FAQ: The Equipment – or, what this wedding photographer brings on your wedding day!

Kurt Vinion – The Prague, Czech Republic Wedding Photographer!
27.2.08

I often get asked this question, ‘What equipment do you use to take your wedding pictures?’ The short answer is ‘anything and everything.’

I formerly worked as a full-time sports photographer: one day I might be shooting soccer or football, the next on-location portraits of athletes and the next day I could be sitting on the floor of a basketball arena with a full set of lighting gear mounted in the ceiling and up to 6 cameras that were either remoted or handheld. With so many situations, having a wide variety of equipment is necessary for clients who demand the best. The equipment many photographers can only dream of are tools I had to use every day. This approach to equipment also applies to weddings – one must simply have all the tools necessary to create images and wedding photography is no exception!

Though, I must say that it is not the equipment, but the ability to see, capture and create images that mark a successful photographer. And yes, this can be done on a manual focus, film camera – and had been done until digital changed the game forever. But technology changes fast and to work as a photographer one must try to stay up with it or they will be left behind. Successful, thriving photographers realize this – hence the insistence on always investing in new equipment and technology.

Since switching to digital in 2002, I can now say that the quality of the technology has finally surpassed the quality of slide film. A bold statement some might say, but as someone who has trained in a BW darkroom, hand developed & printed color and who has shot thousands & thousands of feet of slide film, I feel I have a bit of experience to make that judgment.

So what does this Prague based wedding Photographer use for camera equipment?

The Gear:

Canon EOS 5D: This is simply my favorite camera. It is a lightweight (even with the battery grip) full-frame 12.8 mega pixel camera. The high resolution allows me to shoot beautiful files even in very dark and tricky lighting situations. It is robust enough to create beautiful files with amazing detail and resolution. It is simply the ideal camera for weddings and until they come out with a new generation I will be happily shooting this.

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Canon EOS 1D Mark IIn: This is a workhorse camera. Suited for photojournalism & sports, it is also a great wedding camera – though the shutter can be loud (too loud for my taste in churches) and it is damn heavy. The 8.5 Mega pixel files are fantastic, and the AF is very fast – faster than a 5D. Though I did use the Canon EOS 1D MarkIIs – I had a very bad experience with it (American actor Will Smith no less) and I swore never to go back to it. Lets just say card writing issues. But the 1D Mark IIn is a great camera for PJ style weddings.

Canon EOS 20D: Another workhorse camera. A very solid and quiet camera providing 8.5 Mega pixels it is used as a backup camera for my weddings. Why? The camera is a bit dated, even though the files are still excellent when not shot above 800 ASA. The only real downside – it is not a full-frame camera, has slow AF and the file size is well, not 12.8! Still a great camera and light which is very beneficial for my style of shooting.

Kurt Vinion – The Prague, Czech Republic Wedding Photographer!

Lenses: I tend to collect lenses (up to about 15 right now?) and have many others that are not listed here – who needs to bring a long a 400 2.8 lens to a wedding? Though the uncle Bob’s would really be impressed!

The Fav Four – these are my favorite lenses to use – not in any order:

Canon EF 15 2.8: Fantastic lens – great for architectural shots. Though I rarely use this lens for weddings (when I use it you will know it), it does have its place and can be used creatively on a full-frame camera.

Canon EF 17-40 F4L: Though Canon has a wider lens that is faster, this lens provides sharper corners and is a great all purpose zoom lens and at a great price. I have owned this lens since it came on the market and would not trade it in for anything. I am a bit loyal to my equipment – especially to L series lenses.

Canon EF 24-70 F2.8L: Ok, I know that this particular lens has been a bit of a nightmare for some shooters – as there are so many elements that it has been less than reliable. I have been very lucky in that I have not experienced any major problems with it. As lenses go, this is probably the favorite lens of many wedding photographers. Fast, thought heavy, it can handle many types of shooting. The only problem is sharpness in the corners wide open and rear focusing issues which I have been pretty lucky with.

Canon 70-200 2.8L: This lens was given to me from Chuck Westfall when I won the Sports Photographer of the Year Award. I was and am still very proud of that accomplishment. And believe it or not this lens is almost 10 years old – and I have never had a problem with it. It is a very nice zoom and is great for getting clean tight shots at distances and fast. One of the best lenses Canon ever created – and I got my copy for free!

Other lenses I use: I occasionally will use a tilt-shift lens and depending on the darkness of the places, I will add several fast primes to my bag – though I do prefer to travel light.

Additional equipment: here is where photographers really want to know what the competition is using. I am and have been a big fan of Pocketwizards for over 10-years. These are prized possession for many photographers, as they are wireless transmitters and receivers. You can set up a camera and from a 150 yards away fire it! How cool is that?

Besides remoting cameras to fire, these handy little tools can be hooked up to a studio lighting set up or even a off camera flash. This is a technique I use occasionally when I want to create some dramatic light using flash. By mounting a flash on a monopod and having a pocketwizard hooked up I can direct my assistant to position the light where I want it. This is a very highly and effective way to create some dramatic light that you can see in some of the portraits that we do. As my style is very fast paced, having my trusty assistant who knows lighting carrying around one of these light sticks has greatly aided me in my creativity.

For our bigger packages and our portrait sessions we tend to travel with a full complement of studio lighting equipment (four heads, soft boxes, umbrellas, grids and stands). Though if we are tight on time, we can also get by with our small camera flashes which can be connected with our pocketwizard slave system to create some very strong lighting with relatively a small amount of equipment. For these situations we use the very reliable and strong Canon EX 580 flashes.

So why do we use so much equipment, even 3 sometimes 4 cases worth? For us the end results justify the means, especially if we can create beautiful, timeless images that you will cherish forever. But again, it is not really the camera (though it really does help) it truly is the vision. And having the tools to create that vision helps a lot too!

Kurt Vinion, The Prague, Czech Republic Wedding Photographer!