Its a bit of a dry subject but we do get asked about what equipment we use and why we pick what we pick so here's the current list of equipment we take to every wedding.
Camera's
There is no wrong answer when looking at camera brands most photographers use a particular brand because it was the brand of their teacher or happened to be the first camera they bought, so whether its Nikon, Cannon, Sony or Panasonic there is no real benefit from one to the other. At LUX we all use Nikon cameras in particular we use the D850 with a D780 as a back up camera. The D850 is a strong pro camera with 45 megapixel sensor, it is robust enough to shoot any photo at any wedding with the added benefit of being much lighter that a camera like the D6 (trust me a big plus when carrying 2 cameras for a 12 hour wedding shoot). The D780 whilst not having as strong a sensor as the D850 is super quick and very very quiet perfect for those shot in the middle of the ceremony when the click of a shutter can be a distraction. Each of the photographers from LUX who cover your wedding will have this 2 camera set up with another camera in the bag as a back up should anything happen to one of these.
Lens's
Now this one can start an argument with photographers, what lenses should I take for a wedding?
Personally we have the following and between us and we switch them out through out the day depending on our needs
Sigma 24mm Prime Lens
Sigma 35mm Prime Lens
Sigma 50mm Prime Lens
Sigma 85mm Prime Lens
Sigma 70-200mm Lens
Sigma 24-70mm Lens
Our Prime lenses are my personal favourite they are great low light lenses with a 1.4 aperture giving a lovely bokeh and amazing depth to images, the colours on the sigma lenses are superb and we find give the best results. When in good light, from a distance or when speed in changing focal lengths is needed we will opt for the variable lenses of the 24-70 or 70-200. The 70-200 in particular is a great lens to capture images from the back of a church of from the permitter of a venue when we want to capture that fleeting moment with out intruding.
Lighting
We carry with us 4 flash guns with remote triggers, soft boxes and diffusers but use them sparingly, some venues require them if they are dark or lack natural light but if we can we will avoid using them until we have to, the last thing you want is your photographer going full paparazzi on you during the ceremony or reception I will often sacrifice a small amount of image sharpness in order to remain low key, your wedding day is your special day and for us its important you remain present and enjoy it with out the feeling that your in a photo shoot.
Other and redundancies
We have a lot of other accessories to be honest far to many to mention every thing from leather harnesses to carry the cameras, ND filters to the iMac's we use to edit your photos, its not cheap being a professional photographer but its important that its done right. It's also important to mention the amount of thought (and money) that has gone in to the "what if" question.
What if something break's, What if a camera fails, what if we drop a lens?
We never want to be in the situation where we have to stop taking photos or compromise the quality of the photos we are taking!
We on average have 6 camera's for every shoot with 2 photographers, we will carry multiple lenses more than we need just incase we have a lens failure, we carry 4 times the amount of memory cards we will need just in case, each camera saves the image to a primary and back up memory card in case 1 card fails, we carry flash back ups, 2-3 times the number of batteries we think we may need ... our view is, if its plausible that it may happen, plan for it and anticipate a solution, that way we never let you down.
For more info about wedding photography visit us at www.luxweddingphotography.co.uk and for more information about our studio work visit us at www.luxphotostudio.co.uk