For us she is, without a doubt, one of the best photographers in Madrid. Yes, she lives in Madrid, but you can also find her looking through the lens in the paradisiacal waters of the Balearic Islands, among the alleys of Barcelona, on a cliff in the Basque Country, or in any Andalusian patio, and she moves with your camera to any part of the country.
Specialized in the wedding sector, Marta has a great facility for moving people with her photographs, for capturing the perfect moment and for her photos to make you relive that moment over and over again.
From weddings to pre-weddings, post-weddings and even proposals, pregnancy or birthdays, there is no event that she can resist!
Join us to get to know her in this beautiful talk we have had with her and fall in love with her as much as we do with her essence, her art, her energy and her eternal smile.
Let’s start!
How did you come to be surrounded by cameras, lenses and the art of photography? What brought you here?
I came to be surrounded by cameras and to get into the art of photography with the first camera that my maternal grandmother gave me when I was 9 years old. She and my aunt are very fond of photography and every year they held a contest at their house with friends. On the other hand, my father also liked to take photos of his family and we have many albums from when my sisters and I were little. At that age I didn’t take many photographs, only on school trips or during family vacations.
I discovered that I loved it when I started taking photos of everything around me a few years later, at 12 – 13 years old. He took photos of everything. I can say that I have huge boxes full of analog photographs with memories of those years.
I filmed and learned until I decided that I wanted to work for myself, reach out to couples, let them know me, get to know them, let them tell me and thus give them a wonderful photographic memory of their wedding day. In addition, I opened a studio where what I did most was develop my style, practice lighting, gestures, posing and I let myself be carried away by a lot of ideas that ran through my head.
Years later, when I saw that there were couples who wanted a more documentary, artistic and unposed report, I returned to the world of weddings, where on the same day I could take photos of very elegant people with their dresses, shoes, etc., and with infinite emotions.
I could take photos of the interior and exterior of the celebration venues, I could take photos of the dishes, details of the decoration… Details of everything and even party people with countless lights and glasses. I have always thought that whoever knew how to take wedding photos well could do almost anything.
I cared a lot about learning, apart from social photography, photography of spaces, products, fashion… Shusi included. And I tried everything that was put in front of me… Concerts… Families… Cities to exhibit… Almost everything.
And why the world of weddings and events? What is it about this sector that made you want to specialize in it?
I chose the world of weddings and events because I love capturing moments of people spontaneously on the happiest day of their lives, it excites me very much.
The wedding and events sector made me fall even more in love with photography. I am a very empathetic, emotional person who loves to listen and give confidence. And being able to photograph those moments that couples experience on their big day is very nice. You also connect a lot with your creativity.
What is your photographic style? What defines your photos, your essence.
My photographic style is natural, spontaneous, I always try to press the button at the right moments, to do so I immerse myself in what is happening, I observe and look for that moment that lasts a second and there I have it, I hate bursts, although at times rings Sometimes I do them but from different places.
If the person is more shy, I usually resort to some actions so that the photograph is natural, always based on spontaneous conversation. I encourage them and in a short time they feel confident and that’s when I photograph.
Do you have references in the world of photography? What things or people inspire you?
My references for years have been Victor Lax and Erika, Isabelle Hattink, Only the Richters, Pablo Laguia, Ken Pak, The Ferros, Jonas Peterson, Phil Penman, Susana Barberá…
Each reference brings me different things… Wonderful contrasts and frames, a different point of view when capturing fun, spontaneous moments, mixing everyday life with the couple’s most important day that are incredible, others give me extroversion and zero complexes and a casual and personal celebration, others a clean and broad beauty that I find spectacular, others a mixture of several and others help me see the tones and light when editing. I really like to find out the time at which the photo was taken and where that light and shadow come from and what tones it reflects. Many colleagues really inspire me and with everyone coming together, you learn a lot.
Over the years I discover more references as I change the type of weddings I want, such as cinemapara2, Mónica Frías, The Anti-Bride, OTTO… In video I love Cayuela and Alex Díaz, the latter especially.
I am inspired by series and movies, I am inspired by light and shadows, I am inspired by movement, reflections, autumn, a walk near the river or in nature, I am inspired by the waves of the sea, a good play, a good conversation and I even have good ideas while I shower.
With your photographs you manage to excite. What would you say is your gift? This makes you reflect the expressions and emotions of both the couple and the guests so well.
I think my gift is to blend in and feel what is happening. I believe that a pleasant and sincere smile works miracles. I reflect those moments that I also feel at the same time. I am looking for the most powerful moments once they trust me and let themselves be carried away by emotions and naturalness.
I think that if you are happy and you show it, it is contagious, if you are kind and show confidence, they trust you, and if they trust you and feel comfortable, they are natural and free to show those moments in front of the camera, especially on a day when everyone is happy.
Each couple is a world, with different tastes and different personalities. How do you “soak up” the essence of the couple, what they look for and dream of to capture in your photos?
My secret to capturing what the bride and groom are looking for and dreaming of is to listen to them a lot, I ask them a lot of things about the wedding and they end up telling me things about their lives, I let them talk and then I also tell them things that we may have in common.
They ask me everything they need to know and I tell them and in this way quite a lot of trust is created and as the weeks and months go by, we get to know each other.
On the other hand, I am researching the property they have chosen, for example or the type of bride’s dress. By the type of couple’s celebration and the conversations you can tell a lot about them.
I have always gotten along well with all kinds of people, I have no merit there. I like to meet different couples.
You are a super emotional, close, empathetic person… How do you control the most intense emotions during a wedding?
Don’t know! Capturing those moments, it’s like seeing, feeling, shooting is synchronized… I also don’t mind smiling with excitement while shooting or even letting a tear fall, I try to let the emotions out discreetly. I am very motivated by feeling different things at weddings, the more emotions I feel about what I am seeing, the more I want to shoot.
What do you think of the entire technological revolution that we are experiencing around the world of photography? Mobile phones that take photos like cameras, artificial intelligence, retouching that changes an image completely… Has your way of working changed with all these advances?
I think about the technological revolution (AI) that you have to adapt to the changes and use it to help you and not to delegate, there may be a lot of technological advance for editing photographs or perhaps for video montages, but the eye and empathy of a person with the couples can never be replaced. If that were the case, it would be copying what the photographer created and leaving aside the creativity of the new, the different, which in my world is essential, trying to be different from the rest.
With respect to mobile phones, I think that you will never be able to reach the quality of a good photo, I mean that, technically, it is still a small sensor no matter how many cameras they put on the mobile, the difference is very noticeable.
Regarding touch-ups that completely change an image, okay, you can change the backgrounds to a heavenly place or even chic clothes on the bride and groom, but I still think that the important thing is the personal treatment with people, the human experience, trust and more factors that make these people come out with their best smiles, looks and gestures, which is the result of a good feeling with the person you are photographing. And that’s worth more than all the technology in the world.
Do you usually do retouching or use photoshop on your photos? Because?
I edit almost everything with Lightroom, if I use Photoshop it is to eliminate some object from the background that draws more attention than the main subject, such as a trash can, a socket with cables, a bad reflection, a person who breaks the cleanliness of the room. image or, if I remove a person from the background, add some of the texture that would occupy that place. But I don’t use it for content manipulation.
Could you tell us about a super memorable and emotional experience that you have had during a wedding photography session?
A super nice anecdote was that, from the first moment in Iris’s preparations, I noticed a special closeness with her family, we laughed and were excited all together.
The same thing happened to me when I arrived at the ceremony and saw Thomas, seeing us arrive, that knowing smile of someone who already knows you and where you can say, Oh, how nervous I am, Marta! But you see her radiant with happiness, I introduced myself to her family and from that moment I noticed that they were very comfortable, so I was too, so I was able to photograph the entire celebration very beautifully.
At the end of the wedding, I approached the bride and groom to say goodbye and they both hugged me very gratefully. The mother of the bride, upon seeing us, came up to hug me too and almost without realizing it, I was shocked, I saw that all the guests were applauding us and with a spectacular smile towards us as we left, I left crying with emotion.
What are your future projects? What is your priority right now?
My future projects, which are already underway, are, together with my dearest friend and videographer David, to accompany us in weddings of another level, we love the boho chic style, big weddings that surprise us, that everything is beautiful and unusual. I would love to document fewer weddings per year but of high quality, with exceptional treatment on our part and a very personalized, elegant, minimalist, retro couples style… Another level.
And finally, if you had to choose an image of yourself to submit to a bridal photography contest, what would it be and why?
I have several, there is one of an Arantza painting her lips in front of the mirror, in B/W that conveys delicacy, beauty and a moment that is very much hers.
There is another one from Laura, at her post-wedding in Cuenca where she ended up jumping out of a boat into the lake. My favorite photo is one of him releasing cigarette smoke with his straw hat in the middle of the mountain.
There is another one of Carolina in her hotel room in Pedraza, also in B/W that I have on the cover of my website, she comes out listening to something on her cell phone looking at one of her bridesmaids, it is very cinematic.
I really like these photographs because they are very human, they are moments in which I captured them being themselves, they are on their own, I love that essence. I could comment on more photos that are not so artistic and that are also moments when I forget that I have a camera in my hand. That’s the beauty of my job, from the beginning I feel like another guest, close and with whom they can be themselves.
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