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

During a recent wedding shoot I got asked a few questions regarding my GoPro storage and travel case so I decided to write a quick post about this case, which I have to say is (literally) made for the purpose.

I purchased this case a few months ago after having considered a Pelican Case for quite some time – the GoProCases are not genuine Pelican cases but to me it is very clear that they are of the same high quality (see specs below)

I do not believe that they have any direct connection to either Woodman ltd. or GoPro.

The version I decided to purchase is called XB-550 and the specs are:

FEATURES:

• Watertight, crushproof, and dust proof
• ABS solid wall design – strong, light weight
• O-ring seal
• Manual Pressure Equalization Valve
• Stainless steel hardware
• Customized foam cavities for organization of accessories
• Lifetime Guarantee of Excellence from manufacturer
• Made in the USA.
• Exterior Dimensions (MM) (L x W x H): 255 x 230 x 174

So as said: very similar to Pelican Cases but with rigid pre-perforated foam instead of the Pelican supplied ‘pick-n-pluck’ foam.

The Case: (please note that I have attached the GoPro )

Go Professional XB-550 Case

The interior of the case consists of a removable top ‘layer’ of hard foam which is pre-plucked to fit the following:

• 1 x GoPro Hero camera in housing with attached angled mount
• 2 – 3 backdoors
• LCD touch screen
• Battery Bacpac
• A handful of mounts and attachments and extra memory cards

This is the top-tier with my equipment:

Top Tier of XB-550 GoPro case

As you can see on the image above there is a void below the top tier which I am using for ‘all the rest’ of my GoPro equipment such as additional mounts, WiFi remote, cables, charger etc.

On the photo below I have neatly tucked it away in two GoPro bags (believe me it is never this neat and tidy when in use)

Cables, charger, mounts etc. neatly tucked away

Conclusion:

I am sure there are many many other solutions out there and for the budget cautious I am sure there are also many cheaper ways to archive a similar result as this.

I am overall very happy with this product and have now used it for around three months and it has survived everything from rain, cold, mad driving and not least.. me

My only complaint with this case is the shiny surface which I am not a big fan of (call me vain, if you like) and I do prefer the matte surface which we know from Pelican’s products otherwise, this is a great product which I can highly recommend.

If you would like to read more about these cases have a look at GoProCases homepage (Aus) or USA they have cases that can fit up to 12 GoPro cameras so there should be something for everyone.

How do you store / carry your GoPro cameras? Share you thoughts by commenting below

Thanks for reading

Morts

Disclaimer: Please note that I have no relation to either GoPro, Woodman Ltd or GoProCases – the words and opinions expressed above are all my personal opinion and I have not received any endorsements from any of the before mentioned companies

1/320 f.4.0 ISO 1000 Myanmar

One of the major advantages of shooting fully digital (as opposed to shooting slides as I did back in the past) is that you have full control in post production to edit and process the look of your images.

I took this image in Myanmar recently and have not done any other editing than converting it to BW as I find that many portraits could  benefit from this conversion.

It is shot on a Canon 5D MK2 with a 24-105mm (1/320sec f.4.0 ISO1000) converted from RAW to Jpeg

Which one do you like the best?

Thanks

Morts

Inspired by a recent post on Togtech where a selection of the World’s Top Photographers reveal their favourite piece of equipment I sat down and had a think about what my favourite piece of gear was – I found it very difficult to pick just one so I decided to make it a Top5 instead, so without any further ado here it is in reverse order starting with #5:

5. Giotto Air Rocket

A simple little bulb shaped hand-powered blower. Easily removes dust-particles and sand from sensors, filers and lenses. Comes in three different sizes and will not break the bank! Sometimes simple equals good

Giottos Rocket Air

4. LaCie Rugged Safe 500GB HDD

Only one thing is more important than backing up your photos when shooting on location and that is keeping them safe! This particular hard drive from LaCie is my absolute favourite: It is solidly build, shockproof and lightweight (less than 300g). The option of using Firewire 800 makes the transfer of files hassle free and fast.  if you have multiple units you can daisy-chain them together to decrease the chances of loosing valuable photos/documents. I always have at least two 500GB drives with me on any job.

LaCie Rugged Safe harddrive

3. LowePro Vertex 300AW

I have had a great amount of backpacks through the last 15 years and have always been very picky when it comes design, construction and materials.  I have used this pack for the last two years and I believe I have found ‘The One’: A very rugged design that is perfect for most adventures -whether being in the Australian Outback or in the Arctic, it’s my pack of choice!.

Lowepro Vertex 300AW

2. Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 ZE * Planar MF lens

The only item on this lens that is directly related to actually getting the shot nailed! I only recently acquired the lens but it has now become my absolute favourite go-to lens.  On a FF body it is a brilliant standard lens whereas on an APS-C sensor it becomes a great 80mm portrait lens. Where it might be a tad soft fully open it absolutely excel stopped down a few stops, in particular in the f2.8 – f5.6 range!  The MF is very accurate and smooth and when used with a Digital body such as 5D or 7D you will be able to utilise the cameras build-in focus verification which is very accurate most of the times. By pressing the shutter halfway before you focus almost resembles AF. When used for motion work it is very likely to be the very best 50mm on the market at the moment! I used to think this lens was overrated, but I have now been converted and would chose this lens as my primarily lens any day!

Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 *

1. Redged RMC-436 Monopod

The heavy duty construction of this tripod makes it my absolute favourite piece of gear!  A special carbon fibre material make this pod extremely durable and strong without adding extra weight. I am supported by Redged but don’t think that is why I recommend this product: I honestly believe that this is the best monopod I have ever owned (and I have owned a lot!). I firstly discovered this particular product a few years back while travelling in the mountains of Nepal and I have not looked back since! I always pack this when shooting on-location!

Redged RMC-436 Monopod

If you could only pick one item what would be your favourite piece of equipment? use the comment section below.

Thanks for reading

Morts

Willi Jung 'Vogelschwarm' Art project 2012

‎
A few weeks ago i received a  message on twitter from a German artist ‘Willi Jung’. He invited me to be one of the participating photographers who will be photographing Willi’s ‘bird’ paintings for an art project he is doing. I received my bird painting recently and am proud to say that I have now delivered the first ‘Aussie’ batch of photos for Willi’s ‘Birds Swarm’ Art Project.

If you want to participate or read more about this crazy project please visit Willi here or read his Twitter feed.

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

Bernie Quinn, Jazz Singer

Making nice, natural an good-looking portraits does not need to be either expensive nor difficult. The photo above of the lovely Bernadette was taken with an absolute minimum of equipment: two heads with softboxes and a reflector.

The head on the right side was equipped with a standard 60×60 softbox and was shooting on 1/8 and the right head had a 60×80 softbox with grid installed and was set on 1/16.

The reflector is a standard model of ebay with a gold/silver side in the size 80cm.

No post-processing has been done to this image besides compressing it from the original RAW format…

So….. Why do I tell you all of this?
Some weeks back I asked you all what you would like to see on this blog and one of the things that kept popping up was BTS, setups and simple lighting solutions. Yes, I am using expensive lighting products from Profoto and Elinchrom but.. If you do not have a few K to spend then there are other solutions; standard 250w-1000w studio sets can be bought on Ebay for a few hundred dollars and the are the PERFECT introduction to portrait photography (and product photography)

To assist bit with the basics I have also included a L-diagram below with the basic set-up I used on this shot.

For in-depth information and great articles about Lighting 101 I recommend you to visit STOBIST where David Hobby can teach you everything you need to know and much much much more… -Always worth a visit!

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