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Using the Amazing Fujifilm GFX100s For Wedding Photography

As a passionate wedding photographer with a bit of a background in Landscape photography, the idea of having, and primarily using a Medium Format camera has always been a bit of a pipe dream until finally laying hands on the new Fujifilm GFX100s. That being said though, as primarily a wedding photographer, Digital Medium Format cameras have typically not been the best tool to produce wedding photos – so hopefully this little hands-on insight makes it clear why I chose the GFX100s for wedding photography.

I’ve always been a bit of a gear head – I’ve always tried to raise the bar in what I offer to my bridal couples when comparing what I offer with my competitors. This is evident in my early offering using a drone at weddings, also my used of virtual reality technology to record your day, even underwater drones for those of you who get married underwater! I just like my toys, and in my view a digital medium format camera was my personal gold standard of technological toys – they just weren’t viable as a working camera, until now.

A wedding photographer who uses a medium format camera is quite rare for a number of different reasons, hopefully I’ll help you understand why that is, but also why I’m now one of the rare ones using the medium format Fujifilm GFX100s for wedding photography!

Fliying veil at Alru farm wedding

What is a Medium Format Camera?

The name ‘Medium Format’ comes from the days of film where there were a selection of different sized films for use in different cameras. Those of you old enough to remember using a Box Brownie in their family photography would remember the film size being much larger than what came next in consumer-grade photography in the standard 35mm film rolls.

Basically speaking, most consumer film cameras would use 35mm film, while professional photographer-grade cameras would be using larger medium format film, and a few might even use large format for some applications. There is a marvelous true-story film about a photographer battling this stereotype of pro-grade camera with Vogue magazine in We’ll Take Manhattan, made in 2012. A really interesting movie.

The larger the film used meant larger negatives of images, meaning more detail can be captured with cameras using medium format film – therefore in theory – making better overall images.

35mm v 120 Medium Format

 

When considering digital cameras, the sensor where the device mimics the use of film to capture an image has until very recently been much smaller than what was available with traditional film – which is a center of any debate over which is better – film or digital photography.

Cheaper digital single lens reflex cameras, or ‘DSLRs’ tend to have a smaller sensor when compared to ‘pro-grade’ DSLRs who are said to have a ‘full frame’ sensor – which is really just the equivalent of 35mm film. I’m making a few generalisations here, but this makes things easier to illustrate a point.

So taking from this little photography history lesson – the majority of today’s photographers are using a format that was generally reserved for consumer photography – ie 35mm, or full frame format, and the only reason why medium format film fell out of favour was the technological limitations of digital imaging at the time.

All this being said though, digital medium format sensors are still smaller than medium format film, so there is still a little way to go in that regard. And also I need to point out that the Fuji medium format sensor is one of the smaller available digital medium format sensors – which is one of the main reasons why the GFX100s is cheaper than other digital medium format solutions.

Digital sensor sizes

 

Digital Medium Format Cameras are traditionally not great for Wedding Photography

Since the dawn of digital photography, digital medium format cameras have been developed and have been around for a while now – however have usually only been used in very niche areas that benefit from the high fidelity that such a format can produce due to a number of draw backs the relatively new technology comes with.

  • Digital medium format cameras are slow

Up until now, medium format digital cameras have been notoriously slow when compared with their film-based counter parts, or in particular digital full frame cameras. This is due to a number of issues related to technology. The processing power required to process and capture an image using a medium format sensor is significantly more than a full frame sensor, also the method of capture using these larger sensors tends to slow things down to a point where these rather large cameras were relegated to photographic applications where one usually used a tripod for every shot.

One wouldn’t generally be taking a medium format digital camera to something that requires a quick camera – like sports, or events like weddings.

  • Lens selection is not ideal

Another issue that comes with medium format cameras is the general nature of available lenses available. Medium format Lenses and even camera bodies for that matter are usually much larger than usual full-frame camera lenses, making lugging them around all day on a wedding day not an inviting prospect. It’s a big reason why mirrorless cameras have become so popular over the past few years being that they are so much lighter!

While talking about medium format lenses also, they tend to be quite a bit slower than full frame lenses. If you are a person without a photographic background you may not understand what the ‘speed’ of a lens means – basically it’s the amount of light that transits the lens and hits the image sensor. Medium format cameras often have to operate using a higher ISO sensitivity in low light situations to capture the same image as an equivalent full-frame camera – therefore having a reputation of producing too much noise in an image.

  • Large file sizes

Digital medium format cameras tend to produce images at a resolution not really needed for wedding photography. Many people consider 24mp images ample for wedding photography, while I personally prefer larger images but it’s all a matter of preference. The reason why having too much resolution is an issue with wedding photography is the requirement for editing thousands of images in post production. The higher the resolution of images produced, the longer it will take based on the power of the computer doing the editing.

  • Cost

Cost is also traditionally a huge factor in deciding not to go with a digital medium format camera with bodies often starting at $15k-$50k with lenses on top.

Bride and groom in the Inglewood Inn creek

What’s different with the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

So if all these negative aspects of digital medium format are such an issue, why would you choose the GFX100s for wedding photography, considering it is a digital medium format camera? Well basically the GFX100s has attempted to address all of these pitfalls traditionally associated with digital medium format cameras.

  • The GFX100s is rated at 5fps

First of all is the speed, my main work horse cameras throughout my wedding photography career has been the Nikon line up of full-frame DSLR cameras – the D700, D810 and D850. These cameras had 5, 5-7 and 7 frames per second continuous shooting speed respectively – making these cameras not super fast when compared to flagship DSLRS at 14fps or 30fps with mirrorless full-frame cameras, but I felt to be quite fast enough when in a situation like wedding photography.

The only reason why you would need a faster continuous shooting speed would be in high speed situations like sports.

Guess what the continuous shooting speed rating for the GFX100s is? 5fps. Now this is slower than my usual D850’s 7fps but still ample, particularly considering each image is a whopping 102 megapixel image! It’s just incredible it’s that fast! I had used digital medium format cameras in the past in the famed Pentax 645z which had a rating of 3fps and I found that overbearingly slow, but 5fps with the GFX100s for wedding photography is perfectly workable.

  • ISO handling is amazing

As for lenses, I tend to use the venerable combination of a 24-70mm f2.8 lens on my main full-frame camera, and the 70-200 f2.8 lens on my second body when shooting a wedding, so when looking at lenses for the GFX100s for wedding photography I tried to match that combination as much as possible, purchasing the 32-64 f4 lens meaning that this lens was not as fast as my usual go-to lenses.

Thankfully the GFX100s, and many modern mirrorless cameras for that matter, handle high ISO ratings amazingly well, allowing for little to no noise in low light situations. in fact since swapping to the GFX100s for wedding photography, I’ve used my hot-shoe flash much less often that what I might have with my Nikons.

This may be due to the ability of mirrorless cameras allowing a preview of the shot I’m about to take through the viewfinder I don’t know, but all I know is that my habits in this regard have definitely changed and I’m not afraid to bump the ISO up as much as needed.

Wedding photo in the alru farm greenshouse

  • Files are large, but not too large

This is probably the biggest issue for most when considering the GFX100s for wedding photography. As it packs a massive 102mp sensor, which is double that over the Sony Alpha1, and 3x the Nikon D850 which many professional wedding photographers swear by.

The fun thing is that when selecting a few options on the GFX100s, like reducing the bit depth to the lower 14bit (still huge) colour depth, and compressing the RAW files make the file sizes a quite reasonable 90-120mb and when compared to my Nikon D850 Raw sizes of 50-60mb that doesn’t seem too bad; particularly when you realise these settings don’t change much in image quality.

These file sizes are still larger of course which requires a beefier computer to handle them which may be a consideration for you – but for me the beefier computer in front of me the better!

  • Not as expensive as you may expect

Ok, cost is a big one – so many people out there just hear the phrase ‘medium format’ and get scared off immediately, and for good reason! If you’re in the market for digital medium format cameras you cay find yourself looking at AUD$20-$60k for a lens and body setup which is the price of a car.

That said though, those of you in the market for a new camera may be looking at the mirrorless full frame options out there, which is fair enough – but look at the costs carefully, the cost of a Sony A9 II body is $7k with the popular 7s III is $6k. Then there are the Nikon’s 7z II for $5.5k or the Canon famous R6 for $4k. This is compared to the hefty $9k for the GFX100s.

So, sure if you’re only buying a body having a GFX100s for wedding photography is pricey, but go price the lenses! The medium format GFX range of lenses tend to be quite a bit less expensive than the equivalent full frame lenses available. When pricing up a Nikon 7z II setup I found that the total cost for me would be $12k, when a GFX100s setup was $13k. What’s an extra $1000 when you can have the incredible ability of medium format in your hand?

Why I chose the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

I was thrown into a bit of a situation earlier in the year with the untimely death of my main Nikon D850 camera body which I managed to drop into a waterfall while photographing a wedding in Hobart, Tasmania. Claiming the camera on my insurance meant that I had to replace my usual workhorse of my wedding photography with something new.

I had always been a Nikon fan, ever since purchasing my very first DSLR in the venerable D80 while living in Japan – so my first port of call was obviously either a new D850 or join the mirrorless trend with the newer Z7ii.

I had been resisting heading into the mirrorless world as shooting stills with a mirrorless camera always seemed ‘off’ to me having no physical ‘clunk’ of the mirror when taking photos. Whenever I was asked why I chose Nikon over Canon I would always cite the main reason as being the satisfying ‘clunk’ noise that Nikons made over their more electric sounding Canon counterparts.

I had attempted to use mirrorless cameras for still photography in the past heading to presentations and industry nights where professional photographers are given pieces of equipment to try out for themselves. Never enjoyed the process at all and I had attended nights run by both Nikon and Sony.

On the other hand I felt as though taking the obvious choice and opting to buy a new Nikon D850 was an opportunity to upgrade lost. By this I mean that I had a chance to try something new and something astonishing had caught my eye in the new Medium Format Fujifilm GFX100s for wedding photography.

I had become familiar with Fujifilm cameras as I use a couple of X-T3s as my primary video cameras for my wedding videography which I believed was the best application for mirrorless cameras, but the whole idea of having a Medium Format Camera really appealed to my inner tech-nerd so I looked into it further.

First Impressions using the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

As of writing this little blog, I’ve shot 6 weddings using the GFX100s for wedding photography as my main camera – with 4 of them being fully edited, so I think I’m in a good sitaution to outline my thoughts of using this beast of a camera. The great thing about the weddings I’ve shot with it was that each of the weddings I covered with it were very different in regards to climate, theme and time of day so I could really test it out in all situations.

  • Build Quality

My first thought when picking up the camera was how light it was. I had in the past used medium format cameras, so I was expecting something rather hefty – particularly in the lens department, but I was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy it felt, and lighter than my Nikon D850! 900g vs 1005g for those interested. The lens I chose – the 32-64 f4 lens – was also very light at 875g vs my Sigma ART 24-70mm f2.8 I would usually use on my Nikon at 1020g.

The feel in my hand is really nice with a huge hand grip, and the LCD screen on the top that stays on with a battery installed is just beautiful. Weather proofing and materials used means I really can’t fault it at all!

  • Mirrorless Functions

A big reason why people are heading in droves to mirrorless cameras, other than the weight benefits, are the technological advances available to such cameras. These include live view in the viewfinder of the camera settings, eye tracking auto focus and the shutter release speed tends to be faster. These are all things I was brand new to coming from my Nikons, so using these things for the first time in a professional sense was quite novel.

  • Image Fidelity and Quality

Just holy crap. I had always had in my mind that I would swap to being a prime lens user when I finally made the change to medium format, and that was the plan due to the tendency for prime lenses to be that much sharper than zoom lenses, but unfortunately the selection of wider angle prime lenses for the GFX system isn’t great, hence opting for the 32-64 f4 lens.

Could not be more impressed with 102mp images if I tried, including in low light, high ISO setting. They might require a little bit of noise reduction, but there are some amazing bits of software for that these days.

To illustrate this I was lucky enough to cover a wedding at the same wedding venue with a ‘money shot’ everyone gets while there – in this case it was the Inglewood Inn’s Gollop’s Bridge, so here is an example of the same shot using my Nikon D810 and the GFX100s along with a 100% crop of each.

Nikon D810

Inglewood Inn Wedding Photo

100% crop

D850100

Fujifilm GFX100s

Gallop bridge Wedding photo

100% crop

GFX100s100

Hopefully this illustrates why I now love the GFX100s for wedding photography – particularly for money shots like this that are bound to be printed huge!

  • Ease of use

One of my fears of switching to the Fuji system for stills photography was my experience with the X-T3 cameras which I really don;t like using due to the retro dials at the top of the camera. When using a camera for wedding photography I like to switch settings quickly using my forefinger and thumb on dials like I had been used to with my Nikon systems.

Thankfully, using the GFX100s for wedding photography means it was a very simple transition to the Fuji way of using dials with the only slight difference being the way you select ISO settings which in some ways is better than the Nikon way of doing things – which was cool. I’ve also found myself using the Aperture priority setting much more with this camera, only reverting to my old way of doing things with full manual when I want to overexpose occasionally.

What I don’t like about the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

  • Lack of a physical shutter clunk

I really do miss the physical clunk of my Nikons, the poor excuse of the physical shutter sound on the GFX100s just doesn’t cut it, and don’t get me started on the tiny little sound it makes for the electronic shutter. makes me feel as though I’m not taking photos and causes some overshooting. This is simply something I need to get used to though.

  • Too slow for receptions

It’s a combination of my subconscious photographer’s mind relying on the shutter clunk to register that I’ve taken an image and the fact that it is a medium format camera when I find myself feeling as though I’m missing too many shots with the GFX100s for wedding receptions.

Also the fact that I have to use a slower wide angle lens when in lower light situations with medium format means I can’t use a faster shutter speed without bumping the ISO up a little too high.

I have been using my trusty Nikon D810 for reception photos as a result. Once a wide angle GFX mount lens is released I’ll probably be re evaluating this – but currently, having a 102mp sensor for candid, drunken photos is simply too much anyway. I might break it out for a pinup first dance shot, but that’s about it.

I Highly Recommend the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

I have certainly been enjoying my foray into using medium format with my new GFX100s for wedding photography. It really is hard to explain using a blog post to explain exactly why I’m enjoying using the GFX100s for wedding photography so much, but let me just say that I have been using this camera and thinking about my photography in the same way I had when first getting my hands on my first full frame professional camera.

I’m the type of person who gets inspired by using new technology in such as way that prompts quite a bit of creativity from me – it really feels as though I’m relearning how to take photos, but with all the experience I’ve had in the past as a foundation so it’s making taking so much fun!

Weddings I’ve used the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

Here’s some examples of work I’ve used the GFX100s for wedding photography as a main camera.

 

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Watershed Wedding – Kate & Stuart

  • Kate & Stuart

    Watershed Wedding

    Bride and groom out after sunset

I was out in Mawson Lakes, north of Adelaide city for Kate and Stuart’s Watershed Wedding on a fine June evening. Family and friends had travelled far and wide to attend, and that’s always lovely to see!

The watershed cafe, on the outskirts of Mawson Lakes was a wedding venue I had not visited before, so I was excited to shoot a wedding there as I always am!

Before the Ceremony

Before the ceremony, Kate and Stuart had be capture the short preparation that Stuart and his family went through in order to prepare for Kate and their guests’ arrival. Kate through proxy of her wedding planner made it clear that it was important to capture Stuart and his family help out place flowers on lapels, and helping out the boys get ready – much to the bemusement of Stuart who dutifully did his thing!

The rest of the family was fussing about layout out decorations in the reception hall, and making sure everyone looked fantastic prior to the ceremony.

The Watershed Wedding Setup
Wedding favours
Groom arriving for preparation
Helping guests
Laying out seating places
helping place flowers
Putting on the grooms flower
Helping put on the grooms flower
Guests looking on
Happy Dude
Wedding rings on wooden table
Groom looking on as groomsman has his flower put on
Groom striking a pose
Bride arriving in carpark
Helping Dad with his flower
Putting cousage on guest
Groom waiting patiently for his Watershed Wedding
Smiling groom at his watershed wedding ceremony
Bride looking pretty in the watershed wedding reception area
Bride standing in front of windows
bride in the Watershed Wedding reception area
Bride and bridesmaid

Watershed Wedding Ceremony

When holding a Watershed wedding, the couple has a choice of either using the undercover decking looking out over the wetlands, or an adjacent decking without the covering roof. As Kate and Stuart were holding a later wedding in winter, they opted for the undercover setting.

The area is large enough for small to medium sized weddings, and with their guest list of around 60 people, was the perfect size.

Kate and Stuart’s ceremony took place reasonably late in the day, meaning that by the time it had finished, the sun was setting and there was not much time at all to have family or glamour photos done! Luckily I usually have a collection of lights ready to go in the car!

Grooms first look at bride at the Watershed Cafe
Standing for the bridal couple
Watershed Wedding Ceremony
Holding hands during wedding ceremony at the watershed
Bride and groom under the arbour togather
Smiling bride as she listens to vows
Bride stating her vows
Exchanging wedding rings at the Watershed wedding
First kiss at a Watershed Wedding
Bridal exit at a Watershed Wedding
Group photo at a watershed wedding

Glamour Photos

It was a bit of a later wedding ceremony which meant that the sun faded quite quickly straight after the group photos meaning that even if the nearby wetlands were open to walk through and take photos in (they were closed due to rennovations) we couldnt have used them anyway! Instead we made use of some of the small pockets of land nearby the water I had scouted out earlier.

I managed to capture some of the dying sunset’s light in the sky when coupled with some off camera lights, and we also used the interior of the Watershed wedding reception area before all of Kate and Stuart’s guests were allowed in.

Bride and groom out after sunset
Bride and groom in the dark
Bride and groom under the night sky
Bride and groom together in the Watershed Reception Area
The Watershed Wedding Reception Area
Bride and groom out the front of the Watershed Cafe
Watershed Wedding Photo

Watershed Wedding Reception

As the wedding was rather latre in the day, the glamour photos did not eat up much time before heading back to the reception area. The night was filled with well wishing family and friends, alongside a bunch of kids who were running around having a blast playing with the battery-operated candles on display.

Throughout the night there were speeches, dancing, but primaraly just people mingling and having a good time. Luckily I managed to coerce Kate and Stuart h=back out into the cold for a few more glamour shots out the front of their Watershed wedding.

Bride and Groom arriving at their Watershed Wedding Reception
Smiling bride while dancing
First Dance at the Watershed Cafe
First dance at the Watershed Wedding
Dancing guests at the Watershed Wedding
Mobile Phone Photographers
Kids having a blast
Wedding Cake on display with Certificate
Bride mingling
Guest cheers
Groom speech at lecturn
Groom having some fun

Thanks go out to Kate and Stuart for having me as their wedding photographer! I loved being a part of your big day and I hope you enjoy your photos! 🙂

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3 Common Wedding Photo Mistakes and How to Solve Them

  • Wedding dress reflected in mirror

 

Wedding Photo Mistakes

One of the highlights of wedding planning is getting an amazing, creative guru to document your day. You get to have creative shots with your significant other and a dedicated team of wedding photographers to take candid and planned photos of the two of you. However, if you want to have a picture-perfect wedding, you have to be wary of common wedding photo mistakes and know how to address them properly.

Feel free to use this article as the beginning of your journey into wedding photography to ensure you fill up your album only with great, memorable wedding photos. After which, please do get in touch as there’s nothing I’d rather talk about!

3 Common Wedding Photo Mistakes and How to Solve Them

Mistake #1: Having no plan for group photos

Since you are inviting your friends and family to your big day, you can expect that most of them want to take pictures with you as a newly married couple. Therefore, a few photo opportunities should be readily available, especially during the reception, since that’s where most of the fun begins. You can start by indicating when your photo op will be with each guest, and it’s highly recommended to do this in groups for easier picture taking and to commemorate shared memories. 

The best way to ensure you have a seamless experience for your wedding photo op is to go about it by table arrangement. Ideally, you want people who know each other well seated together. This way, your wedding photographer can just call the group by table assignment (e.g., by number), instruct them on the appropriate spacing or framing for your picture, and give the finished product to friends or family members that appreciate who they are with in their photos. 

When it comes to family photos directly after your ceremony, making a list of must have photos is essential. This does not mean a list of individuals – but rather a list of groups who are listed by name. Your photographer will not know who needs to go where, and who is friendly/unfriendly with one another. It’s one aspect of wedding photography the photographer will 100% be looking for you to guide the photos as they don’t want top step on any toes.

Boys group photo

Mistake #2: Giving you and your partner no chance to have pictures together 

During your wedding, you and your partner are the highlights of the day; people will greet you and support your union as you look forward to spending the rest of your lives together. If it were up to your guests, you would be spending all day with them and celebrating your union – which doesnt sound like a bad thing, but you also want some stunning glamour shots to hang on your wall of just the two of you. That’s why you should always make time on your dayto go to some lovely location and have some taken.

If you and your significant other want to get inspired for your photo op together, you can go for a relevant theme to your relationship. For instance, if you fell in love with one another because of your love for Halloween, then you can have a spooky-themed photoshoot, or perhaps you got engaged in a forest overlooking the city? Head there!.

Just ensure you coordinate with your hired photographer to set your creative direction. Most importantly, just have fun and be natural when having your pictures taken. One of the most common wedding photo mistakes is that often couples are strapped for time, even when they allocate some time for a glamourshoot like this – try to take your time with it and make the most of your time together as a couple – it’s one of the only times on your wedding day that you’ll be able to do this away from the hustle and bustle of family and friends!

Smokey greenhouse

Mistake #3: Relying on amateur photographers for your wedding 

You cannot expect high-quality photos from a ‘friend with a camera‘, so why would you hire them for your wedding? Doing this will not only result in poor quality images, but also poorly timed images that don’t represent your big day well. A wedding photographer has been to hundreds of weddings beforehand, and knows by experience what to expect and be in position the majority of the time.

It also makes your wedding seem not as special because you and your partner just went for the cheapest cameraperson you should find. Worse, it may even affect how your friends, family, and children perceive your wedding. Also you’re paying someone who otherwise would not be a part of your guest list to attend your wedding to take photos so that your actual guests can enjoy the day with you – it’s not really fair on your friends to i ask them to work on the day that you’re also expecting them to have a good time.

With a professional wedding photographer, you can be assured that your photos are well-produced and edited to a standard you’ll be happy with. Some even have photo booth hires and videography services, allowing you to interact with your guests and make memorable pictures together. This way, you can always refer to your pictures to reminisce how exciting and romantic that big day was as you retell it to your children, and maybe even your grandchildren! 

Wedding disposable camera

Wedding photos are vital to any celebration of love being united. As such, there’s no room for wedding photo mistakes. Fortunately, you now have a better idea of what you should avoid when it comes to wedding photo mistakes. Just ensure you and your partner have the right plans and resources ready for that picture-perfect moment. Work on your picture-taking arrangements today! 

Are you looking for the best wedding photographers in Adelaide to document your big day? Book our team at Sven Studios. We can offer you high-quality photos, videos, and other documentation solutions to capture every magical moment. Download our price list and get in contact to have a chat! We’d love to hear about your day!

 

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Annie Reserve in Happy Valley Family Shoot

  • Little girl looking at water

Annie Reserve, Happy Valley Family Shoot

It’s so much fun to shoot the same family as I have done in the past to see how the little members of the family are growing up. In this case I head out for a Happy Valley Family Shoot with Miranda and Jake to celebrate little Hadley’s second birthday, just as I had done a year prior for Hadley’s first birthday!

Miranda told me that having family portraits done at about the same time each year was a bit of a family tradtion in her household, and she wanted to continue it which I think is fantastic! Especially consdiering the benefit for children seeing their family portraits hanging on the walls around their house.

Taking photos during the winter months makes things easy in a lot of ways as a photographer – as the sun is usually not casting overly glaring shadows on faces, and the colours of the surrounding nature really comes alive. In the case of Annie Reserve for this Happy Valley family Shoot, we were also treated to a well stocked creek with running water that little Hadley thought was amazing!

We began the shoot rather early in the morning which further enhanced the fact that there were no harsh shadows anywhere, and also allowed for that magical feeling you can get walking through a park like Annie Reserve on a cold winter’s morning.

We made good use of the running creek, the beautiful trees and even the rocky outcrops dotting the shoreline throughout the park for some lovely photos I hope the family cherish forsever!

Little girl on picnic
Girl Playing with balloon
Mum and toddler playing
Family Photo in Annie Reserve
Sitting winter family photo
Laughing family photo
Mum holding belly
Little family walking together
Annie Reserve Family Photo
Annie Reserve Family Photography
Happy Valley Family Photography
Little girl holding balloon string
Dad and his little girl
Family looking at the creek
Mum and her little girl
Mother to be standing in forrest
Happy Valley Maternity Photo
Maternity Photography
Mum and Dad standing together
Little Family photo
Swinging little girl
Family photo under a tree
Mum and Dad swinging little girl
Family photo on picnic
Little girl in grassy area
Little girl running on grass
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Bridal Portrait – What Are They and Do You Need Them

  • Bride walking towards her wedding dress

 

Bridal Portrait Sessions

If you’re getting married soon, first of all, congratulations! It’s a big day and there’s so much that goes on leading up to it. One of the best parts is getting to wear your dream dress. However, if your game plan is to get photos of yourself in it on the actual wedding day, you should rethink that. One of the best ways to preserve the memory of yourself in your dress is to find wedding photographers in Hobart and get bridal portraits done.

Bridal Portrait Sessions – What Are They and Do You Need Them

What is a bridal portrait?

Bridal portraits are a lesser-known sub-section of wedding photography. Typically, brides will put on their dress, get all dolled up, and have a solo photoshoot taken at their ideal location. The portrait prints resulting from this photo session will make lovely gifts that the wife can give to her spouse and/or parents. It can also serve as decor for the reception by way of creative displays.

The time spent on having a bridal portrait done often coincides with a ‘makeup trial’ and can be used to get used to wearing in your wedding shoes, and feeling out your wedding dress – often with friends and family so you can bounce ideas off one another.

bride looking out windows

What are the benefits of taking a bridal portrait?

Having bridal portraits taken are undeniably another add-on and extra expense. The advantages far outweigh these factors, however. 

  • Not time-pressed

No matter how well your wedding is planned or how perfectly it’s meant to flow, stress and even chaos can manifest on the day itself. Bridal portraits on the day itself are usually taken under some kind of time constraint. This is understandable since the wedding day can be pretty jam-packed as it is. 

When photos of the bride are only taken on the wedding day, it’s usually during tight pockets of time: before the reception, before you leave for the ceremony or even while the couple photos are being taken. On-site same-day bridal portraits can make you stressed out and feel a little rushed. At the end of it, you might not have the most ideal photos in order to immortalise how you look.

However, when you opt to have a bridal portrait session, you won’t be under a time constraint, you won’t be rushing to head elsewhere, and your creativity can manifest all the way to entire set-ups. 

Bride looking pretty at AlRu Farm
  • A chance to get creative

It should be noted that bridal portraits aren’t strictly constrained to you in your wedding dress. Aside from any formal shots, you’ll be able to express yourself in more casual, fun ways. If you have any furry friends, for example, you can get photos of yourself with your beloved pet. Some brides even go as far as taking boudoir photos, making for a great personalised surprise wedding gift for their soon to be spouse.

When you set aside time to get bridal portraits done, you open yourself up to a world of creative possibilities. It also gives you far more flexibility and far less stress on the wedding day itself.

Bride looking pretty in black and white

Bridal portraits are an excellent choice to make for any bride-to-be – of course it doesnt have to be limited to the female side of things though! All the benefits of bridal portraits can also just as easliy apply to the Men.

Whether you’re doing it to preserve your look in your dream dress, to express yourself in certain ways for a gift to your spouse or both, it’s a fantastic experience and keepsake. It allows you to be far less stressed out or rushed during your actual wedding day itself, much in the same way an engament shoot can too, without the addition of your future spouse.

Looking for a great photographer? Contact SvenStudios today! Allow us to craft the precious memories of your wedding day (or before the wedding itself!) in a fun and relaxed way that you’ll be proud to look at forevermore.