Hi, I'm Sandra
[She/Ella]
I am the founder and lead photographer of Sandrachile.
I was born and raised in Chile.
I moved to the United States in 2006, and I have been working as a wedding photographer in Pittsburgh PA for the last 10 years.
I landed in the wedding industry almost by accident, and while I loved being a witness of love, I kinda hated the industry when I discovered it was racist, wasteful, and fatphobic.
With my photographic work, I have tried to make everyone feel represented. Love is for everyone, and that is exactly what I like to portray.
I have also tried to breach the gap between the wedding world and the real world by encouraging couples to use their consumer power to produce social change with their wedding day.
Food waste
When I first noticed the amount of food at the end of every wedding, I felt uncomfortable.
After thinking about what could we do, I realized change-making starts in us first, so I began gathering leftovers and feeding the homeless with them.
With each wedding, we have successfully spread the love of each couple beyond the constraints of a wedding day
Plastic waste
Love is the only thing I want to remain forever after weddings, so when I noticed plastic cups, stirrers, and cutlery, I started talking to couples about it and making them accountable for their trash.
Today, I can proudly say that together we are making an impact and reducing single-use plastics at weddings.
Intention
Most wedding traditions are rooted in patriarchy.
By encouraging couples to be mindful of the traditions they choose to include, I am empowering couples to set an egalitarian tone for their marriage, beyond just the wedding day.
This is a picture of my parent's wedding day at home, in Chile. My mom was 24, and my dad was 25 years old.
My parent’s marriage lasted 20 years, not the happiest I should say.
I got to witness their bitter years, which was actually most of them. Their relationship kinda sucked and being a witness of that was just as bad.
I never saw my parents happy, so this is my own reminder of the value of photography.
No matter what happens in the future, no matter where life takes us, and regardless if things get ugly; wedding photography has the ability to capture feelings that really existed.
We can pretend we looked different by photoshopping the way we look, but we can't photoshop happiness, joy, or love. That's our legacy for you, pictures that show you how you felt because, at the end of the day, feelings are the only real thing.
