In conversation with Mariel Orellana

On Choosing This Path

Many photographers arrive at weddings through unexpected paths. What first pulled you toward photography — and when did you realize this could become a long-term creative practice, not just a personal exploration?

I have always thought through images and art, and since I am very young I have a deep appreciation for beauty in all its forms. I grew up watching my parents go everywhere with the camera and document our family, our world, so photography as a language was natural for me in a certain way. I loved photography as a creative practice, I studied communications because I wanted to be a journalist, however I never imagined this could/would become my livelihood. When I started traveling more on my own, photography was a means of sharing with the world what my eyes saw. And suddenly I received an invitation from a friend in Madrid— “I really love your photos, and I’d like you to capture my wedding in the same way you document your trips.” I said why not… I saw it as a fun project. And I felt so excited about it. Doubt or fear never crossed my mind… After this moment, the path opened on its own for me. It was easy. I knew it was my passion to be a photographer…but I had to struggle more with the idea of whether or not I would be able to make a good living out of this?

Building a Photographic Practice

Your work feels deeply intentional and emotionally driven. From the beginning, what kind of photographic practice did you want to build — and what industry norms or expectations did you consciously choose not to follow?

Yes, my work is intentional and very emotional. I am a natural empath, I feel what everyone feels and it helps me merge with the couples in all the ways. I guess I never thought about having a photographic practice before that, my work was somehow always driven by that emotion, by light and shadow and every wedding I shoot becomes this sort of a very personal visual poem of observation and feeling. In a wedding I’m behind the camera crying, laughing, feeling everything as deeply as the couple or the guests… and it’s a particular gift I have and sometimes hard to explain, but that is the magic behind a moving image.

I personally have been very lucky to be able to naturally get people attracted to this kind of work, from its authenticity. So generally it’s the clients who contact me first and hire me, sometimes even before having venue or a wedding planner. The wedding industry sometimes requires a lot of networking and promotion but I have never followed those rules.

Creativity Within Structure

Wedding photography lives at the intersection of spontaneity and precision. How do you stay open to intuition and emotion while navigating timelines, expectations, and the pressure to “capture everything”?

It has definitely been increasingly difficult to manage the expectations in weddings, with the sea of images and pinterest boards we now have available to us… It’s inevitable that we compare ourselves and the couples feel the pressure to have the perfect wedding. But somehow, I have always had an ability to pay close attention to the curation of my work and I always deliver weddings that are based on storytelling and poetry, not based on a shot list. Most of my clients trust me fully, and this is a beautiful thing for me. I do have interviews beforehand with all the couples to understand their story and point of view, what they like… and see if we are a right fit. I love to hear their stories and have them fully understand my way of working and the intention in my photography so they can trust me. And they do surrender to the moment, to the feelings and allow me to be a witness. Not once in 11 years working in the wedding industry have I had the situation where a couple isn’t in love with their final gallery and delivery.

Photographing from Guatemala, for the World

Your work is rooted in Guatemala yet resonates to couples from other countries. How has building your career from Latin America shaped your visual language, your opportunities, and the challenges you’ve faced within the wedding industry?

Yes, I started taking photos at weddings in Spain and Europe. I then came back to my home country Guatemala and experienced a boom in destination weddings here in 2021. I have also taken pictures in the United States and have had several opportunities to shoot different commissions in many countries. I believe building a career in Latin America has informed a lot of my work in a way that it is very authentic to the core. I feel proud and fortunate that so many couples can come to my home country and I get to pay homage to its incredible spaces and architecture through the pictures I take for them. I love listening to the gasps and wows of the guests when they enter a wedding venue in the Ruins in the city of Antigua Guatemala and are amazed by the level of service we have as a wedding industry in Guatemala. And on the other hand, these past year I have noticed a trend to bring amazing photographers who have been published in top wedding magazines to document weddings here, which is great because more people get to see how beautiful Guatemala is, but I do believe that we have such amazing local wedding photographers and maybe because sometimes we are not published in Vogue or a similar magazine, it doesn’t mean we can’t deliver that level of service and artistry.

Authorship & Boundaries

Photography is both collaborative and deeply personal. How do you define your role as an author of images — not just a service provider — and how do you set boundaries that protect your creative voice while honoring your clients’ stories?

I am very direct in the sense of mentioning to all my clients that I work based on emotion and inspiration. They are hiring a visual poet and a witness of their love. They will remember their wedding day through my eyes and that is such an honor for me to be able to create a memory for them. As I mentioned I have been so lucky to find clients who resonate and trust me deeply, they are genuinely interested in being able to live their day in full presence. And leave the creative process entirely to me, knowing I will respect each moment and somehow document it for them. I guess I have never had to protect my creative voice because I get a lot of freedom doing what I do. That is truly a gift.

I guess when I (rarely) get clients who do not understand where my work is rooted, we are just not a good fit and we don’t work together. I am very transparent in that sense and follow my gut feeling quite often. I never say yes to a wedding just because it’s a “good gig”. It has to feel good to me or I lose the joy in creating.

The Creative Process, Unfiltered

Can you walk us through how you approach a wedding or project — from the first conversation to the final delivery? Where does instinct guide you, and where does discipline or intention step in?

My process is both quite streamlined and based on connection. First I want to really understand my clients’ story. How they met, what they like, what their values together are, how their wedding is going to be, if they have big families and friends, if they’re party animals…. All these details are important to me in the process of documenting their wedding day.

We have an interview where I get to ask them questions about who they are and what their wedding is going to be like. And they get to ask me about who I am, my vision as an artist, my process and all the deliverables, etc. That first communication is very important for me because I get to feel them and see where we click, also to manage expectations and be transparent and honest.

This part is intuitive of course, because I trust my gut feeling and I genuinely only want to work with clients who give me creative freedom and trust me. After this interview, and if we are the right fit, I will send them a very clear contract with the description of the service and deliverables. After they have signed it and reserved the date, I keep track, sending them inspiration on Instagram, generally they follow me and I follow them back to see their wedding party events and such…and I also follow up with their planner when the date gets closer.

The month before their wedding day we have a second call where we discuss final details and I give them final tips while we go through the agenda of the day. Once the day arrives, I always organize and clean my cameras really well, and prepare for a beautiful day of documenting love. On the morning of a wedding I like to meditate and visualize all the beauty I will create and open my heart to their story and set the intention to create from this space of purity and truth.

The wedding day is the easiest part for me, I just lean into the creative flow and allow the day to become a fun co-creation process with the emotions and feelings, with light and shadows, with the couple (I love it when they come up with ideas!), and with other vendors. I love the team spirit we create in weddings with video and content creation teams and supportive wedding planners. It’s rewarding to work like this, in sync for the couple and their experience. This is my goal, that they feel fun and amazing about their day.

After I finish the wedding day, I immediately back up all the photos the same night or the morning after, in two different hard drives. The day after the wedding is basically for recovery. I can hardly see anyone and I just try to have time to recharge and be in the sun, do my tea practice…write in my journal and nourish myself.

In the next few days I will start the selection process. I usually select the whole wedding before I create a preview. One week after the wedding the couple receives the preview of their pictures (around 100 photos). And afterwards, around a month or two after the wedding I will send out the full wedding gallery. I carefully curate all photos in the wedding gallery and organize them so people can find a beautiful storytelling of their wedding day. I don’t like to overdeliver, I believe a good gallery is comprehensive and not overwhelming for the amount of photos.

Once I deliver the photos, I will start the final and most intentional part of my work, which is the curation and design process for their printed goods. I usually deliver a photobook and prints. That to me is the Grand Finale. When I get to send out the printed photos in an elegant way so they can have those heirloom albums with memories for generations to come.

Risk, Taste, and Visual Confidence

Your images often lean into mood, silence, and subtlety rather than spectacle. How did you learn to trust your eye, and how do you help clients understand and embrace a more nuanced, emotional approach to photography?

Generally my clients are looking for exactly that, the softer side, the mystery, the subtlety…the sublime moments…. And a wedding has every kind of emotion, but do I love transmitting each one with an underlying feeling of melancholy…. I guess it’s just something I manage to convey and capture when I click the camera. And the couples who like my work, also love it.

On the other hand, some couples are more fun and wild. And I also try to stay true to their essence and it’s a wonderful creative process to find those particularities and be able to capture them for each couple. Staying present in their authenticity and true to them is my goal, but inevitably I believe that the eye of the beholder also has an underlying narrative of its own. How we combine that subtlety is key…

A Turning Point

Was there a project or moment that shifted how you saw yourself — not just as a photographer, but as a visual storyteller or artist? What changed after that experience?

There was a wedding a few years ago where I felt so much connection and truth in the couple. I was shooting with my husband that day ( he helps me with photo and video often) and I was moved to tears all throughout the day, behind the camera. I understood the level of empathy and connection I can hold as a wedding photographer. I understood the depth of the work that I do and the importance of documenting these moments of truth and love. I guess it really helped me realize the gift and responsibility… and even today, years later, it has helped me stay true to my style and myself as a photographer and human being…

Leadership as a Woman

Building a creative business as a woman — and as a Latin American woman — carries its own complexities. How has your leadership style evolved as your practice has grown, and what values remain non-negotiable for you?

At the beginning I tried to shy away from being considered influential or leading in the wedding industry, however I recognize that I have been able to become more clear with the years and be able to teach colleagues, be more selective with weddings and stay true to my values when I work with wedding planners and couples I am very clear in my needs and boundaries. My highest value is creative freedom and trust, those are non negotiable to me.

Emotional Intelligence Behind the Camera

Photography requires deep emotional presence. How do you hold space for intense, intimate moments while protecting your own energy and staying creatively open?

In all honesty, it’s hard for me to do that sometimes. To me the most important thing is to give space for the couple to be themselves and be able to showcase their love authentically. It’s not about me at all. So I truly forget about myself sometimes! I do give all of myself and emotional presence to the flow in the creative process, trying to be super present and not interfering with the moment! And most times I end up absolutely energetically drained after a wedding. It’s the only way I know how to do it… I am passionate about what I do and I am not afraid of giving the extra mile.

Sustainability of Creativity

Burnout is real in the wedding industry. What rituals, boundaries, or personal practices help you sustain creativity and curiosity over the long term?

I am a very spiritual and curious woman. I have a beautiful women’s circle where I receive guidance and share my gifts. I also have a strong meditation and tea ceremony practice. I stay balanced, I love to travel, to truly find joy and ask for help from other professionals. Everytime I move in my life, I move out of intention and joy, not out of force or fear. I love exploring other art mediums – painting, sculpture, interior design – my goal is to express myself and share the beauty I see in the world. I think beauty is harmony and it can be so healing.

The Industry Today

From your perspective, what does the wedding photography industry still get wrong — and what shifts feel most necessary, especially for emerging photographers in Latin America?

I have mixed feelings. I see many weddings seem cookie cutter lately. A saturation of beautiful images, of truly incredible weddings! All very professional and also seem identical somehow??? The age of pinterest and tiktok and instagram has truly standardized trends and many people just want their wedding to showcase those trends, which to me makes it inauthentic. We need to shift into uniqueness, the story and moments the couples should create on their wedding day is so much more interesting when it reflects them deeply as a couple.

Advice to Other Creatives

What would you tell photographers in Guatemala or Latin America who want to build internationally relevant careers without diluting their identity or voice?

On that same line as what I said above, as photographers we should stop comparing ourselves and stop copying so many of those trends, the editing, the “styles” and find our unique voices! Find a way of staying true to yourself! Also focus on delivering beautiful experiences to couples. We are so close to them on their wedding day, it truly shouldn’t be about us as photographers… (for example, maybe you want to take one more photo but the couple seems exhausted and wants to go get a drink…let them be! Their day and happiness is so much more important than taking that one more shot. For us the skill of reading the room is so important)

Looking Ahead

As you move into your next chapter, what kind of projects or stories do you want to say “yes” to more often — and what are you intentionally leaving behind?

Wow, this question took me deep into my alignment. I am intentionally leaving behind cookie cutter weddings and events that don’t inspire me anymore. I am intentionally saying no to things that do not resonate with the depth of my vision and that don’t feel good in my body.

I want to align with couples who value the depth and intention of my work, people who see the artistic edge of it and understand the empathy and presence I bring to a wedding day. I want to travel more for weddings in amazing spaces that challenge me to get out of my comfort zone to create new stories, and I want to capture the depth of human connection and love in a deeper way somehow. On the other hand I am so excited to create more art in inspiring spaces and imbue it with my vision of beauty and harmony, and on the side also create gallery work of my own artistic vision.