Fuji X Wedding Photography Chat

[abjurina]

Yeah, see I'm really not a fan of direct flash indoors unless it's in a controlled studio environment or off-camera. But besides my preferences, the past several weddings have been high-vaulted ceilings in the reception venue. I've found that manual bounce at a higher power setting (like 1/2 power) and zoomed all the way to 105mm has produced a pretty good result not unlike what I've gotten from ttl bounce from my Canons. Anymore, I'm also finding that I prefer different types of looks at different parts of the reception such as off-camera flash during the first dances, bounce flash during the tosses and a little of both during the whole-room dancing.

[ryan]

Four on camera bounce I use the i40 - I do think it's pretty underpowered for bouncing in most places though. But I usually use a two light set up on stands along with a third hand held (Yn-560-iv) once we get into the open fun party dancing. And believe it or not a lot of times I will put the Fuji away in favor of my Ricoh GR and that three light set up. The snap focus feature onthat camera is absolutely perfect for that kind of loose, fun dancing and it is sharp as hell.

[dhimanr]

Hi there,
 

Bumped into this forum today while searching for best Fuji cam-lens combo, the posts kept hooked, I clicked the Sign-In button and here I am with my first post!

Read through all the posts in this topic today! feeling energized!

Question for Nissin i-40 users and X-T10 users:
Has anyone tried the HSS hack on the Nissin i-40?

I am an amateur photographer i like portraits, street and wedding ( seems very interesting but haven't done any wedding shoots yet! ), I would like to know how X-T10 stacks up for weddings, does any one have X-T1 and X-T10 on them for wedding?

I do have a quite a bit of GAS!! but who doesn't love the Fuji Primes!! 
So regarding this wanted to know if I'm carrying two bodies one with 35mm and other with 90mm will it be enough to cover a wedding? I know this is pretty vague, but wanted to know if anyone has done a complete wedding with just primes.

Sorry for asking so many questions!!

Thanks

Dhiman 
 

[Marc G.]

- the Nissin i40 hack should work

 

- 35/90 will not be enough to cover a whole wedding. Besides backup lenses, you're missing the wide category of lenses completely. With 2 bodies and only 2 lenses, I'd look at 16-55 2.8 (must have in my opinion for weddings) and either 90 2.0 or 50-140 2.8

 

- possible other combinations are... wide lens (10-24, 14, 16, 18, 23) + long lens (56, 90, 50-140) and maaaaaybe, if wide is 10-24, 14, 16 or 18, there is some place for the 35 1.4

 

- I did cover a wedding with primes only. It sucked, kinda. I took 16, 23, 35, 56, 90 and 2 X-T1... after 2 hours the lens changing was a PITA. The 16-55 just takes such a huge amount of lens changing off your workload... it's unreal. If I could only take 1 lens to a wedding, this would be it. And the Nissin i40!

[dhimanr]

Hi Marc,

 

Thanks for the response..
Yes changing lens is PITA.

16-55 f2.8  with a 90 f2 should cover lot of ground i think.
I do have the 90, it's a superb lens, really love sharpness and quick focus.

 

16-55 f2.8 to me does feel a bit bulky! but then again its a great piece of glass as some review says it replaces all primes in the range. Will check out in the local store.

 

Thanks!
 

[Marc G.]

No Problem

 

16-55+90 will get me through the day just fine... I'd miss the 35 1.4 for the shoot part but the 16-55 would do just fine..

[abjurina]

It's all in your style and the venue. I own the x-t10 and x-t1. However, the x-t10 stays in the bag as an emergency backup. It's not fun to jump between both cameras, since they handle different.

 

For me, I just plan my lenses accordingly for the average wedding situation: 35 for getting ready (18-55 if space is tight) 56 for ceremony (55-200 if reach is needed) ceremony, 18-55 for formals (could use the 35 here), and 35 or 18-55 for receptions depending on the venue and lighting. But you could easily figure it out with the 35 and 90, but I'd be nervous about having enough width with just the 35 in tight spaces.

[dhimanr]

In case I have an additional body X-T10(would be a lighter choice)/X-T1 I think I would slap on a 90/56 to it and use it for portraits and single shots.
For other parts i think 18-55/16-55 on a X-T1 should be good. that way shuffling or changing lenses should be to a minimum. 

( add will carry the 35, 55-200 and may be a Samyang 12 considering the size it can fir anywhere! )

Since you've mentioned 18-55 how does it handle, i know the variable aperture can be a drawback, but does that really matter in daily use during wedding shoots.

[Marc G.]

The 18-55 is a fine lens but it lacks speed at the longer end, has an unreliable OIS system and is, optically, not as good as the 16-55 2.8. I found variable aperture lenses to be a PITA. YMMV (!). But it's also a heck lot cheaper, smaller and lighter and works just as well for formals/group shots and some documentary stuff.

 

Besides, I found the 35 to be a heck lot more useful for couple portraits than the 56 or 90. With the 35 you can keep connected to the couple while you have to step back quite a bit with the 56/90.

[ryan]

The 18-55 is a fine lens but it lacks speed at the longer end, has an unreliable OIS system and is, optically, not as good as the 16-55 2.8. I found variable aperture lenses to be a PITA. YMMV (!). But it's also a heck lot cheaper, smaller and lighter and works just as well for formals/group shots and some documentary stuff.

 

Besides, I found the 35 to be a heck lot more useful for couple portraits than the 56 or 90. With the 35 you can keep connected to the couple while you have to step back quite a bit with the 56/90.

 

I agree. For the price the 18-55 is a good addition to a bag but after using on about 10 weddings in my prep bag it's just lacking in some areas especially in poor light or back-lit situations. I now use it for group portraits and some documentary prep stuff, or at times during an outdoor ceremony. Optically it's a damn sharp lens (w/ the caveat of decent light)

[abjurina]

I feel like the 18-55 is a love-hate situation for weddings. It's great for a poor man's wide angle and the image quality is really nice. It's also a heck of a lot lighter and cheaper than the 16-50 2.8. But I don't put that much stock in the long end, since that is what my 56mm is for. For most weddings it comes out for family formals and receptions with group dancing, but as others have mentioned the AF struggles in lower light compared to other lenses.

[Marc G.]

It depends on the whole philosophy of the photographer at a wedding. I started with 23/56 on 2 bodies but came to the conclusion that most times throughout the day the 16-55 is simply more convenient and it excels IQ-wise just as much as the primes but now I have the other body free to use an ultrawide or tele lens on it. So I went from primes to 50/50, kinda. That's why I can justify a higher cost for the lens I use most.

 

If primes are the primary workhorses and the zoom is just for a few situations, the 18-55 will give you the convenience at a lower price and your shoulders won't hurt from carrying it with you all day.

[dhimanr]

Had a good amount of shooting with the 18-55 this weekend, the focus in low light was actually great, it was hunting sometimes but mostly bang-on, but the lens was a bit too soft at f8 and above, but may be it's because I'm comparing it with the 90

I did check out the 16-55, it feels great with the X-T1, nice balance, a bit heavy but totally manageable. The size on the other hand actually feels great to hold, focus was nice and fast.

 

[val]

I was shooting with a Nikon/Fuji at a event and the one thing that really struck me was shot to shot speed.

 

With Nikon and the Fujifilm X100T OVF, you can pump out single shots but with the X-T1/EVF only cameras, there is a slight lag because it shows the photo and then you press the trigger again to clear it. I've disabled image preview and all that and yet it still appears.

[ryan]

I was shooting with a Nikon/Fuji at a event and the one thing that really struck me was shot to shot speed.

 

With Nikon and the Fujifilm X100T OVF, you can pump out single shots but with the X-T1/EVF only cameras, there is a slight lag because it shows the photo and then you press the trigger again to clear it. I've disabled image preview and all that and yet it still appears.

 

It can definitely be disabled by turning it off in the "Screen Setup" menu, then "ImageDisplay" then choose one of the choices " continuous, 1.5 sec, .5 sec, or off" . The only reason I can think of that the X-T1 would still show a preview image after you'd disabled it is if you were trying to shoot without an SD card in the camera.

[Fletch]

After a long strange trip of changing camera systems since I first tried to go with the Fuji system back in April 2014, I found myself back with Fuji.  I had decided last year that the Fuji X-T1 and XF lenses were not fast enough for the way I shot weddings, so I moved away from them.  A little over a year later, I heard about the firmware 4 update and decided to give Fuji another shot.  

 

The first real test was a 2-day Indian Wedding in Huntington Beach, CA (Day 1) and Irvine, CA (Day 2) in mid-July of this year.  I'm not going to lie, it was a pretty challenging shoot - the ceremony on day 1 was in the middle of the day in hard sunlight and 85 degree heat.  Not the worst situation ever, but challenging for sure.  The reception was pretty dimly lit, and knowing that the ISO capabilities of the X-T1 aren't the greatest, I had to make sure my ISO setting was no higher than 1600 and my flash was firing at 1/16th, sometimes 1/8th.  In post, there was noise but I cleaned it up in LR using the luminance slider (which I tried to use as little as possible).

 

Not having burst flash mode hurts, but it's not the end of the world.  I actually feel it makes you a better photographer because you have to time things much better than you would with a DSLR.  Would I like burst flash mode on the X-T1?  Of course.  Is it usable at a wedding without it?  Absolutely.

 

Below is a link to the shots I got with my X-T1 that day, if anyone wants to see.  They are color corrected and touched up a little bit for noise as I mentioned below but are otherwise unretouched.  I had also used a Nikon D750 for some of the heavy lifting because I wasn't sure how the Fuji would perform.  At the end of the day, I was happy with the way things turned out and the client loved the shots, which is the most important thing.  

 

Link - http://brianfletcherphotography.pixieset.com/tariniandbrian-fuji/

 

Gear used:

 

Fuji X-T1 with battery grip

XF 23mm

XF56mm

XF90mm

XF50-140mm

[CRAusmus]

Those are gorgeous photos Fletch.  You did an amazing job.  Hope that it boosted your confidence in the X-T1's abilities.

 

Good news is that Fuji is actively (aggressively) pursuing a solid flash system for the X-Series.  The Fuji Girls wouldn't reveal what company they were working with, but they said it was a major flash manufacturer, and that they were close to something with Metz but that company is gone now so...They are saying it won't be long before they have a flash solution.

[Fletch]

Those are gorgeous photos Fletch.  You did an amazing job.  Hope that it boosted your confidence in the X-T1's abilities.

 

Good news is that Fuji is actively (aggressively) pursuing a solid flash system for the X-Series.  The Fuji Girls wouldn't reveal what company they were working with, but they said it was a major flash manufacturer, and that they were close to something with Metz but that company is gone now so...They are saying it won't be long before they have a flash solution.

Yeah, I read about that - hopefully it's a better solution than what is available now.  I used a Nikon SB910 for that indian wedding but I have since ditched those and went to the Nissan i40 because of it's size.  The SB910 on a X-T1 or X100T (which I also have) is really awkward. 

 

Thanks for the kind words, BTW.

[Patrick FR]

I thought it could be fun to share in this thread:

 

COOL IDEA for WEDDINGS (or any kind of Party): Set up a “Selfie” Photo Booth with Fuji X, Yongnuo speedlites + Printer!

 

More here: http://www.fujirumors.com/cool-idea-for-weddings-or-any-kind-of-party-set-up-a-selfie-photo-booth-with-fuji-x-yongnuo-speedlites-printer/

[Marc G.]

If the client pays for the (mostly) outrageously expensive printing paper, it would be a great idea. That said, for photo booths, I'd prefer 1 cheap strobe... just easier than changing batteries on the hotshoe flashes.

[bradleyhanson]

I've just revised and updated my blog post to reflect my 3 years with the Fujifilm X-Series for weddings (and portraits and magazine work). While I will be first in line for the X-Pro2, I'm still loving the X-Pro1 bodies and X100S. The blog post still has it's original URL because so many other sites are linking to it, and Fujifilm Cameras posted it on their Facebook page.

 

http://www.bradleyhanson.com/blog/2015/5/26/my-25-years-with-the-fujifilm-x-series-cameras-and-lenses

[Tom H.]

I've just revised and updated my blog post to reflect my 3 years with the Fujifilm X-Series for weddings (and portraits and magazine work). While I will be first in line for the X-Pro2, I'm still loving the X-Pro1 bodies and X100S. The blog post still has it's original URL because so many other sites are linking to it, and Fujifilm Cameras posted it on their Facebook page.

 

http://www.bradleyhanson.com/blog/2015/5/26/my-25-years-with-the-fujifilm-x-series-cameras-and-lenses

 

A fine example of how it's the photographer, not the (latest) gear that matters. You have marvelous shots in that article, thanks for sharing!

[leifbrandt]

I'm fairly new to Fujifilm.  I originally had an old x100 but it was too quirky for me...but fuji was still intriguing to me.  A couple of months ago I bought a used X-T1 and fell in love.  It just makes shooting more fun for me.  I started on Nikon, switched to Canon, switched back to the Nikon D750 last year...and now find myself switching over to Fuji for stills.  I've been slowing phasing the Fuji into my weddings...the last wedding I shot was probably 95% fuji except for the few dancing shots I used a flash for.   Really, my only hesitation has been the luxury of the D750 having dual card slots.  While I've yet to have one fail, it only takes one to ruin a good chunk of a wedding.  

 

Anyways, for my next wedding, I'll take my nikon stuff just in case...but plan on using Fuji all day.   Here's my gear...

 

2x X-t1

Rokinon 12mm

18mm f/2

23mm f/1.4

35mm 1.4

56mm 1.2

90mm f/2

 

I just got a yongnuo flash/trigger set to handle my reception lighting...might even pick up a 2nd flash

 

The last wedding I shot with a x100t and a X-T1 mostly with the 56mm lens on it.  While I really like the x100t, I sold it for another x-t1 because I like having my two cameras set up the same.  The difference between the two were enough to cause me to fumble within the menu a few times.  So this wedding I'll shoot primarily with the 23mm and 56mm...and use the 90mm during the ceremony

[shane]

Did my first wedding shoot with the Fuji XT1 with 56, and the X100T combo. It performed very well, the continuous focus tracking worked better than I expected. I have no doubts about the viability of the Fuji for wedding work. The client loved the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[EzArce]

anyone using the xt10 for weddings? I am a bit unsure because all I see are xt1, xpro1 and xe1/2. I will have my first coverage in 3 years. I use canon before, it will be my first time using the fuji for an event. I will still have my canon as a backup just in case.

 

I have 

xt10 as my main camera

10-23mm f4 (might swap to 23mm after the event)

35mm f1.4

56mm f1.2

 

might get another xt10 when I sell my eos m and other lenses.