The cameras we use to shoot boudoir (PART 2)
It’s time to talk about what do we actually use to create your images. You can see a lot of behind the scenes of our sessions on our social media and on the website so you can clearly see HOW we create our photographs. But I want to tell you a bit more in detail about my “instruments”, because in the end they are the direct extensions of my eye and hand. Before we dive into this world where technology meets art, I just want to ease your concerns – this is not going to be a totally nerdy talk with lots of words that only photographers would understand. I am about to tell you what cameras I use in a way a chef would tell you why he uses the ingredients that he does.
Sony a7III
This is the camera that started Silk + Salt with us, more than 3 years ago now. It is what everybody in the industry loves to call a “workhorse”. It kinda does a little bit of everything but much better than an average camera. It is amazing at fast and accurate focusing and that is the main reason I use it for the majority of the session, especially at the beginning. I can simply trust that this camera will do exactly what I want it to do, therefore I can focus on you and giving you the best boudoir experience. I can freely talk to you and walk you through the posing, knowing that the camera will stay sharply focused on you and fire away every time I want it to. Another huge advantage of it is the variety of lenses I have for it. I can create almost any unique look that goes through my mind thanks to that.
Leica Q2 Monochrome
It is no secret that I specialize in black and white photography – especially in boudoir. It is also no secret that I try to keep our editing to the minimum, in order to be as authentic as possible. That’s one of the many reasons for which I am in love with this camera. It’s sensor is monochrome and it doesn’t capture color at all. It captures only different values of light and I think there is something extremely poetic about it and the way it creates images. Because of that I can create mood in the photos that is closer to old-school film photography and capture light in a way that a “normal” camera wouldn’t allow me to. It is also very small and quiet, and because of that it is perfect when a session calls for something more intimate and not distracting.
Fujifilm GFX 100S
This camera uses a medium format digital sensor. This is one of the biggest sensors available in modern cameras and thanks to it, it sports an enormous amount of megapixels (102 to be exact). What it means, is that it creates images with super large resolution. This is the camera that only commercial photographers use, due to its cost and much slower operation (everything is bigger therefore the camera needs more time for focusing and saving files onto the card). I am fairly sure that we are the only boudoir studio in Utah that uses a camera of such high quality for their sessions.
Another huge advantage of the larger sensor is the color representation. And I know, I know – in the previous part I just mentioned that I specialize in black and white photos! And that is completely true but when I create color images with this camera, I can create a stunning depth of colors that you can only see in high end advertising productions. Even if images are later turned into monochrome, they still retain that beautiful diversity and full range of tones.
Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Pro
This is the newest addition to our ensemble, and it is actually an instant-film camera! This little guy is extremely fun to use because it comes equipped with a variety of interesting creative options, like creating mirrors in the image, or shifting colors. We started to use it in our sessions so that you can take a couple of photos from the day of your boudoir session home!
I hope this gives you a better idea of how everything you see on our site was created. Everything I do has a purpose and when I say that I treat every person individually, I truly mean it. I don’t use just one thing for everybody. This is art, and just like music, no piece is performed exactly the same way twice.
