Wedding photography with M8

[St Clair Photography]

My oberservation is that 90% of the people prefer technical, clean and noise free images over grainy technically imperfect images. So it's not a problem of wedding photographers being too technical oriented, but the demand of customers.

I wonder how you came to that observation, it's clear that your work on your Flickr shows that you've never shot a wedding therefore probably never dealt with wedding clients before. I would agree, yes, a larger percentage of people have become used to "clean" images produced from modern DSLR's. But, there is no point of difference in that work over what a lot of other wedding photographers produce.

I fully agree with Riccis that it's the content and message in the photos that move people, not that the image is noise free... So to make a blanket statement that it's "the demand of customers" is a little misinformed.

 

[Dante_Stella]

You can use any tool to do any job, but the disproportionate effort will get you sometimes. The biggest problem with the M8 is the slow flash system. Available light is ok; this is with a 90mm Hexanon.

 

[willie_901]

Alex K,

Wise decision.

 

[myyra_ug]

Wonderful color in these. How did you process for this effect? It's almost a cross between normal color and cross processing. Did you use one of the Nik filters?

Sorry for being so slow on answering. They're processed in photoshop, with lots of adjustment layers. Don't really know how to explain this clearly, sorry.

 

[italy74]

Alex
A few things to add/implement to what has already been said:

1) use the tools you know, don't experiment during a wedding, especially if you're paid.
If you're more confident with DSLR, go with it, D700 (I have it) is really great for low light and has also a kind of RF mode (using FX lenses in DX mode) which I find very useful sometimes; go with the RF only if you can really master them AND it won't steal you precious time if you're already shooting something else.

2) Make the bride and her mother happy and they will be your best "ad" among their friends.

3) Here (better, in Southern Italy) we use a "supplemental day", usually BEFORE the ceremony in which the couple may play and experiment whatever they want with more time and less stress.
During this day, called here "anteprima" (you would call it "preview") spent in a place which is somehow meaningful for the couple or pictoresque photographically speaking,
photographer and the couple may work together not only to get more posed or natural pictures depending on the couple's likings, but also learning to "cope" one another and have more time to think of pictures to do for the wedding day.
I really suggest you to ask the couple to have - for the same price or a small add - a day out with you. They could be pleased and surprised by this offer and could get the "plus" you're offering them.

4) I agree to ask the couple if they namely require or like "film" in addition to digital shots. Maybe they won't but at least they will know you thought of it as an alternative choice.

Last but not least, if you really master RF, although it's indeed more challenging (due to the limited focal lenght range, especially on the tele section), by any means use it especially during those moment in which flash isn't allowed (i.e. - I think of a catholic mass here, during homily or bread / wine blessing or the common prayer of the "Our Father" when often people give hands one another or turn them to the sky)

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

The biggest problem with the M8 is the slow flash system.

Io non capisco: "slow flash system"? The very few times I've used the SF-24 D I haven't had a single problem with speed, response-, cycle-, and exposure-wise.

Even with a remote trigger for other flashes.

 

[italy74]

Ciao Gabriel
nice use of Italian here 😉 I think he meant probably the 1/50s flash sync speed, which is however related to the M7 not the M8 (which is 1/250s).. otherwise I'm wondering too about it...

 

[Lexybeast]

I seem to remember there was an award winning British wedding photographer who pretty much just used Leicas (film and M8), but I can't remember this guy's name. Anyone know who I am talking about?

 

[Kevin]

Yes, his name is Jeff Ascough, but his rangefinder days are over. I think he now uses Canon DSLRs.

 

[ckuang]

M8 and wedding photography

M8 and wedding photography

Just shot a wedding today using a Leica M8. Have shot tons of weddings in the past using a Leica MP and bascially, while the M8 is nice due to the convenience of digital, I have a strong feeling I will be back to my Leica MPs shooting film before the year is up.

I did get the M8 to use primarily as a black and white camera, and that it does very very well. I think there is a lot more tonal range in the black and whites form the M8 than from the D3 i use concurrently. I can't tell you why, I just feel like there's more shades of grey. I'm really happy that the bokeh of my leica lenses come forth in the images as well.

Unfortunately, composition wise, it is hard to wrap my mind around this 1.3x crop factor. Especially because the Leica cameras are so small and unobtrusive and when I use them i tend to be close to my subjects, which creates a certain depth due to the proximity of my centre of interest with the camera. By having to back off to to get the same framing, it somehow doesn't really feel the same as shooting full frame.

I'll try and post some M8 pics from the wedding soon.

CK
www.39eastphotography.com

 

[jaapv]

There is an interesting thread on LUF just now on this subject.

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica.../86457-wedding-photographer-2.html#post906414

 

[Chuck Albertson]

Brett in the UK (who posts here, I believe) has a spread of his wedding photography in the new LFI, much of it shot with a M8. In fact, he's taken to shooting weddings with only a M8 and an Elmar-M 50. I think he has the guts of a cat burglar (that's a compliment, Brett!).