Hi Madalena and Marcelo! Tell us a little about how you ‘fell into’ the photography business? 

Back in 2003, I was working at Sao Paulo’s airport and studying Tourism, I knew that was not for me and I loved Travel magazines, so I thought: that’s what I want to do! Be a photographer for a Travel mag, and so I was, and from there, I realized I wanted to work with people and emotions. Weddings got me deeply passionate. Marcelo could feel this and he was super intrigued, one day he shot with me and our business together started. He left his Travel Agency with almost 100 employees and we moved to Canada to create Sambajoy and have a new business and lifestyle.

Photographing is a very personal matter, and are often unique because of the photographer, and how he or she sees it – what does SambaJoy Photography believe wedding photography should be about?

It’s about a connection created through images, it’s a style, and, it’s energy. It is something from inside out, knowledge, passion and technique together. Let’s say that talent is lots of hard work and luck is discipline.

I loved looking through your portfolio! But when it comes to client work, has the process of creating your own unique style, been a lot of compromise, or have you always held on to your beliefs in your art?

We totally deliver what we believe and what makes sense for us, also, it has to make sense for the clients, so it is very important that they love our style and understand this process, we educate them in a playful way, showing our work in printed and digital versions, telling about the construction of the images on our portfolio, it’s almost like a class.

In your bio its noted, you both had careers outside of photography, when did you decide to do weddings – and was there ever a question not to shoot weddings?

I (Madalena) jumped in first, I left a career in a travel magazine to be closer to people and Marcelo left the Travel Agency, we both had solid and stable careers, and yes, we love to travel, and weddings are our passions. We got married twice 🙂

Everyone brings something unique to the table, what do you think makes you two stand out?

We works as a couple team, of course our dynamic is stronger, we know exactly what we want, we encourage each other, we are always looking to deliver the best and we share a lot of our ideas. I did my post grad in Photography, this helped me a lot and Marcelo got to learn and bound, automatically.

What is your favorite moment during a wedding?

Is it the same as when you’re just attending as a guest? We love the first look, if they don’t have one, we love to see the groom’s reaction when the bride walks down the aisle.

Which moment do you think is the most ‘valuable moment’ to capture during a wedding day?

We believe it’s the number of moments that create the whole storytelling. From getting ready to the first dance, they are all so special.

We all know weddings are such a special occasion. Do you ever get emotional shooting a wedding?

Most of the times! We smile almost the entire day, and we clap a lot haha. Sometimes we cry too!

Is there something you take away from each wedding you shoot?

Yes, do it better, try something new, be bold.

What is your ambition and your goals for SambaJoy Photography in the long run?

We’d love to go to more places, learn different cultures inside the wedding day, and also teach again. We love teaching.

The website and the design tell a lot about the photographer we think. Your website is striking starting on your home page, yet still very clean and crisp, why is that important to you?

Our website changed many times along the 4 and a half years of Sambajoy and it’s always the same thing: I envision it and ask Marcelo to create it. So, I believe we both do the best of us, sharing and understanding each other creating the same language.

It seems like you two have done vast amount of traveling. What have your travel experiences taught you that you brought into your photography career?

It definitely made it more easier, also makes us want to explore more and more, but now, telling love stories. Travelling runs through our veins and we find it quite easy to go far and pack fast, but it’s also quite a risk when it’s a wedding. So, we believe working is not the same as a vacation time, it requires not taking risks with exotic food before the wedding, for example.

What’s something you pull a lot of inspiration from in both your personal and professional life?

Real stories, deep love, artsy movies, and specially travelling.

In your experience, how important is marketing in photography?

For us, it’s very important because we moved from Brazil to Canada, then from Winnipeg to Vancouver. Which means, we were newcomers twice, without knowing a single soul on both times. Marketing is what helped us to start and to show our work.

I noticed on your website that you offer workshops, what’s do you like most about workshops?

We love the connection we create and we love to inspire people to change, to do it better, to grow, and to connect more, giving them inspiration and real tools. Also, speaking in conferences is something we really enjoy doing.

Lastly, is there any advice you’d like to give to those looking to get into the photography business?

Do it for yourself, try to find inside of you what makes sense, understanding that you will deliver memories, like forever. Remember you will be telling a story through images. And, again, talent could mean hard work. Good luck and love what you do

Thank you so much SambaJoy Photography for your thoughts and time! If you want more information about their stunning photos please visit their website sambajoy.com

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