Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
After the wedding last saturday, I finally managed to complete the album set of post-processed images yesterday, and get them out to the bride and groom and their families.
Thinking back, it's been a 6 month process from being asked, to delivering the goods.
I did a site walk 3 months ago to check the location, shooting distances, lighting, and most importantly for an outdoor summer wedding in Arizona, where the shade would be!
At that point I decided I'd use my 5DII for the formal shots, as I'd need a longish zoom for the ceremony, need AI Servo autofocus to track the bride and groom as they walked up and down the aisle, and I figured I'd need a healthy amount of fill-flash to balance the harsh AZ sunshine.
At that point in the year the Fuji 55-200 zoom was still a dream, and my investment in Fuji flash was just the small EF-X20 on camera unit - not quite up to the task for group portraiture fill-flash.
I decided to use the X-Pro1 for all informal shots, as it was discrete, would allow me to shoot indoors without flash with no noise issues, and would provide me a dynamic range improvement over the Canon.
Thinking the wedding through further, I figured I'd need to shoot with two bodies for the actual ceremony, keeping the zoom on one, and putting a wide angle on the other - so in this case I opted to try a rental service from BorrowLenses.com
Rent professional cameras or camera lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica and Pentax
I went online and booked a 5DII body - scheduled it to be delivered by FedEx a few days before the wedding - and booked it out for a week for just $90.
I wanted to rent the grip as well, as I like shooting with a grip when doing portraits. But the rental cost was more than the cost of buying a swag 5DII grip from Amazon, so I decided to buy the swag grip early, and see if it was ok for the job.
$40 - and when it arrived I was super impressed. It was identical to the rather expensive Canon model (which I had on my 5DII) and in fact had a better material on the grip section than the Canon.
Fit was perfect, shutter release was smooth and responsive, camera was quite happy it - job done!
Inspired by the availability of low-cost add-ons, I also hit-up Amazon for an external battery pack for my Canon flash. JJC (who have done lovely add-ons for the X-100) had a battery pack on Amazon that took 8 AA batteries, so I went for that.
$38 - somewhat cheaper than the official Canon unit at $150!
In the days before the event I cleaned all my lenses and bodies to get prepped - charged all the batteries, threw in some new higher speed CF cards for the 5DIIs, and tested everything with some shots for function, dust-spots, camera settings, flash triggering, etc.
The rental body showed up on time, was exactly as advertised and looked almost brand new. It was super clean (including the sensor), and the battery was charged. It came with pre-paid FedEx return labels, and detailed instructions on re-packing and mailing. The swag grip mated-up perfectly.
With one day to go before we left for AZ, the Fuji 55-200 showed-up unexpectedly, so that was packed 'just in case'.
On the day before the wedding, I attended the practice run, with cameras, to check my angles and focal lengths - and check-in with the bride and groom on plans for their big day.
I was going to get full access from 11am when the ladies hit the hair salon, and get the full bridal party available for an hour before the ceremony to shoot the bulk of the formal shots. This is a huge bonus, as you're no longer under the gun between the wedding and the reception to get the photos done.
And in the heat of AZ, I had a chance of getting some decent portraits done before everyone melted into a sweaty mess in the 110F heat!
I took everything I had in the way of lenses - but on the day used the following:
Fuji X-Pro1, 18mm, 35mm, 55-200mm
2 x Canon 5DII, 24mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 70-200 f/2.8 - Canon 550EX Flash with JJC battery pack
First call in the morning was the hair salon, where I found the bride and bridesmaids in good spirits, having a glass of wine or two to calm the nerves
X-Pro1 and 35mm, and I was up and running - chatting to the ladies as they waited or got their hair done, and quietly snapping away - I set the volume on the Fuji to off, so there were no tell-tale bleeps as I focused for a shot.
The X-Pro1 is ideal for this sort of work - it's Auto ISO and low noise allow you to just shoot away without having to mess with the camera settings as the light changes. The AF is fast and accurate, even using shallow depth of field, something that can't be said for the Canon 5DII (more of that later).
I figured I'd better check-out the 55-200 before I got to the ceremony itself, so put it on the camera. This allowed me to work from the other side of the salon, and catch some candid moments.
The OIS on the lens made indoor shooting easy - very impressive.
We wrapped the hair salon on time, and headed out.
While the bridal group grabbed lunch, I took the opportunity to scout the wedding reception set-up, and grab some detail shots with the X-Pro1 and 35mm lens.
I always like to capture something with the brides family name on it - as they're paying for the whole deal! - And I like to get the detail shots early, before the guests 'destroy' the table settings
After lunch, I found the bride and asked if we could shoot the dress, bouquets, and shoes before she started getting ready - given a window of opportunity to get the shots done with no time pressure, I could take my time.
I like to get some bouquet shots in the can early - In case I forget later - but I always try and get some close-up shots with the bride holding them during the formal shots as well.
Bride's usually LOVE their shoes - so I make a point of featuring them - sometimes they are funny, (one bride wore bright pink Doc Marten boots), in this case they were glamorous, so I found a crimson pillow to really show them off.
The groom's party had arrived by this time, and were down stairs getting situated - so I found the best man and got the wedding rings and marriage certificate for a quick detail shot.
This is another one of those security shots to get in the can early - just in case I don't get a shot of the rings on the bride's finger later in the ceremony.
I also shoot the groom's shoes so that we have his and her's for the album
On to the dressing - I make sure I ask when I can be in the room with the groom and bridal parties. You can get some great shots at these moments - everyone is so focused on getting ready that they forget you are there - but clearly you need to respect people's modesty
I had a tip off that the groom was going to play a trick on one of the groomsmen - so got into position early. They had a 2nd dummy set of clothes for the poor guy, about 4 sizes too big, and as he came out looking puzzled as his 'clown suit' - I was there and ready to capture the moment.
The groomsmen were a great bunch - they looked like bouncers as they snapped a souvenir shot of themselves 'looking sharp'.
Upstairs, I got the nod that the bride was 'decent' - and could pop in to her room to capture the final preparations.
I dialed in some exposure compensation on the Fuji to really make the most of the light flooding in from the french windows, and kept the aperture fairly wide open for better DOF effect.
We were almost ready - as I left the room and walked down the hallway, I tuned to look back, and saw one more shot of the bride, ready to make her appearance.
Time to go!
Emerging into the bright AZ sunshine, we had 1 hour to get the formals done before everyone melted, and the ceremony started.
I switched to the 5DII, and led them out of the house, with the 24mm on the camera.
My scouting trip 6 months before had paid off - I had selected a shaded area where we could shoot - with nice backlighting, and no dappled sunshine to ruin the shots.
I used the 50mm f/1.2 for the majority of shots, with the 24mm f/1.4 for large group shots.
The 550EX flash provided the fill lighting - which was essential to balance the bright backlighting from the sun.
I selected apertures around f/4.5 for groups, to ensure everyone was in focus - and went wider for the couple or individual shots, where there was less of an issue with narrow DOF.
f/2.8 for these 'couples' shots - still gets you a nice soft bokeh, and ensures the subjects are in focus!
F/4.5 for a group shot
You can see how much fill needs to be provided by the flash to balance the back-lighting, and the battery pack earned it's place in my kit-bag, keeping the flash cycling all day long on one set of 8 AA batteries.
I took the time to do the bouquet shots with narrow DOF, as these are always a firm favorite with the bride and bride's mother
Ocasional use on the 24mm wide-angle lens pulls you into the action with a group shot.
On to the ceremony - 24mm on one body, 70-200 on the 2nd body.
This is where the pro's would have a two or three person team to cover the ceremony form multiple angles and focal lengths. When you fly solo, you have to juggle two bodies, and run around to get the coverage!
Wide shots to establish the location
Tele shots using Ai Servo AF to capture the walk down the aisle
I would like to have shot wider-open to throw the background more OOF - but the AF on the Canon 5DII is somewhat limiting.
The center AF point on the camera is fine - it's a cross design and will focus and track targets wonderfully. The other AF points on the camera are not the same design, and are vastly inferior. They will not guarantee sharp focus at shallow DOF in my experience, and are unreliable for AI Servo tracking of moving targets
Knowing these limitations is key, as you can work around them - I tested DOF during the dress rehearsal and got my settings after that test-run.
I could only use the center AF point to guarantee accurate focus - but that AF point would be positioned over the torso of the subject during the walk - so I had to dial-in more DOF to allow for the discrepancy between torso and face, and ensure sharp focus on the face as well.
The 5DIII addressed this issue with a complete AF system upgrade - but I doubt I'll be putting my $$$ in that direction, given my success with the Fuji system for 99% of my work.
Zipping around the ceremony to the other end of the aisle, I grabbed another wide positioning shot of the ceremony in full swing
Then long shots of the bride and groom with the 70-200
And more AI Servo tracking as they come back down the aisle after the ceremony is done
A few more family group shots, and were on to the food! I mean, we're off to the reception
As everyone relaxes, it's a great time to grab some candids - here the bride and her father
Bride and guests
Bride sitting down for the meal
First dances etc
Cake of course
I had one final shot in mind - one that I'd visualized 6 mths earlier as I surveyed the site. I wanted a sunset shot over by the white fence running down the side of the property.
I 'warned' the bride and groom the day before that I'd be 'pulling them out' of the reception at that point - so when the moment came they reluctantly left the dance floor for 'one final picture' - they really were about done with photos at that point, but because they had committed to do it the day before, they followed through.
I decide to try the 55-200 on the Fuji for the shot - and was glad I did. The IQ was excellent, and the OIS worked really well in the failing light.
I made sure I got the ring in shot - and we were done as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the trees.
I shot more informals with the Fuji as the party kicked into high gear - it allowed me to get in amongst the action without intruding, and the high ISO with low noise of the camera really helped here.
I shot about 50/50 Fuji and Canon - and in retrospect I could have done all the formals with the Fuji if I'd bitten the bullet and gone with a proper flash set-up for that camera.
The moving part of the ceremony is still a challenge for non DSLR cameras - but I'm going to test the 55-200 on some targets, as the AF does seem very fast and accurate now that I have had a chance to play with it. It may be fast enough to do away with the 5DII next time around.
IQ wise - both cameras delivered in spades, and NIK filters were used in post processing to get the final look I wanted. Both color and B&W - I used NIK Viveza, Color FX, and Silver FX.
The bride and groom saw no difference in image quality between the two systems - and in fact selected the final Fuji portrait as their main photo for enlargement.
If I was doing this full time - I'd spring for a set of portable flash heads and brollies for the formals - and an assistant to shoot 2nd camera!
Always lots of fun - but a hell of a lot of work - about 12 hrs shooting on the day, and the same in post processing.
I take my hat off to anyone who does this for a living!
Thinking back, it's been a 6 month process from being asked, to delivering the goods.
I did a site walk 3 months ago to check the location, shooting distances, lighting, and most importantly for an outdoor summer wedding in Arizona, where the shade would be!
At that point I decided I'd use my 5DII for the formal shots, as I'd need a longish zoom for the ceremony, need AI Servo autofocus to track the bride and groom as they walked up and down the aisle, and I figured I'd need a healthy amount of fill-flash to balance the harsh AZ sunshine.
At that point in the year the Fuji 55-200 zoom was still a dream, and my investment in Fuji flash was just the small EF-X20 on camera unit - not quite up to the task for group portraiture fill-flash.
I decided to use the X-Pro1 for all informal shots, as it was discrete, would allow me to shoot indoors without flash with no noise issues, and would provide me a dynamic range improvement over the Canon.
Thinking the wedding through further, I figured I'd need to shoot with two bodies for the actual ceremony, keeping the zoom on one, and putting a wide angle on the other - so in this case I opted to try a rental service from BorrowLenses.com
Rent professional cameras or camera lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica and Pentax
I went online and booked a 5DII body - scheduled it to be delivered by FedEx a few days before the wedding - and booked it out for a week for just $90.
I wanted to rent the grip as well, as I like shooting with a grip when doing portraits. But the rental cost was more than the cost of buying a swag 5DII grip from Amazon, so I decided to buy the swag grip early, and see if it was ok for the job.
$40 - and when it arrived I was super impressed. It was identical to the rather expensive Canon model (which I had on my 5DII) and in fact had a better material on the grip section than the Canon.
Fit was perfect, shutter release was smooth and responsive, camera was quite happy it - job done!
Inspired by the availability of low-cost add-ons, I also hit-up Amazon for an external battery pack for my Canon flash. JJC (who have done lovely add-ons for the X-100) had a battery pack on Amazon that took 8 AA batteries, so I went for that.
$38 - somewhat cheaper than the official Canon unit at $150!
In the days before the event I cleaned all my lenses and bodies to get prepped - charged all the batteries, threw in some new higher speed CF cards for the 5DIIs, and tested everything with some shots for function, dust-spots, camera settings, flash triggering, etc.
The rental body showed up on time, was exactly as advertised and looked almost brand new. It was super clean (including the sensor), and the battery was charged. It came with pre-paid FedEx return labels, and detailed instructions on re-packing and mailing. The swag grip mated-up perfectly.
With one day to go before we left for AZ, the Fuji 55-200 showed-up unexpectedly, so that was packed 'just in case'.
On the day before the wedding, I attended the practice run, with cameras, to check my angles and focal lengths - and check-in with the bride and groom on plans for their big day.
I was going to get full access from 11am when the ladies hit the hair salon, and get the full bridal party available for an hour before the ceremony to shoot the bulk of the formal shots. This is a huge bonus, as you're no longer under the gun between the wedding and the reception to get the photos done.
And in the heat of AZ, I had a chance of getting some decent portraits done before everyone melted into a sweaty mess in the 110F heat!
I took everything I had in the way of lenses - but on the day used the following:
Fuji X-Pro1, 18mm, 35mm, 55-200mm
2 x Canon 5DII, 24mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 70-200 f/2.8 - Canon 550EX Flash with JJC battery pack
First call in the morning was the hair salon, where I found the bride and bridesmaids in good spirits, having a glass of wine or two to calm the nerves
X-Pro1 and 35mm, and I was up and running - chatting to the ladies as they waited or got their hair done, and quietly snapping away - I set the volume on the Fuji to off, so there were no tell-tale bleeps as I focused for a shot.
The X-Pro1 is ideal for this sort of work - it's Auto ISO and low noise allow you to just shoot away without having to mess with the camera settings as the light changes. The AF is fast and accurate, even using shallow depth of field, something that can't be said for the Canon 5DII (more of that later).
I figured I'd better check-out the 55-200 before I got to the ceremony itself, so put it on the camera. This allowed me to work from the other side of the salon, and catch some candid moments.
The OIS on the lens made indoor shooting easy - very impressive.
We wrapped the hair salon on time, and headed out.
While the bridal group grabbed lunch, I took the opportunity to scout the wedding reception set-up, and grab some detail shots with the X-Pro1 and 35mm lens.
I always like to capture something with the brides family name on it - as they're paying for the whole deal! - And I like to get the detail shots early, before the guests 'destroy' the table settings
After lunch, I found the bride and asked if we could shoot the dress, bouquets, and shoes before she started getting ready - given a window of opportunity to get the shots done with no time pressure, I could take my time.
I like to get some bouquet shots in the can early - In case I forget later - but I always try and get some close-up shots with the bride holding them during the formal shots as well.
Bride's usually LOVE their shoes - so I make a point of featuring them - sometimes they are funny, (one bride wore bright pink Doc Marten boots), in this case they were glamorous, so I found a crimson pillow to really show them off.
The groom's party had arrived by this time, and were down stairs getting situated - so I found the best man and got the wedding rings and marriage certificate for a quick detail shot.
This is another one of those security shots to get in the can early - just in case I don't get a shot of the rings on the bride's finger later in the ceremony.
I also shoot the groom's shoes so that we have his and her's for the album
On to the dressing - I make sure I ask when I can be in the room with the groom and bridal parties. You can get some great shots at these moments - everyone is so focused on getting ready that they forget you are there - but clearly you need to respect people's modesty
I had a tip off that the groom was going to play a trick on one of the groomsmen - so got into position early. They had a 2nd dummy set of clothes for the poor guy, about 4 sizes too big, and as he came out looking puzzled as his 'clown suit' - I was there and ready to capture the moment.
The groomsmen were a great bunch - they looked like bouncers as they snapped a souvenir shot of themselves 'looking sharp'.
Upstairs, I got the nod that the bride was 'decent' - and could pop in to her room to capture the final preparations.
I dialed in some exposure compensation on the Fuji to really make the most of the light flooding in from the french windows, and kept the aperture fairly wide open for better DOF effect.
We were almost ready - as I left the room and walked down the hallway, I tuned to look back, and saw one more shot of the bride, ready to make her appearance.
Time to go!
Emerging into the bright AZ sunshine, we had 1 hour to get the formals done before everyone melted, and the ceremony started.
I switched to the 5DII, and led them out of the house, with the 24mm on the camera.
My scouting trip 6 months before had paid off - I had selected a shaded area where we could shoot - with nice backlighting, and no dappled sunshine to ruin the shots.
I used the 50mm f/1.2 for the majority of shots, with the 24mm f/1.4 for large group shots.
The 550EX flash provided the fill lighting - which was essential to balance the bright backlighting from the sun.
I selected apertures around f/4.5 for groups, to ensure everyone was in focus - and went wider for the couple or individual shots, where there was less of an issue with narrow DOF.
f/2.8 for these 'couples' shots - still gets you a nice soft bokeh, and ensures the subjects are in focus!
F/4.5 for a group shot
You can see how much fill needs to be provided by the flash to balance the back-lighting, and the battery pack earned it's place in my kit-bag, keeping the flash cycling all day long on one set of 8 AA batteries.
I took the time to do the bouquet shots with narrow DOF, as these are always a firm favorite with the bride and bride's mother
Ocasional use on the 24mm wide-angle lens pulls you into the action with a group shot.
On to the ceremony - 24mm on one body, 70-200 on the 2nd body.
This is where the pro's would have a two or three person team to cover the ceremony form multiple angles and focal lengths. When you fly solo, you have to juggle two bodies, and run around to get the coverage!
Wide shots to establish the location
Tele shots using Ai Servo AF to capture the walk down the aisle
I would like to have shot wider-open to throw the background more OOF - but the AF on the Canon 5DII is somewhat limiting.
The center AF point on the camera is fine - it's a cross design and will focus and track targets wonderfully. The other AF points on the camera are not the same design, and are vastly inferior. They will not guarantee sharp focus at shallow DOF in my experience, and are unreliable for AI Servo tracking of moving targets
Knowing these limitations is key, as you can work around them - I tested DOF during the dress rehearsal and got my settings after that test-run.
I could only use the center AF point to guarantee accurate focus - but that AF point would be positioned over the torso of the subject during the walk - so I had to dial-in more DOF to allow for the discrepancy between torso and face, and ensure sharp focus on the face as well.
The 5DIII addressed this issue with a complete AF system upgrade - but I doubt I'll be putting my $$$ in that direction, given my success with the Fuji system for 99% of my work.
Zipping around the ceremony to the other end of the aisle, I grabbed another wide positioning shot of the ceremony in full swing
Then long shots of the bride and groom with the 70-200
And more AI Servo tracking as they come back down the aisle after the ceremony is done
A few more family group shots, and were on to the food! I mean, we're off to the reception
As everyone relaxes, it's a great time to grab some candids - here the bride and her father
Bride and guests
Bride sitting down for the meal
First dances etc
Cake of course
I had one final shot in mind - one that I'd visualized 6 mths earlier as I surveyed the site. I wanted a sunset shot over by the white fence running down the side of the property.
I 'warned' the bride and groom the day before that I'd be 'pulling them out' of the reception at that point - so when the moment came they reluctantly left the dance floor for 'one final picture' - they really were about done with photos at that point, but because they had committed to do it the day before, they followed through.
I decide to try the 55-200 on the Fuji for the shot - and was glad I did. The IQ was excellent, and the OIS worked really well in the failing light.
I made sure I got the ring in shot - and we were done as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the trees.
I shot more informals with the Fuji as the party kicked into high gear - it allowed me to get in amongst the action without intruding, and the high ISO with low noise of the camera really helped here.
I shot about 50/50 Fuji and Canon - and in retrospect I could have done all the formals with the Fuji if I'd bitten the bullet and gone with a proper flash set-up for that camera.
The moving part of the ceremony is still a challenge for non DSLR cameras - but I'm going to test the 55-200 on some targets, as the AF does seem very fast and accurate now that I have had a chance to play with it. It may be fast enough to do away with the 5DII next time around.
IQ wise - both cameras delivered in spades, and NIK filters were used in post processing to get the final look I wanted. Both color and B&W - I used NIK Viveza, Color FX, and Silver FX.
The bride and groom saw no difference in image quality between the two systems - and in fact selected the final Fuji portrait as their main photo for enlargement.
If I was doing this full time - I'd spring for a set of portable flash heads and brollies for the formals - and an assistant to shoot 2nd camera!
Always lots of fun - but a hell of a lot of work - about 12 hrs shooting on the day, and the same in post processing.
I take my hat off to anyone who does this for a living!
