We are Filipe and Vera, the hosts and creators behind the Five Historic Photography Studio, a space dedicated to authentic 19th-century photographic techniques.

Why “Five”? Before settling in Sintra, we lived in Florence. When we first travelled there, we were a family of five — the two of us, two dogs and a cat — and we often joked that we were on an adventure like The Famous Five by Enid Blyton. Later, we noticed that the first letters of our names, FIlipe and VEra, also formed “Five”. From that moment on, every project we created together carried this symbolic signature.

We originally met through biology while completing our master’s degree, but soon discovered other passions in common as antiques and analogue photography. When we returned to Portugal, and to Sintra in particular, we left academia behind to pursue our shared dream.

Sintra’s golden age bloomed in the late 19th century — the same era that saw the birth of photography and remarkable innovations in art and science. The Portuguese Royal Family spent much of their time here and shared a deep fascination for the photographic medium. This cultural and historical connection inspired us to revive the techniques once used by pioneers such as Carlos Relvas, Jean Laurent and others, linking Sintra’s heritage with the magic of early photography.

We devoted ourselves to studying these ancient processes in depth and soon fell in love with the wet plate collodion technique. With more than eight years of experience, we have exhibited our work in various institutions and developed a passion for teaching, sharing these extraordinary methods with anyone wishing to explore them.

Join us and experience the charm of 19th-century photography firsthand — guided by two local experts who turned a dream, a passion, and a family of Five into a living studio.