when it comes to special occasions
weddings are about as special as it gets
special for the couple getting married
of course but also for their families
and guests and from candid portraits to
group shots to simple details and
private moments weddings provide endless
opportunities for creative photography
so for this field test we brought the
fujifilm X-T2 to Guemas Island to shoot the
wedding of our friends Tim and Erin with DP
review's editorial manager and
professional portrait and wedding
photographer Wenmei Hill. So - Wenmei - we've
come to beautiful Guemas Island, what
are we doing here?
well we're going to shoot a wedding and
we're gonna shoot it with the fuji xt2
how's it going to fit into what we're
doing today
well you know what I think it's actually
going to work really well here is this
is kind of a rustic wedding it's a
little bit more casual too.
Especially it's really great for cameras like
these really like to have hands-on
functions. I agree and fujifilm cameras
in general with all the external
controls make them a pleasure to
use it and puts all that control at your
fingertips so it makes it really
accessible for all sorts of changing
situations and environments which is
what weddings are really all about.
Well there it is, i mean it's a really
solid feeling camera for its size which
is really nice to me and everything is
nicely weather-sealed on it.
You've got your metering there, you've
got your drive mode, I mean all the
classic things for your exposures.
I mean it's just nice that everything is
really hands-on. One additional feature
they've added which is really catering to
professionals is this is the second
fujifilm camera with dual card slots.
If you've ever had a card fail you don't want to rely on
just having one card, so you can use it
as a backup or if you're not shooting
something so crucial use it was
overflow so you don't have to change cards very often.
What are some of your strategies for
photographing weddings in general?
The main thing I think is remembering that
this wedding is a special moment for the
people that are having the wedding and I
am supposed to be kind of in the
background. Knowing how this camera works.
the XT2 and Fujis in general I would
pick the lenses that are really gonna
get me the shots that i want. You know my
job is to really capture these moments
for them to have after the fact but not
to ruin the moment while it's
happening.
Guemas island is one of the smallest
inhabited islands in the san juan island
chain with a handful of full-time
residents, limited amenities and only
accessible by ferry, Guemas has a quiet
rustic charm that feels a million miles
away from the hustle and bustle of
seattle. All of these qualities make it
very attractive as a destination for
vacations, weekend getaways and of course
weddings. Carey and I got to the wedding
early so that we could get familiar with
the venue, photograph the morning
activities and get the camera settings
dialed in.
I'm a back button autofocus shooter so
what that means is i don't use the half-press.
Decoupling that means if I just
want to pre focus and wait for something
to happen i can do that I can
continually hold it down.
I like just the extra degree of control
that separating focus from the shutter
gives me. One of the really fun parts
about weddings are the kids, usually even
though they're the hardest to control
and so I always try to get a lot of good
shots of kids.
So the XT2 has a built-in intervalometer
which is really handy for doing
time lapses. We've got our shutter speed
set to a quarter of a second to get some
motion blur, got our aperture set to f10
and then with an ND filter to help us
get down to that quarter of a second.
One thing I'm noticing, i'm just getting
some details here now the placements are
final, is that I'm down to two bars on a
battery and ordinarily that means I'm
just automatically going to swap it out but
actually fujifilm came out with a new
battery grip for the xt 2 which has two
additional batteries and it's really
handy because i'm not gonna have to
change a battery for basically the whole
day. The XT2 is fujifilm's flagship x-series
camera and the most versatile model in
the company's line up with the new 24
megapixel x-trans sensor it's equally at
home documenting detailed still life or
the bridal party getting ready. Compared
to a traditional DSLR, the XT2's small
size and quiet shutter make it ideal for
candid portraiture. When shooting
weddings it's great to be able to blend
into the background with a camera that
isn't large and intimidating. The xt 2 is
also great for detail shots. The X trans
sensor eliminates moire and fine
patterns like the lace on Erin's wedding
dress. I was shooting with the 1655 when I
was inside because it's a tight space
and I wanted to be sure to get some
of the the environment, get everyone who's in
there but now i'm putting on a longer
lens and the light will be nice out here
because it's daylight and then with the
long lens i can get in a little bit
closer and get some more details.
How are things going here? It's going
great they've got hair and makeup done
and she's going over her vows right now.
Having a little bit of quiet time i've
been using the LCD for the vast majority
of the time and it's nice because I can
converse and everyone is comfortable and
more relaxed and then i can just take
the shots. I've been swapping between a
lot of lenses more than i
usually do and it's been nice to be able
to have an entire arsenal. Shooting a
wedding is among the most difficult jobs
for any photographer or camera. The
constant switching from outdoor to
indoor environments and the traditional
mixture of white and black clothing can
be a nightmare when it comes to exposure.
Two of the major selling points of the
fujifilm xt2 are its advanced metering
system and expanded dynamic range modes.
These help to capture a wide range of
tones in a single exposure without the
need to resort to extensive Raw post
processing.
Meanwhile, the XT2's snappy autofocus
system and quiet shutter help in
capturing candid moments like the
groomsmen getting ready. With the
ceremony about to begin,
Carey and I staked out our spots around
the venue and waited for the moments to
unfold around us.
The lighting was a big challenge with
deep shadows and bright highlights but
the dynamic range of the new 24
megapixel sensor allowed us to capture
the scene faithfully while the autofocus
system didn't miss a beat.
The high quality and wide variety of
fujifilm's lenses meant that Carey and
I could make images from opposite ends
of the ceremony that complemented each
other which also came in handy during
the all-important first kiss.
Congratulations I pronounce you husband
and wife. You may kiss the bride.
After the ceremony and with the light
dropping we wanted to get some formal
portraits of the bride, the groom and their
close family. With the blue waters of
the strait as a backdrop we used two off-
camera fujifilm flash units. We
triggered these wirelessly via radio
receivers to light our subjects as one
big unit. It's kind of like a dance
take one big step to your right
it's not easy base ISO at F8 with a group
of like 15 people
The XT2 and flashes did a great
job balancing with the late afternoon
light. Built in Wi-Fi means that it's
easy to send jpeg images from the XT2
directly to a smartphone and also to
fujifilm's sp2 wireless install printer.
Instant prints make great souvenirs for
the guests to take home with them and
are a fun way to make sure the bride and
groom have some photos from the day
right away.
These are the shots that we're taking
during the wedding. You can
just grab them we did a selection of them
that we can keep printing them out.
As the guests loaded up their plates and
prepared for the evening's festivities
Carey took the bride and groom aside for
some quiet sunset portraits right on the
beach with the EF x500 flash providing
some fill light for the newlyweds. The XT2's
film simulation and wide dynamic
range modes plus support for instant
wireless printing make it a very capable
camera when it comes to capturing jpegs.
This is handy when like Carey, you
realize you've been shooting JPEG only
all day.
I set Raw recording to compressed without
telling it to actually shoot Raw. Good thing
were two of us. While the sun set and Carey
took some time to ponder the series of
questionable life choices that had led
him to this unhappy point, the wedding
guests sat down for dinner and speeches.
There's nothing worse than a
photographer ruining everyone's view at
the front of the room so I positioned
myself off to one side shooting with the
50-140mmF2.8 zoom and bouncing the
flash off the underside of the reception
tent.
it's the end of a long day.
we've documented Tim and Erin's wedding
from setup and preparation to the vows
right through to the traditional first
dances at sunset. The fujifilm XT2 kept
up with us at every step of the way.
for dpreview this has been Carey Rose
and Wenmei Hill.