![\"Young](\"https:\/\/fujifilm-x.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Fuji_X_Story_Emily_Renier-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Emily Renier | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF35mmF1.4 R, 1\/2500 sec at F4, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHaving used a few systems through the years, I upgraded to a DSLR on my 28th birthday. It was big, bulky and I didn\u2019t have a clue what I was doing with it, so it began collecting dust. I found myself ten years into a teaching career. But, feeling burnt out, I decided to leave. Based on my historic love of photography, I committed to doing something completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n
A visit to The Photography Show proved particularly fateful for Emily. Among a slew of personally uninspiring imagery, she stumbled upon a seminar by then FUJIFILM X-Photographer, Kevin Mullins.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter he delivered his talk, I was completely moved. That was totally the epiphany for me,\u201d Emily recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t know the guy, or that wedding photojournalism existed as a genre, or even anything about the mirrorless systems he was describing. I messaged Kevin on social media and told him I thought he\u2019d just changed my life, then tried a few cameras at the Fujifilm stand and bought my first FUJIFILM X-T2.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Emily Renier | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1\/2500 sec at F3.6, ISO 1600<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Dedicated to forging a new path, and with Kevin as an invaluable mentor, Emily soon began photographing weddings, developing a uniquely emotion-led style in the process. To this day, it shapes every facet of her work, from approach to aesthetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I don\u2019t feel a connection with a couple, I don\u2019t work with them, because I can\u2019t do the best for people without something between us. What I mean is: feeling comfortable in a space, being vulnerable together and letting go of ego,\u201d Emily notes. \u201cThat shapes the look of my images because we share things. It\u2019s rare that I don\u2019t leave a wedding knowing a lot about these people\u2019s lives \u2013 what makes them sad, happy, fearful or confident.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that means I\u2019m free to explore the tenderness, relationships and emotions at play. Those elements drive my imagery more than anything else. It\u2019s not a one-size-fits-all visual process. Each client should look at their wedding images and say, \u2018That\u2019s so us!\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Emily Renier | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1\/400 sec at F3.2, ISO 1000<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI believe you\u2019ve got to live in the moment with a couple and mirror how they feel. If you can do that, they\u2019ll almost certainly show you authenticity because they\u2019ll understand they\u2019re free to be themselves around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike traditional wedding imagery, the technical demands of Emily\u2019s style are closely aligned with purist documentary photography. Moments are more often fleeting than posed, while lighting, motion and composition all raise their own challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work with a pair of FUJIFILM X-H2S<\/a> cameras, which are perfect for my needs,\u201d the creative explains. \u201cThe tilting LCD is perfect for working at heights above my head, then there\u2019s IBIS, huge burst speeds and autofocus that\u2019s out of this world. The combination means I can be much more free. I don\u2019t miss moments often any more. If I do, it\u2019s purely my fault.<\/p>\n \u201cI also have a FUJIFILM X-T5<\/a>, which is wonderful because it has the 40.2-megapixel sensor and works beautifully in low light. I tend to use that for family and group portrait photography, or when the conditions call for it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Photo 2023 \u00a9 Emily Renier | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF23mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1\/1250 sec at F1.6, ISO 250<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI use continuous autofocus with face detection, high-speed bursts and fully manual exposure,\u201d Emily continues, outlining her set-up. \u201cFujifilm\u2019s Program mode is incredible, so arguably you could just let the camera do everything for you and focus on subject matter, but I love looking at the light or a specific situation, then choosing exactly what to do with it. That process is very mindful.<\/p>\n \u201cFilm Simulations are the<\/em> reason I use Fujifilm. I prefer black and white photography, and usually only go into colour for the reception, but whatever you\u2019re making, you see its potential straight away. The same look is not easily replicable in post, and I\u2019m always conscious of not over-processing the image \u2013 a lot of that is a personal phase we photographers go through. What I don\u2019t want is to impose that momentary fad on my clients.\u201d<\/p>\n Lens selection, too, is important as ever. Where many documentarians appreciate the versatility of a zoom, Emily\u2019s subjects are contained in a predetermined space. With a selection of primes and enough energy to navigate a venue for the wedding\u2019s duration, she achieves astounding results.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Photo 2023 \u00a9 Emily Renier | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR, 1\/1000 sec at F4, ISO 800<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR<\/a> combines nicely with my X-T5. The image renders so nicely, you barely need to touch it in post,\u201d Emily reveals. \u201cBetween my other two bodies, I use FUJINON XF18mmF1.4 R LM WR<\/a>, XF23mmF1.4 R LM WR<\/a> and XF56mmF1.2 R. I don\u2019t feel I have a need for anything else \u2013 I travel quite light for a wedding photographer.\u201d<\/p>\n With an empathic connection made and a seamless suite of settings dialled in, questions of why and how are answered. The final and perhaps most challenging task for those hoping to emulate Emily\u2019s artful results is where to find meaningful moments.<\/p>\n \u201cMany images are there for the taking, with a cake cutting, first dance and exchanging of vows \u2013 but if you look beyond those, at the lulls, that\u2019s where it gets difficult. That\u2019s also where you find the potential for your images to be different to the norms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n