Elopement
Photographer in Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra

An elopement shoot is the two of you running away from everyone for a day. No guests, no schedule, no relatives waiting for the group photo. You put on your wedding outfits, choose a beautiful place and spend the day there together, with a photographer who stays close without getting in the way.

A ceremony is optional. Most couples don't need one, but if you want to say a few words to each other at a viewpoint or on a cliff, with a celebrant or just the two of you, I will photograph that too.

On a wedding day the portraits get squeezed into 10–20 minutes between the ceremony, the guests and the dinner, often in harsh midday light. An elopement shoot is the opposite: the whole day belongs to you, so there is time to wait for the right light and to go where a wedding party would never fit.

Why Lisbon works for it

Lisbon gives you a lot within an hour's drive. Viewpoints over the old town at sunrise, before the city wakes up. The tiled streets of Alfama. The palaces and gardens of Sintra. Cliffs and wild beaches on the Atlantic coast, from Cascais to Cabo da Roca. You can start in the city and finish the day by the ocean.

The light is the other reason. Most of the year Lisbon has soft, warm light in the early morning and before sunset, and that is when these photos look best.

How the day usually goes

There is no fixed format. A typical day looks something like this:

• getting dressed at your hotel or apartment, with a few quiet shots before you see each other;
• the first look, just the two of you;
• a walk through the old city while the streets are still empty;
• a drive to Sintra or the coast for the second half of the day;
• portraits at sunset, when the light is at its best.

Some couples want a full day, others a few hours in one or two places. We plan it around how you want the day to feel.

What happens before the day

Planning is part of my job. I help choose locations that suit the season and the light, work out the timing so we are not fighting crowds or the midday sun, and keep a backup spot in mind in case of wind or rain.

Not a casual couple shoot

A couple photo session is a relaxed walk in everyday clothes. An elopement shoot is a wedding day for two: wedding outfits, more planning, more time, and photos that feel like a wedding story rather than a nice afternoon.

When couples choose it

• You are getting married somewhere else and want real wedding photos in Lisbon.
• The wedding day went by too fast, and there was no time for the two of you.
• You had no photographer at the wedding, or the photos are not what you hoped for.
• You simply do not want a big celebration, but you do want the photos.

Before or after the wedding

An elopement shoot does not have to replace a wedding. Some couples do it a day or two before the celebration, as a pre-wedding shoot, when they are already in Portugal and the stress has not started yet. Others come back after the wedding for a post-wedding shoot in the same outfits, with the time and light they did not have on the day. And for some couples, this is the wedding. The planning and the way I work are the same.

If you want something bolder

The day can also be more daring. Some couples go for "trash the dress": the dress gets wet in the ocean or dusty on a cliff, and nobody minds. Others want smoke, a night walk through the lit-up city or a foggy forest in Sintra. None of this is required, but if you like the idea, we plan it in.

What to wear

Whatever feels like your wedding. A classic dress and suit, a simple white dress and a linen shirt, or something with no bridal code at all. Comfortable shoes help: the best spots in Lisbon usually involve stairs and cobblestones.

If this sounds like your kind of day, write to me with a rough date and the places you have in mind. We will work out the rest together.