THE CLICK Express Portrait: Photographing Alex de la Iglesia Against the Clock

In photography, there are times when everything flows calmly and others when time becomes a non-existent luxury. This was one of those occasions. A national newspaper needed, with just a few hours to spare, a portrait of Álex de la Iglesia to illustrate an interview about the presentation of The Bar at the 20th Malaga Spanish Film Festival. The pressure was on: you had to think fast and execute even faster, ensuring that the image was in tune with the tone of the film and the personality of the director.

The hotel where De la Iglesia was staying was full of journalists and photographers waiting for their turn. Two and a half hours of delay gave him time to study the surroundings and sketch out ideas. Each minute of waiting added to the anticipation, but also allowed him to anticipate possible solutions. When the time for the session finally arrived, his mind had to be clear and ready to act.

The director was cautiously and respectfully approached to take the photo at the hotel bar. It was not just a question of aesthetics; the setting evoked the atmosphere of his film, in which closed spaces and tension play a crucial role. But there was a risk: if he did not accept, the alternative would have to emerge in a matter of seconds.

The moment in which his answer hung in the balance felt like an eternity, but finally, he agreed. Then, everything flowed. The lighting was quickly adjusted, the composition was fine-tuned, and in just a few shots, an image was captured that not only fulfilled the newspaper's request, but also conveyed the essence of the filmmaker and his work.

These kinds of challenges remind us why photography is about so much more than technique. It's about intuition, adaptation, and the ability to tell a story in a fraction of a second. And when everything aligns, the result is not just a portrait, but a moment captured forever.

In the image, Alejandro de la Iglesia Mendoza, known as Alex de la Iglesia (Bilbao, December 4, 1965) is a director, producer and screenwriter of cinema Spanish. Previously it was strip cartoonist.