WHAT EVERY PHOTO IS by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN CASCAIS

The photo is of the groom, with his mother and sister, moments before leaving for the wedding ceremony

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

The Other Hands That Care for the Wedding

Hands. Hands check what must be just right to walk the groom to the altar to wait for his bride, who will also have hands caring for her at that moment. Hands that hold and allow communication. The hands of the wedding photographer, though not present in the image, are the ones that made it possible, together with the other hands that care.

For me, that’s the theme of this photograph. Without it being a deliberate intention, the wedding photographer often finds themselves faced with hands that impose themselves in the rectangle that is a photograph. Many times, not knowing what to do with them prevents the image from gaining the stature it deserves.

Special attention… to hands at a wedding

They are the ones who, by caressing, make the wedding photographer run to catch the moment in time. They are the ones that point and indicate the direction of something worth photographing. And they are also the ones that sometimes stop the photographer, with a kindly irritation, from taking that essential shot that will never be bathed in light directed at interested eyes. That’s why the wedding photographer must always pay very special attention… to the hands.

Point by point:

• The main subjects for the wedding photographer will always be the bride and groom, from the beginning of the day until the moment of departure.
• But throughout the wedding day, the photographer comes across so many other things that inevitably shift the focus of their lens:
  • The objects that will be used by the bride and groom
  • The decoration in all the different spaces the wedding moves through
  • Details from the cars that take them, to the groom’s cufflinks
  • The bride’s hairstyle and the tiara are just placed on her head
  • The shoes, the bouquet, etc.
• Of course, the wedding guests and their interactions will also be a subject for the photographer as the day unfolds.
• However, there is one subject the wedding photographer’s lens cannot resist and is constantly drawn to:
  • Hands:
    • Hands that receive and deliver wedding rings
    • That holds flower bouquets
    • That reach for other hands
    • That point direction
  • But, above all:
    • Hands that caress
    • That wipes away tears of joy
    • That helps a child get up
    • That makes the conversation understandable

You should know:

• Hands are, without a doubt, some of the main characters on a wedding day and, as expected, are given special attention by the photographer’s lens. It’s impossible to find wedding photos without hands engaged in some important task, often being the fundamental reason for the internal balance of that image.

• If I were to spend time at every wedding, just photographing hands involved in important tasks—as if they were portraits—not only would I have plenty to focus on, but it certainly wouldn’t be a day wasted.

• From what I see while editing wedding photographs, it seems to me that hands and eyes are what define us as individuals with feelings and, most importantly, emotions. They speak their language, one we all instinctively understand.

• Often, just a single gesture is enough to stop an event, confirm the truth of a sentence during a speech at the wedding party, or turn eyes into wells of tears filled with happiness.

• So, it’s no surprise that the wedding photographer is always paying close attention to them. Not always as isolated subjects within the frame of a photo, but as rightful characters in the scene playing out—and, many times, the element that defines the image’s harmonious balance.

The photographs of your wedding won’t be just about hands, but they will surely be part of almost every one of them, for reasons we all understand.

Come find out how, in the photos I have to show you from the many weddings I’ve captured, some of which are included in wedding albums. I’m looking forward to meeting you.

• You can see a full wedding story: