Since he made the definitive decision to pack his bags and move with his family from Serbia to America in 2017, Milan Lazić has been on a challenging journey. But it’s a journey that ultimately paid off immensely. Before that, he had been coming to the US intermittently for several years to photograph weddings, a profession he had been engaged in for a long time in Serbia.
The experience he gained over the years in the Balkans, combined with the experience he built in America, along with his undeniable natural talent, helped him become one of the best wedding photographers in the world and even the best in the United States.
Through his work, he has experienced many interesting things, and met different cultures and customs, about which he speaks for Serbian Times…
Where did your interest in wedding photography come from? Was your choice of profession dictated by money, or did you find more in this type of photography than in journalistic and classical photography?
-My choice happened quite early… I photographed my first wedding with a Russian Zenit camera when I was 18 years old, and I’ve been doing photography as a hobby since 1989, through photo clubs in my hometown of Smederevo. So, almost my whole life. Wedding photography is just the icing on the cake because it’s very demanding. It requires you to know portrait photography, and journalism, to have technique at your fingertips, to be fast, to think quickly, and to make decisions, as well as to be in excellent physical condition.
There are many photographers on the market, but few are good. You can make money doing this job, but only a small percentage of photographers are professionals, maybe 20-30%. I love doing this job because it’s a unique day for every couple getting married, and you’re part of it. There’s a specific energy and feeling that we try to capture in our photos.
In Serbia, wedding photography was generally seen as a weekend side hustle, not a profession… What is the difference between wedding photography in Serbia and America?
-Serbia is a special case when it comes to this business. Everything related to it there is quite difficult, which explains the aversion to this profession. In Serbia, the ‘wedding mafia’ controls restaurants, and you’re basically forced to hire their photographer for your wedding, even if you don’t want to. Serbia is probably the last country in Europe where this happens. When this happens, you end up with a bus driver (who is a weekend photographer) shooting your wedding.
SEE MILAN`S BEST PHOTOS AT THIS LINK
-Another, even worse thing is that in Serbia, guests are still sold photos at weddings, and it usually ends up with the wedding mafia wanting to rob the guests at the wedding. So, as a groom, for example, you find yourself in a situation where someone is robbing your guests at your wedding, which is truly terrible. Nobody wants to stop it. The wedding mafia ruins the wedding for some couples to such an extent that brides experience nervous breakdowns. I escaped all of that when I moved to America. That’s perhaps the biggest difference between Serbia and America. Serbia has excellent photographers, but many can’t work because they’re prevented from doing so.”
How creative can one be when faced with clients who consider this day the most important day of their lives and likely have their own vision of how they want it captured?
-We are always here for our clients and want them to be happy with their photos, but there is always room to create something exceptional, a creative photo. Sometimes, even one is enough. The basis for creativity and the ability to make space for something like that is preparation. Every wedding requires good preparation, knowing the weather, arriving early, making a plan for where you will shoot, etc.
You’ve photographed Serbian weddings, but also weddings of many different peoples and races living in America. You’ve probably had many strange and unusual requests… tell us about them.
-Yes, we’ve done weddings for people of all kinds of races, cultures, and traditions. That’s one of the great things about America because people from all over the world live here. I’ve been doing this for a long time and there have been many incredible situations. Once, when I was photographing a wedding in France, the bride came up to me and asked me to come with her to the room, and then she locked the door. At that moment, she took almost everything off and asked me to take some boudoir photos for her future husband, as a surprise. I was taken aback and very confused at first, because you don’t expect something like that. I had to react quickly and take those photos unprepared. Everything turned out well, but it’s just one example of how stressful and interesting this job can be (laughs).
Do Serbs in America have different requests compared to those you’ve photographed in Serbia?
-Serbian weddings in America are really beautiful. They are mostly traditional, at least the ones I’ve photographed. As a people, we’ve maintained our traditions. Serbian people in America are connected to our church, so the ceremonies are usually held in our temples. The music at weddings is a mix of Serbian and American, but there’s always at least one kolo (traditional Serbian dance). Our Serbian newlyweds in America don’t have any excessive demands. I love photographing Serbian and Balkan weddings in general.
You’ve won many awards. How much do they mean in your work? Do they increase your prices?
-Wedding photography has advanced a lot, and we have some truly beautiful wedding photos nowadays. The advancement of technology has made this possible. We, as wedding photographers, also compete in various competitions, submit our photos to contests, etc. Two years ago, in 2020, I managed to be among the top 10 photographers in the world according to WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association), the oldest association in the world. Three years ago, they ranked me among the top 5 photographers in America, which means a lot to me, because this is the country where I work and create, and I’ve won many other awards as well, concludes Milan Lazic at the end of the interview, a man who has made the most beautiful day more beautiful for many couples and ensured that memories of it last forever.
More about Milan Lazić and his photos on his WEBSITE and BLOG.
Article by: Antonije Kovačević Photo: Milan Lazić / MS Photography