There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale by Bilbo…..Sorry, my Lord Of The Rings geek side came out a bit too much there. But, my story as a Fujifilm wedding photographer is very similar (apart from the fact this story has no walking trees, orcs or wizards).

My first camera was a Nikon D5300 with a basic kit lens. Like many of us, I started off with an amateur camera that could still do a job for my needs. My needs were to document my family and our travels. It was nice and small (for a DSLR) and did pretty well in low light conditions. But, it was not small enough so I started to study the Fujifilm X-range cameras.

Small, light and surprisingly affordable. The Fujifilm X100 & XT2 were my first purchases. Solely bought for personal lifestyle and traveling, it quickly became clear that these little gems could be used for wedding photography. Not jumping all in and selling all my Nikon gear, I spent 2018 as a Fujifilm wedding photographer & a Nikon wedding photographer.

Taking the year to decide if I wanted Fujfilm full time for my work, I reviewed the end of year with open thoughts. Of course, I loved my little Fuji but was it something I could rely on for paid weddings?

Being honest to myself, there were times when the XT2 was that bit too slow for my needs. That alone was enough to keep with Nikon. So, I sold my Fuji gear. It was a hard decision but I could not justify keeping it just for personal use.

That decision lasted a year. Yep, I missed it that much and wanted my babies back. A big part of this was the glowing reviews from the Fujifilm X-T3. Many calling it the best mirrorless camera ever and completely rectifying the X-T2 issues. How right they were!

The thought of  having a wedding season with light, discreet cameras again got me a bit excited, I will not lie. Fed up of having serious back issues at the end of a 15 hour day and if I am honest, not enjoying weddings as much.

The Fujifilm cameras bring so much joy and happiness to my life. You always want to pick them up and express your creative side. Surely, this is what photography is all about?

Photography should be enjoyment every second. Nothing against Nikon as they are amazing cameras, but the weight is something I did not need. Also the D750’s are very loud which is not really ideal for weddings. Especially for my candid, documentary approach.

The Fujifilm cameras are light, small and from my experience with the X-T3, can compete all day long with the high end DSLRs.

Staying unobtrusive for weddings is high priority as a documentary wedding photographer; Fujifilm helps deliver this goal. Getting close to the action is what I love and the XT-3 paired with the 16mm (24mm FF equivalent) is something special.

Often shooting from the hip thanks to the zonal focusing, you can capture so many candids. Did I mention the silent shutter? This is always used for the ceremony and it’s just wonderful to not hear that embarrassing, loud clunky shutter. The registrars will love you for it. Your back will also thank you.

When away from weddings, my family are the victims of camera in face. As mentioned earlier, away from Fujifilm made me not enjoy photography as much. Because of this, I realized that I was not taking my camera on our travels. This could have been just a walk to the park but the need to document my life is so important.

The enjoyment and love returned with the purchase of the Fujifilm X-T3. Being so small did not make you have the feeling of “ahhhhh sod that I will just use the camera phone”. The excitement of when it could be used again was back.

So, now I have thousands of photos in a short space of time. You are probably now thinking “ahhhhh more editing”. Not to panic, these beauties produce mind blowing JPEGS. After a family day out, connect the XT-3 to your phone via the Fujfilm app and hit send. It’s that simple.

Of course, this is not priority over performance but to some aspect it does help achieve set goals. Being a documentary wedding photographer I do not want to stand out and Fujifilm once again helps this. Yes it’s small, but the very cool retro look also helps to stay away from the stereotypical photographer. You do really feel like a photojournalist/street photographer.

With weddings, you now see more and more guests rocking up with their big DSLR paired with that big zoom. Bonus for me. Not wanting to stand out helps capture those real moments. People actually forget I am the hired wedding photographer and I have to thank Fujifilm for this.