In my own way

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I, ROBERTO CESARI

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN BRESCIA

BEGAN TAKING PICTURES WHEN I WAS A CHILD, AND THAT’S HOW I LEARNED TO SEE THE WORLD

I want to be honest.

I believe there are more wedding photographers in Brescia than beers in Germany.

We are fortunate to be able to host (as a province) floral ceremonies in Franciacorta and receptions on Lake Iseo. We have wonderful wedding locations practically everywhere: on Lake Garda, in the city center, and we don’t even miss out on mountain locations and rustic restaurants in the lowlands.

This is a great opportunity and – at the same time – a snippet of reality that is very complex to manage, precisely because such diverse locations cater to the needs of totally different couples.

There are those who aim for the stunning starred cuisine of the restaurant Due Colombe in Cortefranca. Some go beyond the province – towards Mantova – and arrive at the atmosphere of the wonderful Convento dell’Annunciata. There are those who fall in love with the masterful setups of Tenuta Acquaviva in Travagliato, those who choose the stunning Villa Fassati Barba or Palazzo Monti della Pieve.

And then there are those who want to get married on Lake Garda, with its majestic palaces, its unique views, and its elegant audience.

However, I am just a photographer and – as I mentioned – it’s difficult to cater to a thousand types of clientele, so the need arose in me to find a fixed point to focus on. To find something that would allow me to say, “This is my peculiarity, my priority.”

So – even as a future groom myself – I asked myself: when my partner and I had to choose a photographer, what were the aspects that interested me the most?

I identified two points, on which – perhaps not coincidentally – I have always focused since I opened this business.

 

AN AUTHENTIC WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH

 

Well, alright, often you hear about authentic weddings, unposed wedding photography, wedding reportage, and so on.

But what do all these words really mean? The truth is they mean everything and nothing.

I only know one thing. I’m a wedding photographer, and – it seems absurd to say – I go to my clients’ weddings and… I photograph.

Often I see wedding photographs from some colleagues that look like stunning fashion shots.

On one hand, their ability to turn anything into something aesthetically excellent makes me have a very high regard for their technical skills.

On the other hand – getting back to what I would look for – for my wedding, I would like, and will want, a photograph that tells the story of that day. Thirty years from now, I want to be able to look at those photographs and say “look how we were!”, “look how you were laughing!”, “here I was stumbling as I left the ceremony!”.

Exactly, here I was stumbling. Because life isn’t perfect, it’s not a fashion magazine, and neither will my wedding be. Weddings aren’t perfect, not even on the lakes of Brescia.

Once, I happened to photograph a wedding in a stunning location on Lake Iseo. At one point, the restaurant owner, a friend of the groom, comes out with a gigantic bottle of bubbly personalized with the names of the bride and groom.

The groom takes it in his hand to show it to the guests, beaming with joy. The aluminum foil around the neck of the bottle slips and the giant bottle falls to the ground and – being thick as two fingers – it doesn’t break, but starts spinning on itself with a geyser effect on everyone (including myself with my camera).

There, I imagine those spouses years later thinking of that moment and bursting into laughter. And those photographs will bring back moments of reality to their minds.

Another time, I arrived at the bride’s house. We took some photos of the preparation and then it was time to go down to greet friends and family who were waiting for her in the hall during the reception.

She was extremely emotional and I wanted to capture that emotion without poses. So I hid at the top of the stairs and waited for her to arrive at the bottom to capture that exact moment.

 

Fotografo di matrimonio a Brescia

 

For example, I really like this photo composition.

But its importance to me doesn’t lie in this, but rather in the fact that when the bride saw it, she said:

“When did you take this???”

And she burst into tears of joy.

From my point of view, the spouses are not happy when they say things like “that photographer kept us half an hour in the backyard garden taking posed photographs” but when they say “ah yes, this is when it happened that…”.

They shouldn’t remember the photographer; they should forget about him. Often, there are photographers who go to a wedding and want to be the life of the party.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to search “Wedding Photographer in Brescia” on the internet and pick from the bunch. Give importance to your photographs and your memories!

For me, it’s a fundamental priority to tell your wedding story like a journalist would report on an important event. No great photojournalist has ever gone to a protester in the square and said, “protest in this position and shout in this way.” And so it is for weddings.

And of course, if you want some photographs together in the restaurant garden, I’ll take them, as well as some of the details or with family.

But it’s imperative that all of this reflects your essence, not that it’s something to embellish my portfolio with.

Photography is a serious matter, and – for years mistreated – so is wedding photography.

 

A CUSTOMIZED WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH

 

The second point that i considered fundamental concerns flexibility.

Today, “flexibility” is an overused word, used practically everywhere. Sometimes it almost loses its positive connotation.

Couples come to me with the most diverse requests, especially in terms of “supports”. I mean, there are couples who only want the photographs on a USB stick, and then there are those who want albums worth seven hundred euros with double copies for parents.

In between, there’s a whole world. There’s a universe of handcrafted wooden boxes, loose Fine Art prints, and more modest albums that still serve their purpose.

That’s why I usually communicate to my couples a price that concerns the photographic service.

Then, for the rest, it ranges from a few euros – for the USB stick – to infinity.

I hate talking about wedding packages. I want you to purchase – because money is also involved – my story of your wedding.

Then, through what kind of “book” you want to read it, we choose together, if you want – aware, of course, of what the price ranges are – even after we have the shots in hand.

My way of photographing is always a sort of editorial of your wedding.

So I don’t know if in this wonderful land that is the province of Brescia, I am the right photographer for you, but I hope I have at least conveyed to you in some small part my way of working and seeing wedding photography.

If you would like to take a look at my photographs, you can find them here.

If, on the other hand, you would like to ask me for some information or to have a chat face to face or via video call, do not hesitate to contact me here.