Every wedding photographer has their favourite parts of the wedding day and mine is definitely the bridal portraits. This is a time away from the chaos and a time to have some fun and get creative. As a professional photographer of 15 years, I definitely rely on my gear and I need it to be there for me, especially on a “high-stress”, “no going back”, “once in a lifetime” job like a wedding.
My go-to camera is the Sony Alpha 1 and I love it for many reasons, but specifically for its versatility. With a 50 megapixel full image sensor, I can get all the details that are important to my clients… like the intricate fabric details of the wedding dress or the tiniest details of the jewelry, for example. If 50 megapixels is too much, I have the ability to change the size of my RAW files for smaller files and faster processing later…. This helps especially on long wedding days when we come back with 3000-5000 images to cull through.
When dealing with dynamic movement, like throwing and twirling around a wedding dress, I’m able to shoot up to 30 frames per second to capture exactly the moment that I want. This is great for creative portraits with movement but also when the bride and groom are running out of the church, or someone is about to pull their signature dance move on the dance floor.
Although I don’t do much video myself, this camera is quite capable with handling and producing excellent video at 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0, along with 4K 120p15 10-bit 4:2:2 recording and S-Cinetone colour.
I truly think this is a camera that can do it all.
As the wedding day unfolds and we find ourselves in different environments and situations, I rely on my Sony GM lenses to help get me the images that I need.
If I had to pick only two lenses to take with me on a wedding day, it would be the 24-70mm f2.8 GM II and the 70-200mm f2.8 GM II. These will be useful in just about every situation.
For added creativity, a 35mm F1.4 GM, 50mm f1.2 GM and 85mm f1.4GM would be my next option. These will help with low light situations and of course give you that creamy bokeh when shot wide open without sacrificing sharpness.
In order to get great wedding images, the combination of your imagination, technical know-how, and gear selection is what makes those images a reality.
Get out there and have fun.
~ Raph
About Raph Nogal
Raph Nogal is a professional photographer based in the Toronto area. With a wide area of expertise, you will find Raph photographing weddings, portraits, corporate, events, product photography and more.
Follow Raph on Instagram or visit his website here raphnogal.com.
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Raph Nogal is a professional photographer of 12 years based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While specializing in wedding photography, Raph also enjoys photographing portraits, headshots, and products. Raph’s wedding photography style can be best described as a fusion between photojournalism and art-focused editorial photography. Best known for his creative off-camera lighting approach, Raph is an active photographer, educator & speaker and proud ambassador of Profoto, MagMod, Vision Art, Sprout Studio, and Spider Holster and is an Educational Ambassador for SLR Lounge. As a 24-time recipient of WPPI Honours of Excellence Awards, Raph is also a Fearless Photographers Award winner, Shutterfest Print Comp Award winner, as well as a PPOC Winner and Loan Collection participant in National and Regional Image Salons in Canada.
