The beautiful Sydney Harbour is always a great backdrop - at Athol Beach, Sydney

I usually don’t consider myself to be a wedding photographer as such however, I do shoot the odd wedding once and a while.

I recently found myself shooting at Athol Hall, one of Sydney’s premier venues overlooking the beautiful Sydney Harbour and thought I would go through my planning process to assist and help other (wedding) photographers in the lead up to the (big) day.

It goes without saying that not two venues are identical and all photographer have their own unique approach to their work.

The Recce

As with most larger productions I always start the reconnaissance as early as possible to work out potential set-ups, suited location and not least to familiarise myself with area before the day of the wedding. This part of my planning process is usually done  between the first and second meeting with the lucky couple.  A few things I always take notice off during this phase of the planning are  the tidal forecast (if shooting near water), moon phase and accessibility. Later on in the process I am keeping a very close eye on the weather forecast to be one step ahead from the very beginning.

The Packing

All photographers use different equipment for different situations – so take my equipment list below for what it is, and nothing more:

I usually shoot on two master bodies, one with a zoom lens attached which is usually the 24-70mm or 24-105mm and the second with a fixed prime such as a 14mm or an 85mm . For this particular shot my bag looked like this:

Wedding Kit 2013

The contents are:

• Canon 5d mk3 with 14mm f2.8 attached
• Canon OC-E3 flash cable and Stofen bouncers
• Canon Speedlite flash units x 2
• Canon 50mm f.1.4
• Canon 5d mk2 with 85mm f1.2 attached
• Canon 7d back-up body
• Canon 24-105mm f.4
• Canon 17-40mm f.4

Spare batteries, Sandisk Ultra Cards, UV filters, etc

I am not going into much detail about my reasoning behind the choice of lenses or bodies however, I always try to make it fit the location /occasion.

Another bag which, I usually leave in the car contains various gadgets which, may be handy should anything happen weather-wise: for this shoot it contained a handful of white brollies, single-use swim caps (bought bulk at pharmacy), soap bubbles, lens baby and a spare suit for me.

Nice and punchy autumn colours are always beautiful on photos - at Athol Beach, Sydney

The Execution

To shoot a wedding is not rocket science however, a general understanding for photography is essential and I personally find that

even after ten years and many many weddings I still learn something new every time. One of the most misunderstood, and probably also grey areas when it comes to wedding photography is pricing! Whether you are shooting for free (horror horror) or you are charging several thousand dollars for a full day’s shooting is not important: a wedding is not the place to ‘learn how to use your equipment’! If you are not confident (working) with your camera then you probably need some more time!

Weddings are one of the few things in life which you cannot re-shoot, everything needs to be nailed the first time! One of the most important things to remember on the day is to be organised (I  know what you are thinking now, but it’s not always

obvious) and always being at least one step ahead of everyone else: introduce yourself to the celebrant, the wedding planner (even if you’ve met them before it is always good courtesy) and confirm the running order with them (DON’T do this with the bride or groom) spend this time to shoot the static shots of the room, table decorations, flowers etc. so you dont have to worry about that later when the room is full of people.

As soon as the ceremony starts you need to be in control, do not feel too embarrassed to (politely) ask people not to stand in your way - the wedding couple will thank you for this later.

How you shoot the ceremony and the Brides arrival is also extremely individual so I will not dictate how to do this but instead point out some very important things to remember in the overall excecution of a wedding shoot:

• The Bride’s arrival
• The Ceremony including ‘The Kiss’
• Group shots (usually as per request of the couple)
• Creative photos with the bridal party only
• Dinner
• First dance
• The cutting of the cake
• The departure

For the majority of the above having an assistant or a 2nd shooter would be very beneficiary to keep track on time, people, guests and to work as your extended arm during the day (this is also a g r e a t way to learn how the bells and whistles work during a wedding day)

For me personally I am always looking forward to the bridal party photos as I see that as the (most) creative part of the entire shoot, the part of it where you can really shine as a photographer and show off your skills – I always prefer to have at least one to two hours for this part but often you are left with much less which is why a thorough ‘Recce’ is essential prior to the day .

The Post

When it comes to the turn-around time between having shot the photos and the handover process to the (hopefully) happily married couple this is very different from photographer to photographer however one rule of thumb is that it should be done as soon as possible, however with many couples going on Honeymoon shortly after the big day this can work in your favour. My process (or workflow if you like) includes importing all files into LR, culling, light editing and BW conversions and then exporting onto at least two different sources. When the files/photos/media has been handed over to the couple one of the most important things to remember is to follow-up and get some feedback, not so much regarding the  excecution itself but to ensure that the product you have delivered lives up to the brief and fulfils their expectations – Even great photographers can improve and the best way to improve is to learn from feedback and critique (positive as well as negative)

Do not be afraid to experiment with unusual angles and tones in post-production

Final Thoughts

As with all briefs, shooting a wedding is a very personal thing and should rightfully be so! The most important thing to me is not whether your equipment is made by Nikon, Canon or Leica but that you are confident using it and know how to trouble-shoot should anything unexpected happen on the day. Being organised and well prepared is essential so you can spend the time being creative and present and not having to worry about anything..

What is your best advice for shooting weddings? good/bad aspects/stories and tales are more than welcome

Thanks for reading

Morts

Following my despair when I was unable to locate a lens-doctor here in Australia who could assist with de-clicking my Samyang 35mm f1.4 lens I decided to give it a go myself, which turned out to be not just very easy but also worth it all!

Before I run you through the process it is important for me to highlight that I do not recommend anyone to this unless they are fairly confident in exposing the inside of their lens – I do not take any responsibility should you stuff it up

If you are already asking yourself ‘what difference does this make’ or ‘whats the purpose of this’ then this is probably not an ‘operation’ for you.

To be successful is de-clicking your own (Samyang 35m) lens you will need:

• 1 x philips screwdriver size poo (used for optical devises – can be purchased in most hardware stores)
• Plastic gloves (you do not want big fat fingerprints on the inside of your lens elements)
• A nice and tidy work environment (dust free and preferably dry too)
• a tiny bowl or container for all the little screws and parts (you do not want to lose any of them)

So lets get’s started:

Step 1 -remove and expose the 'inside'

• Using the screwdriver unscrew the three screws- remembering to put them aside so they do not get lost (they are tiny!) – lift the steel mount off and gently remove the black plastic cover (this is actually the iris-ring) + the inner silver ring (more screws), which will expose something a bit more interesting.

• When moving the black ring a tiny(!) steel-ball and spring will pop out, this is where the ‘clicking’ comes from – and your lens will look similar to this:

Be very cautious when dissembling the lens barrel and note how it's put together!

• Now is when the difficult part starts: putting everything back together again – The true trick is to remember exactly how everything fits back together and not to have lost any of the tiny screws.  Be very careful with the screwdriver as it is easy to scratch the back glass element which will be a disaster !

• When fully assembled you will (hopefully) have a fully functional lens with a smooth de-clicked iris which is perfect for video work (note it does not have any advantage when shooting stills/timelapse/etc!) You might find that the iris ring is a bit soft (I do not have this issue, but I have seen rapports online that some people find it too smooth)

Also, let me say that I would probably never do this with a dearer lens; the Samyang 35mm can be purchased 2nd hand for around $300-350 so my loss would not be that much should I end up with a broken lens barrel. I would never attempt this with an expensive Carl Zeiss lens!

If you have successfully de-clicked your lens feel free to comment with your ideas and tips, or maybe you have advise on how to make the process easier.

edit: please not that this lens does exist in a (pre-de-clicked) version, however I have not had any luck finding it any where (after 12 months)

links to companies/professionals who offer to do this service are also welcome in the comments below

Thanks for reading

Morts.

Link to the video: http://vimeo.com/22590645

Behind the scenes videos or simply BTS as they are also known have always been very popular online. I am personally a big fan of the technical ones where gear and technic are in focus. The little clip above is made by the creative souls from camp4collective who I have been a big fan of for quite some time.  This video takes you on a little trip to my favourite country Nepal and shows you some stunning footage shot with Canon DSLR’s using the magnificent Kessler Pocket Dolly. Sit back and enjoy.

Thanks for reading

Morts

PhaseOne studio, Sydney

It has been a long time since I did a shoot in a studio but yesterday I was back! the PhaseOne studio in Sydney is by far one of my favourite studios to work in; It is the good ‘ol warehouse style without any massive windows or natural light sources, which is perfect should you want to construct a good LX-setup.

I worked with one model yesterday; the very talented Miss Bernie Quinn, a young very talented Jazz singer who also happens to be a good friend of mine.

We had a good six hours of casual fun with various outfits, set-ups and creative brainstorming sessions and during the next week you will be able to see some of the shots on this blog with comments and information about the set-up and gear used.

Have a great Sunday

Morts

One of the main advantages about shooting in a studio is that you have loads of various gear and lighting equipment nearby should you require to change the set-up during the shot. When you are working for clients on their domain you will need to prepare for the shoot in advance by spending a lot of time talking to the client to exactly specify what they expect you to deliver. I am currently packing for an assignment for a Sydney-based Interior design company which I will be shooting on Saturday. During my four talks with the client I have got the issues clarified, where amongst these were the most important ones:

-What/where am I shooting (is it a big showroom or is it separate set-ups? -and HOW MANY?)
-What format are the photos supposed to be delivered in and their usage (medium format or will RAW suffice)
-Time-frame I can work within (it is being done within normal opening hours!)
- Power supply available? (5amp? 10amp? 3pegs?)
- What lighting is installed in the showroom and can I control it independently?

There are obviously several other questions that I need answered but the ones above allows me to start the planning in advance and to hire/buy the equipment needed for this shoot so I am ready when I start the job. Also all gear will be tested and cleaned prior to Saturday. (If you are a CPS customer they can usually clean/service equipment and have it back with you within the week! – I am sure Nikon has got a similar service)

My current equipment list for this particular shot looks like this:

- Two bodies (Full-frame DSLR)
- 24mm fixed lens (Canon f1.4)
- 35mm fixed lens (Carl Zeiss 35mm ZE)
- 85mm fixed lens (Carl Zeiss 85mm ZE)
- A macro lens for the close up shots (Canon 100mm)
- Fisheye

- Elinchrom Dlite4 mono blocs
- Softboxes (60×60 and stripes)
- Brollies (various sizes and colours)
- Speedlite 580’s
- Lightmeter (Sekonic 357)

-Zacuto 3x viewfinder

-Pocketwizards

- MacBook Pro 15″ (to tether and for instant proof)

And probably a TS lens from Canon as well..

To some people this might seem like an extreme bunch of equipment and some people would probably argue that I would be able to do the job with much less… However, as you never get second chances with clients there are no room for error.

In addition to the equipment above I might bring a Canon 7D for some filming (BTS for you guys ) and a few tripods, lightstands etc.

My question to you is: If you could only bring ONE lens on an (indoor) interior assignment what would you bring?

After the shoot I will post some photos from the campaign here on the blog for you guys to see, and hopefully also a bit of video.

Thanks for reading

Morts

As part of the user interaction of this page I would like to invite you to submit YOUR requests and wishes of what you want to read about here on this blog.

I do now have more than 3000 unique visits each week which is more than I could ever have dreamed of five months ago when I decided to close down Photorism and dedicate my work to this blog instead. This is why I ask YOU for help now!

Tell me what is important to YOU and what would make it even more interesting for you to interact and participate on here.

Submit your ideas and wishes to me either via TWITTER, by commenting on this post or via email (post@MortenLindholm.com)

The word is YOURS! (All ideas will be posted here on the blog – spam will be deleted)

Thanks for your input

Kind Regards

Morts
PS. Photo does not have anything to do with this post, I just like it!

One of the most important things when taking photos with a digital camera today is to get the exposure right. The exposure basically means to get your aperture, shutter speed and ISO setting correct and thereby to avoid over- or under exposing your file. The histogram which is a build-in graph-function in most modern DSLR cameras is the best way to check whether you have got it right. The good man Greg Cazillo from Cazillo.com have recently posted a very useful and interesting video lesson about the importance of being able to read the histogram on you LCD. The lesson takes less than 13 minutes to watch but will teach you almost everything you need to know about histograms.

Thanks for reading

Morts

video copyright by Gregory Cazillo @ Cazillo.com