Ally Stuart

Hi, I’m Ally Stuart, a documentary wedding photographer living and working in Scotland and I adore my job! I’ve been a photographer all my life, I’ve been shooting weddings since 2004 and never had a “proper” job. I’ve always been my own boss and I love it.

I absolutely adore the challenge of finding great compositions and documenting the happy, sad, emotional, and funny moments at a wedding. I think there’s incredible photos to be had at every wedding.

I just need to find them. I can’t understand why anyone would want to spend time at their wedding posing for photos. Real moments are what it’s all about for me.

I started off using Canon gear. I had everything!! Every focal length, zooms, primes, macros, you name it, and I had it. The Canon EF 135mm f/2L was an amazing lens but I can’t imagine using something so long now

Then I pared my kit down to just a few lenses and two Nikon D800s. They were great but heavy so I switched to Fuji when mirrorless got to the point that they were good in low light.

With The Fuji X series, I love the very light weight of the cameras, the near-silent shutter, the flip screen that gets me into much better angles and lets me tell the full story of the day in an imaginative reportage way.

I also appreciate the fact that shooting Fuji means your part of the Fuji family. It’s still a small company that cares for its customers.

I now shoot with 3 cameras on the day. A Fuji X-T2, an Fujifilm X-T3, and a Fujifilm X100F. (It’s so quiet and great in the church and drinks reception. Most people just think I’m a guest).

I usually have either a Fuji 18mm or a Fuji 14mm on one body and a Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 on the other. The Fujifilm X100F has a 23mm fixed lens on it. That’s all I need to shoot a wedding.

Occasionally I use a Fujifilm 90mm f/2 for some of the couple shots. I have a Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4 that stays in the car unless I really feel I need it and a Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 which is really just back up for the Fujifilm X100F, although I sometimes use it on the dance floor.

I have a couple of spare batteries in my pocket and SD cards in a Think Tank Pocket Rocket.

I don’t carry a bag at weddings but I do have a little pouch (it’s actually a very cheap climbers chalk pouch…no I’m not a climber) on my belt and a waist bag. Anything that’s spare kit or is flash kit for the dances gets put in a Billingham Hadley Small and a Lower Roller case.

Here’s what I carry on the day, I don’t use a bag:

Fujifilm X-T2
Fujifilm X-T3
Fujifilm X100F
Fujifilm 14mm f/2.8
Fujifilm 18mm f/2
Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2

Kept in the boot of the car which is usually nearby:

Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 – Review here
Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4
Fujifilm 90mm f/2

For the dance floor:

Phot-R light stands (x2)
Selens MN-BK 2 in 1 Universal Honeycomb Grid
Godox AD200 (x2)
Alpine PartyPlug earplugs
Panasonic Eneloop Pro AA 2500mAh Eneloop NiMH (x16)
Godox Xpro-F
Rogue Gels – Universal Lighting Filter Kit
Godox TT350F
Godox V860II-F
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B, PIXI Mini Tripod
Manfrotto LED Light with Lumimuse, 8

Other things I use are:

Optech Mirrorless Camera Strap
Manfrotto MMELEA5BK, Element Aluminium Monopod (I’ll put my Godox TT350F on it sometimes)
Sd cards are Sandisk Extreme Pro 128gb
I also have a Fujifilm 18-55mm f/2.8-4
Naked Bars are there in case I don’t get fed… Salted Caramel are my favourite.

www.allystuartphotography.co.uk | @mabelandmoosenewborn