are doing. I must say, the wedding photographer’s eyes are always scanning for those, and never misses a chance to capture them.

A mother looking, with meticulous eyes, at the meticulousness of the father — her husband of many years — making sure the button is in place without messing up the cuff of the shirt. It’s a scene I’ve photographed who knows how many times, but as a wedding photographer, I never want to miss a new opportunity to find those gazes again. Never.

Point by point:

• Ever since I started photographing, especially weddings, one of the things that most draws my attention in photographs is one person looking at another.
• Since photographing a wedding happens so fast, most of the time I only notice those looks when I’m editing the photos.
• I always find something very special in the look mothers give to their children — the groom or the bride — whether for the love that look transmits or the attention to what is being done.
• I’ve photographed those gazes almost every time I’ve been at a wedding as a photographer, but they’re never the same, and I will never miss the chance to capture them again.

You need to know:

• What matters most to a photographer who has chosen to make a living photographing weddings and who has a passion and love for photography? What is it about a wedding that can be so important as to make him choose that as his main subject, as we say in the business? I can sum it all up in one word: emotion. A wedding day is full of them, and emotions are perfect for great photographs. That’s why I chose it.

If you have any doubt about the commitment of the photographer on your wedding day, don’t worry. His passion for emotions makes him dedicate himself with all his heart. Come talk to me and see for yourself. I’ll show you many more photographs and wedding albums, and answer anything you’d like to ask.