Man with the many brides

If poets use figures of speech to express the beauty of things they see, ace wedding photographer Patrick Uy uses ingenious angle shots, balanced lighting and a dependable camera to capture the radiant glow of his every bride.

Patrick’s romance with his subjects, who include Manila’s famed wedding belles, started 25 years ago. "I’ve been taking photos since 1978," recalls Patrick. "I picked it up as a hobby in school. I was then a photo editor for the school newspaper The Guidon (of Ateneo) and also for the yearbook."

To further his skills in photography, Patrick, a Business Management graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, attended local photo seminars, summer workshops at School of Visual Arts in New York City and intensive workshops with Broncolor Flash equipment and Sinar View Camera in Singapore.

With Patrick’s serious, professional take on photography, he has earned the reputation as "the favorite photographer" of society brides. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to say that nowadays, having Patrick Uy as your official photographer is a status symbol as far as weddings go. Among his "brides": Charlene Gonzales-Muhlach, Jackie Ejercito-Lopez,Ruffa Gutierrez-Bektas, Angela Montenegro-Arroyo, Vicky Morales-Reyno, Ayen Munji-Laurel and Kakai Manotok-Arroyo.

"Most of the brides I’ve photographed were just referred to me," says Patrick. "Probably they were bridesmaids or maids of honor in their friends’ wedding. Or they could have seen my photos or albums, and were pleased by them. Most couples have become good friends of mine and they usually put in a good word for me."

"In photography," he continues, "all the selling and marketing you do is nothing. All a bride has to see is the photographer’s work by showing his portfolio or finished album. What they see is what they will probably get."

One thing is evident in Patrick’s work – he succeeds in capturing a bride’s special glow.

" I’m attentive to details," explains Patrick. "I catch moments of radiance from the bride, her friends, family and groom."

Asked what is his trick in getting the perfect photo op, Patrick replies, "Since I’m there to capture fleeting moments, I should be there and ready 100 percent of the time and be attentive to the proceedings. With that, I will get lots of ‘Kodak’ moments like mommy and daddy shedding tears of joy; a maid of honor who is teary-eyed as she sees her best friend walking down the aisle; or the groom who is hugging his mom and crying on her shoulder unabashedly. These are the (key) moments to be captured in film."

"Timing is the key," ends Patrick. "And when you learn to anticipate what will happen next, then that’s the time you can catch those magic moments."