There are more photographs of Tuscany than of almost any other place in Europe, which creates a specific problem for anyone trying to make new ones. The cypress tree avenue. The hilltop town at magic hour. The vineyard at harvest. These images have been made thousands of times and will be made thousands of times more. The question worth asking is not whether Tuscany is beautiful. It is. The question is what it looks like when the camera is paying attention to something other than the obvious.

baer lukas has photographed weddings in Tuscany across the full range of the region. The Chianti Classico corridor between Florence and Siena. The Val d'Orcia with its volcanic hills and unhurried pace. The Maremma coast where the landscape is rougher and less curated. The hills above Montalcino where the light in October does something that requires no filter to be extraordinary. Each part of Tuscany photographs differently, and rewards a different way of looking.

The approach, as with every region, is documentary. Nothing is arranged. The camera is present. The photographs that result reflect what actually happened, the particular afternoon, the specific light, the way this group of people moved through this place on this day. The setting adds. It doesn't substitute.

For couples interested in analog photography or Super 8 film, Tuscany offers an exceptional setting. The quality that film holds, grain, warmth, the particular way it renders shadow and highlight, works in a landscape that is already oriented toward a certain visual temperature. These aren't stylistic additions for effect. They are considered choices about what serves the work.

Venues and estates photographed in Tuscany include Borgo Pignano, Castello di Vicarello, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, Villa Cetinale, Tenuta di Papena, and a number of private properties across the provinces of Siena, Grosseto, and Florence. For couples still in the venue selection stage, recommendations based on years of working knowledge of the region are available on request.