The Basilica of Mafra inside with a wedding, in a view of the wedding photographer in Portugal.

The photographer and the place, at each wedding

IN THE CATHEDRAL by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN PORTUGAL

The Basilica of Mafra inside with a wedding, in a view of the wedding photographer in Portugal.

Photographs of a wedding ceremony in the Basilica of Mafra

Basilicas and hermitages for weddings


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Basílicas and Ermitages

O pai encaminha a filha que vai casar, pela ala da Igreja na direcção do altar.

I have already photographed weddings inside the bigger and more wonderful Basilicas of Portugal and in the small tiny Chapels that we can imagine. In some, we feel overwhelmingly involved by the dimension of the space, making us so small that it seems we get lost inside.

In the others, we feel humble, involved exactly with the same importance of the local as if the space, the architecture, only had a formal value. Only what is done there is important. In either extreme, the wedding photographer is completely focused on finding all the photos offered differently, but equally, by each of the spaces.

The involvement of the bride and groom

Bride and groom sitting by the altar of the Basilica of Mafra with all the guests seated behind them.

Any of them has its beauty for, in a way, involves the marrying couple and gives them the blessing, that will endure in their memories, always reinforced with the photos that the wedding photographer will leave them.

It is true that I, always, let me wonder about the size of the basilica or, even, a cathedral and connect to my camera a lens that will take it all with me as a unique photo and, with another lens, all the nuances of tone and texture that will involve my wedding couple, and after transforming them in paper pages of the book that, meantime, I will deliver them, for my joy and their satisfaction.

The right point of view for the moment of photography

Wedding couple at the altar with all the guests in the background.

But the four white walls of the tiny chapel, by their simplicity, can give me a light. However, I need to melt myself with the walls and tight corners and, once achieved the right point of view, always dazzling me with that offer, as if their pride for their simplicity does not let them fall behind the grandiosity of her bigger sisters.

As a wedding photographer, I allow myself that. Knowing that both, in the end, are so benevolent to me, offering me the best I can find in each of them, I am sure of that every time I come back to each one.

Dot by dot:

  • Although I have photographed wedding ceremonies in large cathedrals and small hermitages, in no way did I think that one was more important than the other. What matters is what is happening.
  • It’s true that the dazzle in a basilica or cathedral is greater and calls for photographs with a more complete framing of the event. There’s more scenery to involve the couple and the event.
  • But the interior of the chapel concentrates on the importance of the wedding ceremony and is closer to the moments to be photographed. In each one, the wedding photographer always finds a way to tell the story that happens there.

You need to know:

  • Whatever venue you choose for your wedding ceremony, it’s what happens there that’s important to photograph. That’s how it will be at your wedding. Come and talk to me at a meeting to show you how. Contact me.

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