byLUMIERE

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Hello. We are Kate and Brent – second time lucky, second career image makers. Brent spent 25 years in IT previously and Kate worked in media – marketing, advertising and branding.

Now we work on location and shoot all three disciplines of photographic stills, cinematic films and aerial footage. What lies at the heart of our ‘why’ is a fascination and respect for human relationships – how we all love and live.

As a couple and creative team we work completely in sync with each other and with our clients, providing a single approach to shooting and directing, light and location with the final results all crafted with the same style and finish.

We describe our style as ‘fine art storytelling’ because what matters to us is the ability to capture natural emotion and human connection in a stylish and creative way. We use our unique vision and years of experience to deliver work that is genuine, beautiful and artistic. Work that stands out but also stands the test of time.

We are fundamentally very similar people – apart from when it comes to technology – Brent’s devotion to technical innovation is impressive. It also means that we (he) are constantly re-evaluating our kit and bucking out the old in place of the new. BUT only if it’s a worthwhile investment that will make a difference in some way – better quality, more efficient and more often than not smaller and lighter weight.

So, when we laid out our kit we were both super impressed by how small and compact it all looked! We shoot destination weddings so this really matters to us – we don’t want to be compromised by an airline’s baggage policy…

We take a lot of kit to every wedding but don’t necessarily use it all. We are currently in a very happy place with our kit – we make it work hard – if and when we need it. If the light is beautiful, we dance a happy dance and if it isn’t we create it.

Twelve months ago Kate was still shooting Nikon and had represented the brand as a UK Ambassador. Our lighting kit was Elinchrom, we used Holdfast holsters and Brent was filming on the beast that is a Sony FS7.

Now we are fully Sony (we are both Sony Europe Imaging Ambassadors) and are absolutely delighted to have found the holy grail of a single (portable) platform for photography and film. Kate didn’t necessarily see the switch to Sony and mirrorless coming and it was definitely Brent who was keen to make the transition.

In a nutshell, the Sony Alpha series makes working easier, faster and more intuitive. Filming on the smaller Alpha series is fantastic – keeping us mobile and inconspicuous. It is essential to use variable density filters so that we can keep our shutter speeds double the selected frame rate.

Brent’s newest discovery is Instamic – tiny, high quality mics that are incredibly versatile and can be controlled remotely. We also have huge love for DJI, Profoto and Apple. For photography we both use the dual SpiderPro holsters – keeping our shoulders free of weight has been a discovery we are very grateful for.

Filming on the smaller Alpha series is fantastic – keeping us mobile and inconspicuous. It is essential to use variable density filters so that we can keep our shutter speeds double the selected frame rate.

In addition to weddings and portraits, Kate shoots a lot of boudoir (she is hugely passionate about this genre) so some of the creative lenses/filters have made it into the ‘family’ via that route! This is the core kit that we shoot with – excluding modifiers – but we mention these below. Just this morning Brent has ordered a DJI Osmo Action – our kit is constantly on the move!

Camera Bodies – Photography

Sony A9 (x2) bodies with VG-C3EM Battery Grips

Kate shoots with 2 Sony A9 bodies at weddings. Moving to mirrorless has had a big impact on how Kate shoots as she now uses the LCD tilt screen at least 80% of the time resulting in much more flexibility in camera positions and angles. Kate uses the Eye AF, Face Recognition and Tracking functionality 90% of the time because the auto focus system is so fast and accurate with the Sony Alpha system.

Camera Bodies – Filming

Sony A7III (x2) bodies with VG-C3EM Battery Grips

Brent is on the Sony A7iii bodies which are brilliant for both stills and filming – he also trusts the AF system completely which has been a huge change from being a fully manual focuser on DSLRs in video mode.

Sony A6400 (see lens guide here)
DJI Osmo Pocket

Lenses

Sony 24–70mm f/2.8 GM (x2)
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS (x2)
Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM
Sony 50mm f/2.8 Macro
Sony APS-C 18-105 mm f/4.0 Zoom G Lens
Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2.0
Lensbaby Sweet 35 f/2.5 Optic
Lensbaby Twist 60 f/2.5 & Composer Pro II

We both change lenses frequently at weddings – loving the storytelling quality of wide angles and the beauty of primes and telephotos.

Drone

DJI Mavic Pro

Brent believes that DJI are leading the market for both consumers and professionals in drone and gimble cameras – they are constantly evolving and getting smaller, lighter and better quality all the time.

Gimble

DJI Ronin-S

Holster

SpiderPro Dual Camera System v2 (Related: camera straps)

Flash guns

Profoto A1‘s – Used with modifiers including grids, gels, diffusion domes and the soft bounce.

Flash heads

Profoto B10‘s – Used with modifiers including grids, zoom reflectors, medium & large umbrellas and a white beauty dish for boudoir.

We rely on lighting equipment for all of our work – using it to produce both natural and dramatic results. We have been blown away by the recent offerings from Profoto – particularly the B10s for location lighting and video work and the A1s for both on and off camera set ups in manual and TTL.

The ease of use is fantastic and the quality of light is just beautiful.

Filters

Hoya – 10 Stop Variable Filters for filming
Fractal Filters

Stands/Tripods

Manfrotto XPRO 4 section video monopod w Fluid head & FLUIDTECH base
Manfrotto Nano Stands
Bespoke carbon fibre lighting pole for off camera flash (Brent made it and we use it all the time!)

Audio

Zoom H6
Instamic Pro (x4)

Powerbanks

Jonkuu Power Bank 15000mAh, Portable Charger External Battery Pack

www.bylumiere.com | @bylumiere