As one of the founders of The Stage American wedding photography team, Otto is good at using the combination of scenery and characters to shoot generous and natural images, and his works are loved by many couples. And Otto, who has senior wedding photography experience, what kind of experience does he have with Sony’s latest full-frame interchangeable-lens digital camera α7R V? Please follow T Kebang’s exclusive interview to learn more about it together!
about | The Stage American wedding photography team
The Stage embraces warm memories and brings love back to its purest original intention. This is the charm of American wedding photography, and it is also the sincere emotion presented in the works of the Stage photography team. In a natural and fresh style, it narrates the sweet interaction between lovers. There are no rigid stereotypes, only the most natural good times. The Stage team has traveled all over the world to capture stories exclusive to love.
Currently operating:The Stage / American Wedding Wedding Dress Official Website | Official IG
What made you start wedding and wedding photography in the first place? What are the main requirements for cameras in this industry?
Funnily enough, my first introduction to photography was actually my own wedding. Before entering the industry, I was studying and working in New York, USA, and then returned to Taiwan to hold a wedding. At that time, I also hired a professional team to help me take pictures of the wedding. I suddenly discovered that a camera can take such beautiful photos, which made me curious and excited. And then derived interest, so I plunged into the world of photography.
When it comes to the most important requirements for cameras in this industry, as far as my personal experience is concerned, it is nothing more than the reliability of the camera’s autofocus system! Because wedding records are in the field of documentary photography, many images are fleeting. Whether it is parting, hugging, splashing water, throwing a fan, or even a tear or expression when touched, it is an instant image; if you shoot For wedding dresses, because our team focuses on American styles, about 60% of the photos are not taken at fixed points each time. We will invite the couple to walk, hug, or run forward while holding hands…etc. This captures the moments of joyful and affectionate interaction between newcomers, and these have a considerable degree of test on the camera’s autofocus performance. It is undeniable that the photographer’s own experience is indeed indispensable in order to take these photos with a high success rate, but the reliability of the camera’s autofocus system also occupies a considerable proportion.
as Sony α long-term users of the system,α7R V What is the most impressive upgrade for you?
The α7R V has two most noticeable upgrades, namely the autofocus system and the new 4-axis multi-angle flip screen. After switching from other brands to Sony, the α system has been used in α7R, α7R II, α7R III, α9, α9II and α7 IV so far. I think that the body starting from α7R III has autofocus in prediction, subject detection and The focus tracking performance can be said to be quite mature, but after using the α7R V this time, I found that its autofocus performance is “better and better” than the previous model, including the success rate of object recognition and focus tracking. . In addition, I also like the fact that the screen is changed to a new 4-axis flip design, because whether it is a wedding or a wedding dress, it is often necessary to shoot at high and low angles, and Sony has combined the previous up-down and side-turning mechanisms into one design On the α7R V, I can have more flexibility in framing when shooting, which really brings a lot of help to the shooting work.
▲▼ Otto likes the brand new 4-axis multi-angle flip screen of α7R V very much. This combination of up and down flip and side flip design allows him to have more flexibility in framing when shooting weddings/wedding dresses. (Sony α7R V + FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM, 31mm, F5, 1/320s, ISO 3200) (see big picture）
α7R V Equipped with newly developed AI The processing element brings about the re-evolution of autofocus. What is your experience on this point when you actually use it for work shooting?
Because we mainly focus on American style, and American style likes to use natural light and shallow depth of field to emphasize the atmosphere of the subject, so we often use the maximum aperture to shoot. Although the previous cameras also had human eye autofocus detection turned on, but afterwards Looking through the images, you will find that some photos focus on the eyelashes of the new couple instead of the eyes, so the viewing experience is much worse. The α7R V is also shot at the maximum aperture of the lens. After checking the photos, I found that each of them was correctly focused on the subject’s eyes. What’s more, my shooting habits are mostly snap shots rather than staged shots, so from here You can clearly feel how powerful the autofocus system of α7R V is under the blessing of the newly developed AI recognition technology! Another thing that impresses me deeply is that the new AI technology of α7R V can also recognize the subject through the body posture, especially when we are doing dynamic capture, the front of the newcomer will not just face the camera all the time, and I found that as long as When the camera does not detect the eyes or face of the person, it will recognize the person being photographed through the body posture, and lock the focus frame on the subject. No matter how the newcomer moves, we can capture it as we like, which makes people feel peaceful. The α7R V achieves the magical feeling of man-machine integration, and can play more freely when shooting.
In addition, the improvement of the buffer when using α7R V high-speed continuous shooting is also quite impressive! Although the pixel of α7R V is higher than that of α7R III (61 million vs. 42.4 million), when using α7R III before, the continuous shooting will start to jam for about 2 seconds, while α7R V can hold up from the moment the shutter is pressed. It was not until 7 or 8 seconds that there was an obvious waiting for writing, so the gap between back and forth was enough to greatly improve my success rate of shooting dynamic pictures. For example, if you want to capture the hijab of a newcomer, throwing a bouquet, running fast, or a child running towards the camera, with the buffer of α7R V, one press of the shutter can take 7-8 seconds of high-speed continuous shooting, and each frame is 61 million pictures The elements are not all in focus, which is obviously helpful for capturing the wonderful moments and the quality of the photos afterwards and the selection.
▲▼ Otto said bluntly that another evolution of the α7R V that made him feel obvious is the improvement of the buffer during high-speed continuous shooting. Although the pixel of the α7R V is as high as 61 million, even when shooting RAW files, it can also shoot at high speed for 7 to 8 seconds. It will be easier and less laborious to capture fleeting images of the wedding process. {Above: Sony α7R V + FE 24mm F1.4 GM, F1.4, 1/500s, ISO 3200 (see big picture) ∕ Picture below: Sony α7R V + FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM, 27mm, F2.8, 1/800s, ISO 3200 (see big picture)｝
α7R V of 6,100 What kind of help can Megapixel bring to wedding photography? How do you rate the picture quality performance?
In addition to capturing the looks and gestures of the couple, the wedding dress is also an important part of the bride’s white gauze. In the past, when shooting with other brands of cameras, the white gauze often did not show much texture. After all, under the illumination of strong light such as outdoor sunlight or indoor spotlight, the white gauze will lose a lot in order to take into account the proper exposure of the couple’s face. The details, and this time I used the α7R V to shoot weddings/ceremonies gave me the feeling that the 61 million pixel CMOS of the α7R V not only can record more image details, but also has a better dynamic range than before. In addition, the high ISO quality performance of the α7R V is also worth giving a thumbs up. Although it has 61 million pixels, the high ISO quality performance in low light shooting is also better than that of the α7R III. Because the α7R V has such a high pixel resolution, it is not afraid to open a high ISO record wedding/wedding dress in a low-light environment, and the convenience of creation has been greatly improved.
Do you think α7R V new AI Can the automatic white balance judgment bring more help to the shooting?
We all know that at wedding venues (especially in the banquet area), most of the artificial light sources are very complicated, including approach light, spotlight, and scary purple light, green light… and so on. When shooting in such occasions, I am used to using the option of “Auto White Balance: White”. In the light source environment, the white balance can also have a stable and accurate performance, and it hardly drifts. After all, after a wedding is shot, the number of photos is about 3-4 thousand. If the performance of the automatic white balance is unstable and it will drift, then the post-production and retouching is definitely a huge and exhausting project.
In addition, there is another situation that is often encountered when shooting outdoor vegetation on a sunny day. Usually, according to past experience, most of the photos of such scenes will show unpleasant tones of yellow and green, especially the woods will affect the white balance. This time, I used the α7R V to shoot a wedding dress in a similar scene. I found that the automatic white balance of the α7R V is supported by the AI calculation, and the color of the photos taken is obviously comfortable.
α7R V What other new features impressed you particularly?
I was quite impressed with the electronic viewfinder on the α7R V. The main reason is that it has an ultra-high resolution of 9.44 million pixels, which is the most delicate viewing window I have seen so far! In fact, there is a very important part in the process of shooting a wedding dress, which is to show the customer the photos taken at the moment. By browsing the photos in real time, you can encourage the couple and let the couple know how good-looking they look. In addition to increasing their confidence, they can also To make the shooting more smooth, so I will use the camera to play back the photos for customers to see during the shooting gap. The electronic viewing window of α7R V has a resolution as high as 9.44 million dots, and it is very pleasant to browse photos. When a newcomer sees such a beautiful and delicate work, he will definitely feel good, which will naturally help To improve the fluency of subsequent shooting!
In addition, the excellent anti-shake effect of α7R V also provides greater flexibility for creation. For example, we sometimes use slow shutter speeds to make the picture show the effect of coexistence of movement and stillness. For example, at the center of the most famous intersection in Shibuya, Tokyo, we asked newcomers to stand in the middle, and then took advantage of the green light when many pedestrians crossed the road. Use a slow shutter speed to create a sense of visual conflict between motion and stillness. At this time, if the camera has an excellent anti-shake function, even without a tripod, you can still take photos with a longer exposure time. This time, I used it to test the anti-shake effect of the α7R V when taking parent-child photos. The 1/5 second hand-held shooting with the SEL24F14GM still has a high success rate. I am quite satisfied with the results.
use this time α7R V Which lenses do you mainly use? Do you have any thoughts to share?
It is mainly used with the original Sony lenses used in daily work, including SEL24F14GM, SEL50F12GM, SEL85F14GM and SEL70200GM. Although these lenses are not the latest lenses or the second-generation lenses, I feel very good when shooting on the α7R V , such as the speed and reliability of autofocus, the stickiness and success rate of human eye focus tracking… etc., I am quite satisfied, especially most of the time, I am used to shooting with the maximum aperture of the lens, and then use the big computer screen afterwards Checking the image quality, the imaging performance is very good, which means that the above-mentioned lenses can actually withstand the pressure of the α7R V’s 61 million pixel CMOS, so I can use it for wedding wedding photography with more confidence.
have tried using α7R V Do you want to make a video? What do you think?
Although I usually mainly take pictures, I still occasionally need to record wedding MVs, so I will pay special attention to the camera’s video specifications and performance to be honest. During the experience of the α7R V, I tested its video mode a little bit, and found that the autofocus performance of the α7R V during video recording is a level higher than that of the camera I used before, especially when we video we often capture more dynamic images , such as newcomers running and jumping, and I found that the recognition ability and adhesion of the α7R V autofocus are very good. In addition to not being easy to lose focus, even if other guests or obstacles pass between the lens and the newcomers, the autofocus of the α7R V The focus system will still be very smart to lock the focus point on the subject, so that the picture will be smoother, and the picture will not look unprofessional due to the focus being out of focus and refocusing. satisfying.
Compared with the previous generation, α7R V has improved a lot of functions in terms of video recording, including supporting up to 8K 24p / 4K 60p 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording, and also has the blessing of the new AI recognition technology during video recording, which greatly improves the recording efficiency. Real-time tracking autofocus performance, etc., more α7R V wedding shooting experience, you can go to “Sony α7R V ╳ Running Boys Video Office“Watch.
for this use α7R V Let’s make a summary of the process! Would you recommend it to colleagues?
I have to say that the improvement of the α7R V AF system in terms of recognition success rate and accuracy really amazes me. Furthermore, the grip has been greatly optimized. The depth and height of the fuselage are much better than before. The models have been significantly evolved, making the overall grip and control experience much better than previous generations; in addition, the new 4-axis multi-angle flip screen, EVF resolution improvement, and continuous shooting buffer increase are also very commendable. , You can’t really understand the essence of them just by looking at the specification sheet. Only after using them seriously, can you understand how important these designs are to wedding photographers.
α7R V also has another design that I like very much, that is, it can finally choose to shrink the size of the RAW file, which is very practical for wedding photographers. For example, if there is no demand for large image output when shooting a wedding, you can choose a smaller one. RAW file size; while wedding photography usually requires large-size RAW files to meet the output printing needs, this feature allows photographers to have more flexibility, I think it’s great! Overall, with the all-round balanced and excellent performance of α7R V, I think wedding photographers can really invest in it with confidence, it will definitely bring twice the result with half the effort to the shooting work.
More Otto use α7R V real shot works