In case you were wondering… let’s start with the gear Rich uses…

If someone had told me 5 years ago that one day I would be photographing weddings using a camera that looked like this, I’d have told them they were crazy. Yet here I am with the Fujifilm GFX50 Medium Format 50mp marvel. I’ve had this camera for a couple of years now, and I have to say the images from it are nothing short of breathtaking.

Why Medium Format? Why 50mp?

Catherine & I have shot over 800 weddings each, and prior to digital we had always photographed our weddings in part using Medium Format gear. So why return to that format?

The tonality is smoother and the colours are deeper. I can shoot a scene and crop later with infinite possibilities. I can stitch from multiple images and create an image so sharp and clear, but still flattering, the results are mind blowing. It’s not about creating a billboard, it’s about a clean sharp and clear image at any size. Take a look at this image taken from the wedding of Rachel & Scott captured just around the corner from our studio in Maleny:

Now have a look at the detail crop below from that image… still clean and clear right down to the hair. This capability means your wedding images will be super amazing for many years to come, even if you choose to crop them to certain areas of the image.

It also means no highlight areas such as a wedding dress will be blown out and left without all the detail. A black suit will retain detail like folds and buttons, even in the darkest areas. The following image not only shows how beautiful the foreground and background out of focus areas can be (look at that car door!!), but also the lovely depth in the suit.

I’m glad you asked… I mean how do lenses help create beautiful images? Well take a look at these 3 beauties.

The lens in the middle is the famous 110mm f2.8, one of the most stunningly sharp, clear and smooth portrait lenses available. And in Medium Format at f2.8, this lens is the most amazing lens to create Bokeh, the out of focus areas which can make portraiture so defining. The following image from an engagement shoot is a great example of this lens and what it can do. The focus is on the ring, sharp as a pin, with lovely foreground and background milky blur:

I also use three other lenses. The wide 23mm on the left, and the 32-64mm zoom on the right. The 23mm is incredibly sharp, and is perfect for all inclusive interiors like a chapel interior, or expansive vistas for that spectacular fine art image for the wall. The zoom is my all rounder for everything in between. My fourth lens not pictured, is my nifty 50mm (not really… it’s a 35mm equivalent to well… 35mm). It’s fast and small to capture those candid moments that are the key to capturing the emotion of your wedding day.

Stay tuned to see what gear Cath chooses to use photographing weddings and portraits…