The New Sony A7 III Review

SONY a7 III Update, Review, Thoughts and some Love!

I’ve been shooting this New Camera from Sony for about 4 weeks now, covered 3 weddings and some portraits. I’m coming from the world of Nikon so immediately there were some adjustments for me to make.
I am really impressed with Sony’s dedication to work on tech of the future. Nikon and Canon are great systems. It sadly they are dragging about 30+ years of systems and architecture with them everytime they design a “new’ camera. 
Sony has released themselves from this burden and blazed a new trail to the future of video and photography.

The Sony A7 III is sooooo freaky.......
The face recognition system that has really impressed me in it’s accuracy and speed. The system covers over 90% of your censor, 90%!! For all practical uses, it’s 100% covered in my opinion.

It is smaller, and that’s a good thing because you sacrifice nothing other then a tired hand and arm and about a pound or two depending on your previous system.
One thing that is not smaller is the viewing screen on the back. It s beautiful, although it has less pixs then the a9 it also costs about $2500 less then the a9, so I’ll live with it and seriously, looking at the screen, i’d never know the difference.

You can custom design the menu how ever you’d like. Plenty of custom buttons for quick access to all your “Must Have” items.

Let’s talk lenses, this was a big deal for me and will be for anyone shooting weddings or sports for a living. Take a deep breath and relax because Sony has got you covered. Not on;y SOny but Zeiss and Sigma have dedicated lines of lenses just for the full frame a7 and a9 line. PLUS, check out Sony’s G Master Line up of lenses.........oh sorry I was just wiping the drool off my face as I gaze at the New Sony 70-200 f2.8 GMaster. SOny has stepped up their game to full throttle and they are not looking back anytime soon. 

The Flipping Battery is magical, I know most people dont get excit about a battery. My first wedding experience with eh a7III was a 12 hour Indian extravaganza. When all was said and done, I still had 20% battery left on the Lithium Z. ***A word of caution*** Get the genuine SONY ”Z” Battery*** The aftermarket batteris can seriously jack up your camera.

24 glorious megapixels!! Who’s to say the best number of MP’s but this wil do the job for about 98% of any job you need it for. If you need a medium format equivalent then sony has you covered with their a7R III, 42MP’s.....wow.

Just a final person thought, This camera feels like the missing link. What I mean is it is so intuitive where you need it and still completely obedient to my Manual preferences. It’s a rock star in my mind and experience so far.
This is in no way a complete or “technical” review, just my experience and a few thoughts. I hope it helps you to jump into the world of Sony Mirrorless Tools.

See more images from this beauty at www.stephenealexander.com
Feel free to reach out if you have questions, you can reach me at sa@alexandersstudios.com

Wedding Albums.....(and why you should have one included in your wedding package)

Salt Lake City Wedding - 12x12 square wedding album, opens up to 12x24!

One of my favorite parts of shooting weddings is getting to design the couples wedding album. Wedding Albums come in a million shapes and sizes, you can get thick glossy paper or a thin soft matte look, leather, crystal, photo or fabric covers, from simple to elegant, the list goes on.

An Wedding Album should match the couples personality, that is a big  part of the design process

I love when I work with a company that puts the extra effort into building a quality album. I know my clients will receive an Album that not only looks amazing but it will last for generations!

Think about a wedding album for a moment, what is its purpose? To hold the memories from one of the most important days of your life, for a lifetime. Actually a lifetime is not enough, an album needs to last generations, so your grandchildren and their grandchildren can look back on your life.

When a couple sits down with me I try to impart as much information and wisdom to them so they can make the best choice in every aspect of their wedding plans, the Wedding Album is a large piece of that process. 

Think about a wedding album as a gift to your children and their children,
it changes everything!

Best of Luck on planning your Big Day!

*Visit my New Album Designs Page and see some of my favor wedding and engagement albums!

Make Time for your Wedding Memories

It is your big day, it's your wedding day! You’ve waited your entire life with great anticipation for this very moment, don’t blink, you’ll miss it. Weddings are just like every Christmas, no matter how long you plan for it, once it arrives you never want it to end. You’re surrounded by friends and family, present are given, joy is over flowing and then before you know it, it’s time to leave for your honeymoon. So many important and possibly once in a lifetime things take place on  hits all important day. It's the job of your wedding photographer and Videographer to capture these memories for you. There is one under appreciated aspect to the day that can make or break your memories.

Timelines and schedules may not be the “pretty part” of your wedding day but they will make your day a much more enjoyable and stress free day. 

As a wedding photographer, the most important thing I have with me on a wedding day is the couples time. When couple look through my portfolio they see beautiful portraits and stunning landscapes but compelling photos don't happen by accident.
What they dont see is all the time that went into planning and setting up those photos. One of the hardest lesson for new photographers to learn is when NOT to take a photo; when is it, "The right time to wait"? The sun, clouds, rain, people in the background and “the moment” are all “mist like” factors to consider, most impossible to control but without a schedule and TIME, none of this matters.

Couples planning their wedding should sit down with their wedding photographer and discuss what’s most important to them throughout the day. In my Wedding Photography Consultations, I can never stress enough the importance of having and sticking to a schedule. I always plan in a little cushion for the couple before the ceremony and in our Couples Portrait session. You need to leave time to be spontaneous and creative with what’s around you. Plus your couple need room to breath, to relax and to get into the moment you are creating for them. A rushed and stressed bride is not a happy bride and the work you produce will suffer as a result.

Here is a sample and very generic timeline

10am - 11am Groom Prep

11am - 11:30am Travel to Bride

11:30am - 1:30pm Bridal Prep

1:30pm - 2:00 Travel to Ceremony

2:30pm Ceremony

3:30pm - 4:00pm Family Portraits

4:00pm - 5:45pm Couples Bridal Portraits

6:00pm Reception......

This is just an example  of a typical wedding day but you can get a sense of how much goes into making your wedding day a success.

I hope this was helpful and wish you the best of luck on your wedding adventure!

If you are looking for a wedding photographer, consider Stephen Alexander Photography, no matter where your wedding takes place, I'd love to be there for you.

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