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Leica S2 as Wedding Cam.

fotografz

Well-known member
Hi all,

This is my first season using the S2 for wedding photography. I've been using it for portraits and some commercial photography as well as personal work since getting it, but this thread is specifically about experiences shooting weddings with a S2 and all four currently available Leica S optics.

Initially, I viewed the S2 as the "go to solution" for the more controlled parts of a wedding shoot, the so called fashion/portrait portions that are more likely to be printed large and framed. While my primary wedding style is photojournalist which is usually done with either a Leica M9 and/or a Sony A900, in my market it is inevitable that I must take at least some posed or structured images. Previously, I had occasionally taken a Hassedlblad H kit with me for this more formal shooting ... and can say with certainly that the S2 promotes "take with" more readily than the more bulky H system does.

Attached below are typical posed portraits as done with the S2, which is NOT specifically what sells my approach to weddings, but is what I call a necessary evil in order to get the job in the first place. It isn't a reason to select me over other shooters, but without these samples it is a reason to not select me ... again, in this market.

Specifically, I use the S2 for "environmental type portraits" which fare best when printed larger ... 17" X 22" or larger. NO screen view can do justice to how detail and tonally rich these S2 images are when printed.

After a few weddings I ventured out into more spontaneous candid type shots that define my style, and will continue to do so as I become faster and more versed with using the camera while shooting in such a hectic, "you get one chance" environment that the typical wedding represents. Most of my weddings include multiple locations and everything is on crushing schedule. If something doesn't work then and there without fussing with it, it gets an immediate vacation in the SUV in lieu of something else.

So far, the S2 seems up to the task, and my goal will be to shoot primarily with the S2 and M9 which IMO produce very similar looking files and assures a certain continuity to the look and feel of the over-all client wedding portfolio.

At each wedding I take three S lenses, one on the camera and two in a Think Tank Lens bag. This keeps me mobile while moving from one "environmental" location to the next. Typically it is the 35, 70 and either the 120 or 180 depending on where we will be shooting. The most used lens is the 35mm for groups and for shots that include a lot of the place we are at.

-Marc
 
Very impressive Marc. All of the images have very natural and clean feel to them without looking clinical. I really like your image processing on these. Of course it helps to have good images to start with.
 
I forgot to mention, I would love to see these images printed large. I have seen another wedding photographer's work with the S2 printed at 40" x 60" and they were simply stunning. I bet yours would be too.
 

ronjh

Member
Marc,
Great to see your work with the S2 bearing such lovely fruit. I particularly like the color and composition of your bride photos. I just got a 120 and really like what I see so far, but recently had to send the camera back to the factory to clean up a few things. Altogether, I'm very satisfied with my choice, and look forward to gaining more experience with it.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I forgot to mention, I would love to see these images printed large. I have seen another wedding photographer's work with the S2 printed at 40" x 60" and they were simply stunning. I bet yours would be too.
I am seriously considering a Wedding Expo booth this coming January ... and If I do it, I'll be printing some of these really big like that.

Thanks,

Marc
 

BANKER1

Member
Marc,

As always, your work is beautiful; proving again it is the person not the camera. I'm sure you are aware that the royal wedding pictures were taken with a Hasselblad? (Don't you have one of those too?)

Greg
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Looks great Marc! It seems as though the S2 is a camera that does what you want it to do without getting in the way too much. That is exactly the best kind of camera!
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Looks great Marc! It seems as though the S2 is a camera that does what you want it to do without getting in the way too much. That is exactly the best kind of camera!
Pretty good so far Stuart. However, I need it to do more. It's been great when shooting available light, but I often don't have command of when or where we will be shooting.

So, I need those CS versions of the S lenses ... at least the 35mm and 120mm. Currently the 1/125th focal plane sync is limited in application when shooting with battery driven strobes outdoors. 1/500th would help a lot in many cases. The HSS of the SF58 speed-light is far to anemic in many of the ambient conditions I find myself in. I'm used to 1/800th sync with the H4D, which has spoiled me.

Marc
 
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