Wedding Photojournalist Association

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER:
SERGIO LOPEZ

During an exchange of vows at a Phoenix wedding early this year, wedding photographer Sergio Lopez of Tucson, AZ, told the story of the moment by zeroing in on only one of the bride’s eyes. Using a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, Lopez isolated that portion of her face, symmetrically framed by the groom and priest. The look in her eye conveyed her love as she said, “I do.” The judges of this award-winning photograph stated, “Perfect example of paring away everything unnecessary and getting to the essence of the emotional moment.”

“I love this photograph,” says Lopez, “and the bride, Salina, loves it too. This image doesn’t show what they are doing, but it says everything about what she’s feeling.”

Lopez prides himself on being a visual storyteller. Although he has been a photographer only a few years, his work has garnered awards and attracted clients from all over America and Mexico, where he also shoots numerous destination weddings.

A native of northwestern Mexico, Lopez came to the States nearly 15 years ago with a degree in electrical engineering and worked with small high-tech companies riding the dotcom boom. Then one day in 2002 when he returned to Mexico to attend his brother’s wedding, he visualized a new career. “My brother invited me to the ‘after shoot’ with the photographer, which took place on the beach the day after the wedding. I watched this photographer in shorts, sandals and hat having fun with the bride and groom with this amazing camera, and I thought this is what I want to do!”

A month later he ordered a Nikon D100 SLR digital camera online and began reading, learning and practicing as much as possible. A few months later he landed his first wedding job. “I didn’t know anything about wedding photography,” he admits, but his instincts were good and he learned from the experience. Soon after he was surfing the net when he discovered the WPJA web site and was blown away by the photography he saw. “I learned about wedding photojournalism by looking at the photography on the WPJA site,” he says. “It was amazing. I’d never seen anything like it. I knew I wanted to become a member one day. I like taking portraits but I really wanted to be a storyteller.”

FLYING GUY

With WPJA photographers as inspiration, Lopez worked hard to develop his style and technique, and a year later he was accepted into the association. “Applying and getting accepted to the WPJA is one of the best things that has ever happened to my business. I am so happy and proud to belong to the WPJA,” he wrote in an email sometime later.

A short time ago, he felt confident enough to enter an image in a fall WPJA competition and won an award. “When I got that award, it was a very happy day for me,” says Lopez. Taken at a wedding in Mexico, the image demonstrates Lopez’s fearless shooting style. At 6’3”, Lopez is often taller than most in a room and height has its advantages. He moved in close to the groom as he was being lifted into the air, so close, in fact, that he was nearly kicked. “I have gotten kicked before and had my camera grazed,” he says. “If I get hurt a little bit it’s OK. I have to get close to the shot, so I risk it.”

It is customary at some Mexican weddings for guests to throw grooms into the air, so Lopez anticipated the moment and had his camera ready to shoot when it happened. After many reception horas, he had so many pictures of airborne people in his WPJA gallery site that some people started calling him the “flying guy photographer.” “Because of my height I can get my camera way up in the air so it’s easy for me to get those shots. But I can do more than that, so now I submit images of people standing on firm ground.”

With such a tall stature and wielding a big camera, Lopez can be a little intimidating. He knew that trying to be invisible would be impossible, so he learned how to disappear by being very close. “When I first meet people, I got in their faces to break down barriers,” Lopez says. “I put my camera inches away from their faces, which startles them at first. Then I back away. They are more comfortable now that I am working a few feet away instead of four inches. I also crouch a lot because I am very self-conscious about my height and I always feel like I am blocking someone’s view.”

FROM STUDENT TO MENTOR

Lopez says he honed his storytelling skills by attending a photography workshop two years ago. “At the workshop I learned how to see,” he says. “Wedding photojournalism has a lot to do with capturing what people feel, not just what they do. I used to think it was all about capturing moments, but it’s really about telling a story.” Next year he will be one of the mentors at the workshop. “It’s very important to me to share with other photographers,” he says. “I want to teach someday.”

His sense of humor and knack for creative storytelling continue to win Lopez awards, including a winner in the WPJA’s photo competition. After a ceremony of a wedding in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the bride stopped to show a bridesmaid her ring. As the bridesmaid bent near to her hand, he crouched and aimed. When the groom moved in with mock awe, Lopez perfectly captured the lighthearted moment. Saturated colors heighten the scene.

Lopez likes shooting in both color and black and white, but he’s partial to showing images in black and white when trying to emphasize drama, he says. “I love color, but black and white is primal and elemental. It simplifies an image by giving you the essence without the distraction of color.” That’s why he chose black and white for one of his award-winning photos. He wanted to isolate a mother and son in an interaction that said everything about their relationship. “The groom was a fireman; a very macho man,” he remembers. “It was just after the speeches were given at the reception and he suddenly started to cry. The mother was very protective of her son and she was a strong character. Her main concern was that the day was for him. She went to him and put her hands over his eyes when he began to cry. It was as if she was hiding his tears.” To no avail, of course. No one can hide from Sergio Lopez’s camera.

—by Lorna Gentry for the Wedding Photojournalism Association