Sony wedding photographer. Former wedding filmmaker. Creating videos on all things wedding & portrait photography: technical, gear, workflow, behind the scenes.
Owner and found of the Wedding Photographers Academy: wedding photography specific courses by Steve Michalak.
Having watched many tutorials like this one, I have a question - what's the idea behind having so much background and head-space above the people in the images? I've seen this in portraits, couples, stage and candid images - lots of negative space with whatever is in the background and the heads of the people more or less in the center of the frame? It's so much sometimes that the frame cuts out legs in favour of trees, chandeliers, etc? I'm sure there are valid reasons for that, I'm just not sure what they are? Cheers! Awesome video, mate! Subscribed 🤙
Hope everything is going well. Your content is impressive, but channel growth is lacking. The channel needs some customization (setup, optimize with high-quality SEO), particularly in SEO. Are you open to chatting about your channel?
LAUNCH UPDATE: I got sick shortly after posting this and lost a couple days of work so we have a NEW launch date 8.29! Get on the waitlist for a deep discount on launch day! bit.ly/wpa_workflow
Hi Steve, I recently came across your posts have been into photography for many years on and off. I really do wish I could turn the clock back after purchasing a Sony 7 It’s rekindled my interest in photography again the camera is bloody amazing. I’m trying to save some pennies to buy the 35/150 Tamron, Your videos are truly inspirational thank you
Hm this is more about the photos than the moment. Do you have any tips for first look photography where you sont intervene at all? Or is it simply too high risk to miss the shots then?
After I initially instruct them what to do I don't intervene at all once the bride turns around. I only step in after that when the couple lets me know they're ready to move on. Hope that helps.
Hi Steve! Great vid, I'm glad I stumbled across your channel! I also shoot 2x Sony A7IV for weddings. One thing I always worry about is the shutter noise in full mech mode on the A7IV, when shooting the ceremony. Do you ever use EFCS for the ceremony shots? I find it to be a little more quiet. Thanks mate!
Appreciate that bro - glad to have you! That’s awesome - I really love these cameras they’re truly so close to perfect for wedding photography. I always use full mechanical shutter. Photographers at wedding have always inherently had shutter noises so I don’t think it’s a nuisance to anyone but I do agree I think the EFC is a nice quiet alternative. Especially if you don’t have to worry about flicker from ambient lights. I just don’t like that it changes the bokeh.
@@SteveMichalak Yes, good point about the bokeh. I also got caught out with EFCS shooting high shutter speed bursts, on a beach in full sun. Lots of frames had a vignette along the long edge of the frame. Sony even mention this problem on the online manual. Fixable in post but a real pain. So full mech with high shutter speeds now.
those shots in the blue room would have needed quite a bit of work to even out contrast and exposure across frame! most people think cloudy day is bad for photos.... but photographers pray for it!! lol
I believe the higher MP cameras suffer a bit more in low light but the A74 is very good. I'm very comfortable pushing it to 4,000 ISO. I have some usable frames at 6,400 even. The key is not underexposing for low light shots.
The sun was in and out bud. Crazy, right? We had more than one take and not every frame is usable. Sorry it wasn’t at the exact moment for one on-screen frame. I’m such a fraud.
I shot video when I started out shooting weddings and sony was crushing it at that time. They also turned out to be great hybrid cameras so it was an easy transition into photo, plus I was invested in sony glass so a switch would have been expensive.
So glad that you made this bts video of first looks and portraits, images are looking great! 🤩 Im going to shoot my first weddings this summer and im super nervous about it. Im confident with my camera and my skills, but still its just so big day for them and there isnt any redos. 😅 Any tips by any chance?
Happy you found it helpful. I’ve got lots of tips but mostly just being aware of the timing for everything. Follow the 30/30/30 rule for family, wedding party, and bride and groom portraits. Have a few signature “safe” poses to go through that are must haves. Be prepared for a fast paced day and just be ready to adapt to something not going exactly according to plan. Shoot me a dm on IG if you have any specific questions. Good luck!
Thank you for this review and sharing your shortcut settings. I bought this mouse after editing my first wedding on my old mouse and my wrist about died after editing for so many hours. Much appreciated.
Great informative video! Where did you purchase your flatlay mats? I love how vertically long they seem to be. Some are too square and don't leave enough room for all the details.
I have a question; how did you get all your pictures in focus from accessories, bride, groom when you’re using aperture 1.8? And what focus mode you usually use?
The A74 has very good autofocus. I make sure I have eye priority on for all portraits, shoot in continuous AF, in wide mode for most portraits. For some flay lay I will go up to f2.8-f4 if there are multiple layers of elements but even for those I tend to hover around f2. I only use wide and spot for autofocus. I’ve got a whole video dedicated to how I use autofocus for Sony. Find it here: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qoO9KDWsJSw.html
