Stefano Lunardi spent many years as a photojournalist for Italian and international magazines, among them Corriere della Sera, la Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore and Bell'Europa, and also shot fashion and advertising work for agencies. He moved to weddings because he did not want to spend six months a year away from his children, and he says he has now photographed weddings for more than thirteen years, out of twenty-five behind the camera. In 2011 he opened a studio in Cervignano del Friuli for portraits and wedding reportage.
His approach comes straight from that newspaper training: tell the story in pictures and catch the decisive moment. He keeps posed pictures to a minimum and looks instead for humour, emotion and expression in people's faces, and he works in both colour and black and white, with strong light and shadow. Alongside the wedding work he has more than thirty international awards, including Qualified European Photographer status for portraiture in 2014, first place for fine art and second for weddings at the 2016 IPA awards in New York, and a win at the B&W Spider Awards in 2017.
“My clients are the centre stage of my photography. I create with an open heart dedicated exclusively to them.”
Stefano Lunardi
On the day he stays with the couple from the preparations to the party. He photographs the ceremony as discreetly as he can, then suggests a short portrait session for the two of them that keeps them away from their guests only briefly, and makes sure the family and group photographs are covered. His earlier listing describes two employed photographers who help him, so larger weddings can have a second shooter.
He is registered as a professional photographer in Villach, in Carinthia, where he lives with his Austrian wife, and he still works from Udine and Treviso. His published weddings and venue notes run from Wörthersee, Faaker See and Längsee in Carinthia to castles around Graz in Styria, Vienna and Lienz, and on the Italian side from Friuli castles such as Duino, Spessa and Buttrio to Treviso, the Venetian villas and the Hotel Excelsior on the Lido of Venice. He also takes destination weddings further afield and speaks Italian, English and German.
Couples receive their edited photographs within a month, on a USB stick in a presentation box, with a slideshow and an online gallery they can share with their guests. Many also choose an individually designed printed album, and he also makes wedding films, several of which are on his website and YouTube channel.
