Bridal portraits give wedding photographers an opportunity to be creative and explore different locations on wedding day, and that's why it's wedding photographer Raph Nogal's favorite part of the job. No matter which part of the wedding, Nogal relies on the Sony Alpha 1 paired with an arsenal of G Master lenses to help him capture exactly what he needs. We caught up with him to learn more about why he relies on the camera and how he uses it for bridal portraits and more. Watch his video below and keep reading as he shares his thoughts on his wedding day setup:
A Camera That Can Do It All
Every wedding photographer has their favorite 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 color.
I truly think this is a camera that can do it all.
A Solid Set Of G Master Lenses
As the wedding day unfolds and we find ourselves in different environments and situations, I rely on my Sony G Master 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 Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II and the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II. These will be useful in just about every situation. For added creativity, a Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master, Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master and Sony 85mm f/1.4 G Master 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.
See more of Raph Nogal's work on Instagram @raphnogal.
See more videos like this one on the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel.
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