The Best Wedding Photographers in Portugal

2020 was a year of learning and reflection. One of the things I thought about a lot in 2020 was the importance of celebrating women, especially in the wedding photography industry. This post will do just that! When I started shooting weddings, there weren’t many women doing it in Portugal. It makes me very happy to see that in 2021 there are so many incredible women who started or continued to shoot weddings. I’m very proud of all of you!

So I made a list of women photographers in Portugal, from North to South and the Islands. We have photographers from different cities, with different styles and different values. You can check the list two paragraphs below, and at the end, I wrote some thoughts on the role of women in the world of wedding photography.

When I had this idea I never wanted to make a super elitist list, with only 10 people or only my friends. The goal was to share a large number of women wedding photographers that I respect and admire because of the quality of their work. A thousand apologies if I forgot someone. I had to add new names almost every hour and it ended up being a big list. But there’s a lot of love and work to go around!

The list is in alphabetical order. Here are the incredible best wedding photographers in Portugal:

 

In 2020 I felt the need to shout that Feminism is important and that we can do a lot in our small world.

Wedding photography is dominated by super talented men and the place of women is often overlooked. How many wedding photography conferences have we seen where there is not a single woman? How many workshops or debates have an almost 100% male participant list? I think it’s important to reflect on what this means and how we can make our microcosm more equal, with the same opportunities for women and men. In Portugal, we’re arriving late at this conversation. “Manels” are rarely discussed – a term commonly used in the US, which refers to conferences with only men – and, unfortunately, remains very common. Even when working as a team, women end up playing a secondary role.

My goal with this post is to get that discussion going. We all agree that Feminism (equality between men and women) is important, but perhaps we think it’s not that serious or we do not know what to do to counter it. Because this is the only world we know, we may find some things “natural” and introspection can be difficult. Men continue to earn 14% more than women in Portugal and that women continue to be left with a larger share of household chores. A more equitable world would be better for everyone, not just women. Obviously, nobody wants to take the place of men, we just want to have access to the same opportunities. Assuming that we do not always contribute to this equality goal is the first step to achieve any type of change. We’re often so busy and on autopilot that we might not even stop to think if we could do it differently. Whenever we organize an event, gathering, conversation, live, workshop, or conference, we can try to invite women to participate and make sure that it’s not just a boys club. There are so many women with amazing work in Portugal. Just look at the list above.

But Adriana, people must get there on merit!
Yes, I agree. And, in an ideal world, that would be enough. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. In the world we live in, women usually have to overcome more obstacles. They may even end up reaching the same place, but the starting line is not the same for everyone. I don’t mean that men have it easy nor I want to underestimate their effort. Far from it. They also have to try hard and many may even have more challenging routes. But life isn’t harder for men simply because they are… men. And that is a privilege. There is a funny video that went viral a few years ago about what privilege means. If you want, you can see it here.

It’s true that it was a lot worse in the past. Not many years ago, a Portuguese woman couldn’t leave the country without her husband’s permission. But even those women could say “it was worse before”. Should they have accepted it? Things only got better because there were people who fought for equal rights, sometimes sacrificing their lives. In Portugal, women still have to work another 54 days to earn the same wage as a man and it will take more than 250 years for the wage gap to disappear. Wouldn’t it be nice to reduce it by a few decades? Much depends on us.

No, it’s not. Because the opportunities are not the same. The world was made by men for men. Sometimes we don’t even see it. What’s the image that comes to your mind when someone says the word photographer? You think of a man, right? Does that mean that men are “naturally” better photographers? Not really. These are the roles that we have been given since childhood as if there were more suitable careers for men and for women. Our gender shouldn’t dictate what profession to follow. Our talent and our passion for it should. Women’s space is not about being models and pretty faces for photographers to have more likes on Instagram. It’s important to make lists like these because it’s women who lack opportunities. Men already have them, in a world where, on average, they have more money and power. A ridiculous example is that women are more likely to die in a car accident (please don’t joke that women don’t know how to drive…) and it’s possible that it’s because seat belts are tested in dummies with male bodies. Sounds like a fantasy? You can read more about it here.

The first step is the basic cliché: love. Always talk to others with love, understanding, and respect. Admitting that we’re not perfect and that we make mistakes. I’ve made many bad comments towards women without realizing it and probably I’ll continue doing so. We’re all learning. That’s what growing up is all about! We need to read and educate ourselves.

Second step: whenever we organize an event, workshop or conference try to always have women in that space. In an ideal world, the ratio would be 50/50. But just because you can’t meet this target it doesn’t mean you should give up on having female representation. If a friend of ours organizes an event with only men, we can have a conversation with him. Not arrogantly or to demonstrate any moral superiority, but with empathy and understanding. Maybe there was a reason for that, or maybe he hadn’t even thought about it before.

Third step: check your list of recommendations. This is for other wedding suppliers who may be reading. Do you recommend a woman photographer? Do you recommend enough women? If you realize you don’t, but you’re not sure where to start, you have above an incredible list of women from different parts of the country, with different styles and prices that you can start recommending.

An important note: this text was written by me. It doesn’t mean that the women I recommend agree with what I’m saying. These words are mine.

My goal is not to make a pessimistic portrait, but to stimulate debate and highlight the wonderful work of these women. Agree or disagree, talk to me or to other people. Can we start talking about this subject with love and respect for each other?