THE PORTRAITIST by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN PORTUGAL

The photograph is a portrait of the bride on the battlements of Alandroal Castle on her wedding day

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

The world of wedding photography

Following the theme of the previous post, more portraiture. But now more integrated into the space. Taking advantage of what my lenses alter in terms of the background, or even the foreground, when it exists, can give a very comprehensive reading to the portrait.

I enjoy this type of photography because it projects an interesting intensity into the viewer’s gaze when reading the person we chose—or in this case, who chose us—to portray. On the other hand, I like this word. More than a photographer, I like to consider myself a portraitist, as has already been written here.

If I were a painter or a sculptor, this would be my subject as well. The world of wedding photography gives me the chance to constantly relive that emotion of having someone in front of me and trying to find a situation that enhances the image that appears to me as the best.

The other portraits of people I keep making

Here I am again, highlighting one part of my daily task. But I never get tired of saying it—this time it is my task. It was because of the portrait that I became a wedding photographer, and in the others that make it up, I feel like I’m always incorporating my portraitist side into all the other photos of people I keep making. I can say it’s my center of gravity as a wedding photographer.

Point by point:

• Portraiture was my first attraction to photography, long before I became a photographer:
  • In magazines, I saw the portraits by great photographers
  • I especially admired them when they were in black and white
• When I became a wedding photographer, I started to use the techniques that I had slowly been studying:
  • Using lenses to blur backgrounds—or even foregrounds
  • Taking advantage of that to give more emphasis to faces and intensity to gazes
  • Separating the subject from the backgrounds that become beautiful, fluffy clouds
• That’s why on every wedding day, when I’m working as a photographer, I always make the most of the session with the couple to create those portraits I love so much:
  • In the gardens of venues
  • On tree-lined paths
  • At the battlements of a castle
  • In every place that serves to “dress” the photos, as I like to say
• Portraiture will always accompany me as one of the wedding photographer’s duties on a working day.

You need to know:

• I’ve written a lot here about my inclination for portraiture, and whenever possible, in black and white. To portray someone is a moment of intimacy. It’s as if we wanted to extract a piece of being from the person we aim the lens at. The lenses will take care of how that happens. The photographer just has to create that intimacy so that a true result emerges.

• In the other wedding photos, I just want to find them in a truthful moment, doing nothing to affect the way they happen. They’re there, and I capture them. With portraiture, it’s exactly the opposite. I challenge the photograph, I provoke it until the moment I know it’s there, just as I anticipated. For that, I always need the trust of the bride, the groom, or any guest at the wedding who wants to offer it to me.

We will also have our portrait moment at your wedding. Until that moment, I want to have earned your trust so that you can genuinely give it to me. Schedule a meeting so we can talk about this and everything else you’ve planned for the big day. I’ll be waiting for you.