The photographing of a wedding is almost always a concerted effort at controlling variables that we often have no control over. My name isScott W Baker, and I am a wedding photographer based in New York City. This past December, I had a destination weddingin Savannah,GA. It was a small, 90+ wedding in an old historic building along downtown Savannah’s historic squares. The light outside was wonderful with a balmy sunlight but cooler temperaturesthan Savannah usually has for late December. It was about 45 degrees, ideal for a wedding photographer, as you don’t build up a big sweat, and shooting is more comfortable.
I came prepared with an arsenal of high-endFuji CameraandFujinon Lenses. I was using the Fuji XF-23mm F/1.4 Prime, the 35mm F/1.4 Prime and the XF-56mm F/1.2 Prime. These are Top end Fuji Primes for the XF series of cameras such as the XT-1 with Grip I was using. The equivalent in full frame camera sensors was 35mm+50mm+85MM.
Fuji X-T1 with XF-23mm F/1.4 at ISO 6400
All the Fujinon are EBC coated and all aluminum lenses. There especially well built and very solid with almost no chromatic aberration or flare. They give high-end Leica and Canon Nikon primes a good run for the money and are less expensive too.
The Fuji XT-1 had a Battery grip which allowed for longer battery life. I also was using the Nissin i40 TTL flash.
The set up is light and mobile compared to the full frame Nikon and Canon setups. I would say that the savings in weight was 45% lighter.
Fuji X-T1 with XF-23mm F/1.4 at ISO 1000
Not an insignificant amount saved from my shoulders over an 8-hour period.
The Wedding started on time and I was able to capture many great getting ready shots of the bride. Some were shot with the Nissin i40 flash and some were not.
The flash is super well built and yet very small and rugged. It has full TTL for Fuji and a guide number of 131 feet at ISO 100. It was super light at only 7.16 ounces, a feather really. I especially liked the metal mount and 4AA batteries. I never even came close to running out of battery power.
Fuji X-T1 with XF-56mm F/1.2 at ISO 1250
The real advantage of this setup is the compactness combined with razor sharp Fuji Primes. I took a ton of shots with the 23mm F/1.4 Prime that is a 35mm equivalent lens. Razor sharp even wide open, but its advised to use the included lens hood so flare is not an issue. I shoot in Raw so the dynamic range is superb with the XT-1 sensor, and it creates wonderful files. I recommend you try the Primes over the zooms first as they are quite stunning!
I found that I would also use the flash outside too as fill flash and it was perfect. This is one of the key reasons you use this flash in TTL mode. Canon and Nikon use very large flashes that easily tower over the Nissin i40 and yet the Nissin can go toe to toe in most situations, and recycles between .1 and 4 seconds just like the larger and heavier Canons and Nikons.
Fuji X-T1 with XF-23mm F/1.4 at ISO 5000
The flash duration on the Nissin is also quite respectable at 1/800 to 1/20000 of a second. The flash has a full bounce and swivel head as well as a pull out white reflector and also a Video light if you happen to shoot video. The flash is also very capable in full manual mode. It covers from 24mm to 105mm in coverage.it also has a wireless slave mode, exposure compensation of -2 to +2 EV.
Its very well built unlike the knockoff Sunpacks that Fuji has sourced out till they make their own line of Pro flashes.
Flash lighting at a wedding is very tricky in that I like to have a natural look when I can and so a full TTL mode is great. I was able to shoot 1200+ images during the course of the wedding. I never needed to change batteries on the flash! I changed out once in the battery grip of the Fuji XT-1 camera grip.
Fuji X-T1 with XF-23mm F/1.4 at ISO 4000
The sweetheart lens of the group is obviously the 56mm F/1.2 with the amazingly smooth Bokeh and image quality. A truly stunning lens on par with any Leica 90mm or Canon 85mm F/1.2 lens! The images just jump out at you with a smooth as whipped butter look!
Fuji X-T1 with XF-23mm F/1.4 at ISO 6400 with Nissin i40 TTL Flash
I try to capture the bride in a natural setting and also get the true intimate moments of her wedding. It’s not easy. The secret is to focus as much as possible on HER! She is the Center of attention in my opinion, not the groom or others.Capture her brilliantly and with Passion and you will have a Glowing happy Bride!
You can see some of my work at www.scottwbaker.com
