PEOPLE Shooting stars

PLACES Products of the land

SHOOTING STARS

Meet the young couple rising in the field of photography and owners of Bamboo Fotografia

João and Sara Martins are the creators and photographers of Bamboo Fotografia. João was born in Monte Gordo and Sara in Santa Luzia, both towns located in the East part of the Algarve. They have been photographing and making videos since they were kids, Sara with her aunt’s film camera and João using his uncle’s old school video camera and through the years photography and video has been an artistic escape from their daily lives and a favourite form of self-expression. Sara studied to be a nutritionist and João has worked as a personal trainer and used to help Sara’s dad fishing in the past. Both never truly felt happy with their past careers and have always desired to explore their creative and artistic side. Once they had a taste of professional photography and videography they fell in love with it and knew this was to be their future career. The couple have both worked with people before, Sara in a hospital as a dietitian and João with his experience as a personal trainer. "We believe communication with the clients is almost as important as mastering the equipment. Our past working experiences helped us develop this soft skill and it really improved how we interact with different clients". These days you can learn anything online. With their life-long experience with photography and video and numerous workshops and events they have participated in over the years, they felt that going to photography or film school wouldn’t really bring anything new to the table. Instead, they invested in the best equipment available on the market, which they continue to do, continually learning in an evolving industry. Their goal is simply to keep clients happy and to do what they love everyday. It's the perfect career for them. Being fulfilled and successful enough to earn a living from photography and video and being able to deliver the quality they presently do.

Asked what the future holds, Sara says "In the future we want to keep doing weddings and portraying people while transmitting raw yet beautiful emotions. Apart from that we would love to do more destination weddings in different parts of the world". Besides working with the best cameras, lenses and post-production software Bamboo Fotografia offers a very comfortable and fun experience for their clients. João says "It’s normal for people to be intimidated when being photographed or recorded so we always make them feel relaxed and comfortable as if they were just hanging out with friends that take reaaally good photos! Also we are very down to earth and simple people. We never look at situations as problems, we always seek solutions which is very important in this area as things can get very unpredictable, especially during wedding days. Communication really is key and we aim to create a close bond with our clients so they don’t feel like we are just providing them a service, but an experience instead, as the best one possible". We asked what their favourite subject choice would be and also to best describe their style of photography. Sara replied "Tough question! Our favourite type of photography professionally would definitely be Wedding photography. In our free time and as more of a hobby for me it would be food and for João, Sports (Surf and Skate). Our style is very documental, focused on capturing the smallest details, the ones that make a wedding day unique to each couple. In our editing process we like to use soft colours and warmer tones with little contrast. This is the aesthetic we want to achieve and that is so characteristic of our work". This young couple is clearly very dedicated to their work and are loving what they do, which we think shines through to the photos they produce. We are sure they will continue to be successful in this industry... and shoot for the stars.