amie morgan wedding photography of carmel ca | professional two-person photojournalist team specializing in destination weddings in the beautiful central california coast | serving monterey, carmel, pebble beach, pacific grove, santa cruz, and big sur | monterey wedding photographers shooting and capturing all your priceless memories
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Digital gear, camera equipment, professional canon eos 5d 1ds mark III
Carmel California Photography
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Q: Do you shoot in digital or film?
A: We shoot 100% digital. Freed from the technical constrains of film, digital equipment has allowed our creativity to blossom.
Shooting digital allows us to capture subtle details and striking memories that we simply could not do with film. Digital also speeds up our post-production work exponentially; thus, allowing you to get your final product in-hand weeks faster than if we shot film. Additionally, the digital medium provides us the ability to generate online content that is both secure and easy to share with your family and friends.
Q: Will you be shooting in Black & White or Color?
A: Simply put, the answer is "both."
Unlike other photographers who become almost purists when it comes to the choice of black & white over color, we embrace the idea that both formats have a distinct and unique place in our toolbox when capturing your memories.
Historically, some events have been heavy in B&W while others heavy in color; it simply just depends on the moment. Of course, we have definitely found that, in general, "people shots" do in fact have a slight edge when shot in black & white; thus, we capture the moments in as many tasteful variations as possible. However, if you really want to nail us down in terms of the "average" event, we typically shoot 50% color and 50% black & white.
Q: I'm terrified that your camera might malfunction in the middle of my event; will you have a backup?
A: Absolutely!
Not only will there be two photographers at your event (both myself and my assistant), which of course will have their own camera equipment, we will most definitely have a full backup camera setup available should something go wrong. Rest assured, your memories will be captured and no equipment failure will stop that fact.
Q: Tell me more. What cameras/lenses do you actually use?
A: Many prospective clients are concerned about the quality of equipment used during your event, and rightfully so. Unlike our competition, we utilize only the highest quality photographic equipment from Canon.
For photography buffs, we have found the Canon 5D DSLR body to capture even the most subtle of details frequently lost with lower quality equipment. Some ask why we still prefer the 5D over some of the newer bodies that are out on the market. The answer is simple, when looking for a compact, agile body that provides the best image quality, the 5D simply remains the best overall camera body for shooting weddings.
We also find the EOS-1D Mark III to be a tremendously potent tool in our arsenal. The irony is that even though this body is substantially more expensive than the 5D (to the tune of about $10,000), we still find the 5D a better overall choice given its image quality, size, and agility. We'll use the 1Ds typically in high-action fast-paced settings (e.g., bouquet toss, garter throw, etc.), but in general it doesn't get much use.
Finally, in terms of the backup bodies we employ, we've found the Canon 40D to be a good choice to keep in reserve should some freak stroke of bad luck put our primary bodies out of commission. We also have a backup Canon 5D which is a mirror image of one of our main shooting bodies.
As for the most critical link in the chain (and frequently the most overlooked item), we're excited to shoot exclusively with Canon's premiere line of lenses embodied primarily in the L-series.
For distance shots (e.g., at the Carmel Mission photographers are only permitted to shoot from mid-way in the Basilica...a long way from the alter if you've ever attended Mass or a wedding there), we find the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens to be a first-rate choice. Furthermore, one of our absolute favorite pieces of glass is the prime EF 200mm f/2L IS USM lens. This truly is one of the "big guns" as it makes images truly buttery and dreamy. Given that it is one of our more expensive pieces of glass (one that cannot accept a protective filter), we typically use this lens only indoors or where protected from the elements (i.e., we never use this at the beach). The image stabilization technology incorporated in this telephoto zoom allows us to capture long distance, low-light situations (especially shots like previously described as in the Carmel Mission where strobe/flashes are prohibited) with ease.
Our overall favorite lens, bar none, is the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM. This medium telephoto lens has an amazingly large aperture (all the way down to f/1.2), with a rapid autofocus algorithm, which allows us to shoot without flash (and thus blending in relatively unobtrusively) and capture images in the natural light available. Furthermore, this lens provides an breathtakingly shallow depth of field which permits us to blur the background and keep one, shall we say, "focused" on the true subject of the bride & groom as opposed to the inevitable distracters ever present at every wedding or special event (e.g., Uncle Fred having one too many glasses of champaign, or the obnoxious power pole that happens to be just where you don't want it).
Another versatile lens we use is the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM standard zoom lens. If forced to only have one zoom lens in our bag, this lens would likely be the "one." That is, its exceptionally clean and sharp UD glass elements, combined with the tremendously wide zoom range from a wide angle of 24mm all the way up to a nearly portrait-ideal 70mm.
Q: OK, I get the picture that you shoot digital. What I'm curious about is the format of the images that I'll receive; will they be JPEG, GIF, RAW, or something of that sort?
A: When we shoot your event, we'll almost certainly be shooting it in Canon's proprietary RAW format (which happens to go by the Windows extension of ".cr2"). However, we do not provide our digital images to you in this format. Through our painstakingly detailed and labor-intensive post-processing workflow, we will ultimately export all our images into the industry standard JPEG format.
Given the complexity in this question, we suggest you read our FAQ section which deals with digital image content for more information. I'm confident you'll know everything you ever wanted to about file formats after reading this.