Felix Faura is a successful Spanish photographer specialized in weddings currently living in the Dominican Republic. It was his passion that drove him towards photography to look at the beautiful world through the lens. His photography is all about preserving memories by capturing those rare moments, a way to relive them for many years to come.
What sparked your interest in photography?
“I can proudly say that this passion comes in my blood. I am from a small town in southern Spain, and my grandfather had several cameras and was the one who took pictures of everything that happened in the town, and its people. I worked as a lawyer for 8 years, one day I realized that it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life so I quit my job to pursue my passion, photography. I always say that before I was a lawyer, and now I am HAPPY.”
How would you describe your style?
“My style of photography for both weddings and sessions is often called photojournalism, or documentary photography, because it is not based so much on the poses, but rather on capturing everything that happens around me that day. A wedding is a huge opportunity for a photographer to capture all kinds of scenes of joy, tears of happiness, gestures of love and all kinds of emotions, dances, speeches loaded with emotional words, and the connection with the divine (be it religious ceremony or civil). Having all that in front of you in a single day results in a very special outcome.”
What do you consider to be the most essential when taking a wedding photo?
“For me, it is essential that there is movement, that things happen. There are weddings of all kinds, but it is much more inspiring for me if the wedding unfolds like a play or show, from the nerves of the bride or groom whilst getting ready, the mother brewing coffee in the kitchen while they do her makeup, the emotion of the groom when seeing the bride arrive at the ceremony or vice versa, etc… This is what I look for so I am able to capture the magic.”
How would you describe your work?
“‘My job is not to take photos, it is to make memories.’ I like to make all couples see that perspective, that they take this into account once you give them the finished work which already has an emotional value, will be much more valuable the more time passes. You will wear the dress once, a banquet is a passing act, the flowers will only last a day but in the end, the only thing that will remain of everything, are the memories.”
Tell us about a unique, funny, or interesting experience you have had while photographing a wedding.
“I have many stories to tell of situations that have happened to me at weddings. My mother says I could easily write a book with them. I remember in one wedding in Italy; just when they were going to exchange rings, the boy who was holding them (who was around three years old), dropped them, and they couldn’t find them. Without thinking about it twice, I took off the one I was wearing, gave it to the boyfriend without letting go of the camera, or stop taking pictures, almost out of inertia. My ring was used at that time (it was not a wedding ring, obviously), and I ended up giving it to the bride and groom as a gift. It was a lot of fun, and everyone in the audience laughed a lot.”
From your point of view, what makes a good photograph?
“A good photograph, from my point of view, is based on two fundamental things: The technical part, being the composition one of the most important to me even more so than color, light, etc. The same poorly or well-composed photograph makes that photo attract attention or not, whether or not it has an order, geometry, lines, vanishing point, perspective, or makes everything else bring the main object to the attention of the human eye.
But the main thing is that it transmits something. That is what made me dedicate myself to this beautiful job and specifically to wedding photography. I saw that I transmitted something with my photos, that people felt emotions when they saw them and they expressed it to me that way. The most beautiful moment of my work is when I deliver it, and the couple and their environment transmit those emotions to me, of happiness, satisfaction, even admiration for what they see. It is a very special moment, knowing that you have awakened emotions, through what you do, in those who have decided to give you their trust to do so.”
In your free time, what kind of photographs do you like to take?
“I love doing social reports, getting lost in the streets of a city or neighborhood that I don’t know, that I see for the first time, and get the essence of its corners and its people. You can discover things that would normally go unnoticed when you go looking for something different with the camera. You bring back to life forgotten spaces, which people see passing by every day and do not admire.”
How do you make people feel comfortable in front of the camera?
“Putting myself in their place. I’m not a shy person at all, but I do have a hard time being in front of a camera. So I try to put myself in the shoes of the couples I’m working with and give them all the confidence that they need. I speak to them with affection and give them all the time necessary. A photographic report must not be forced by time, it must be allowed to flow, without limit of hours. And if we have to stop for a beer so they can relax, then we do. In the end, everything flows.”
Spanish
