Joab Smith

I’m Joab Smith, a Bristol based wedding photographer and loving it, though of course, I am partial to a destination wedding.

I shot my first wedding roughly 13 years ago when the teacher’s assistant in my photography class asked me to shoot her wedding – thanks Jess! There was a little selective colour thrown in there but actually I think I did a decent job all things considered, as you might have imagined, I loved it!

From there I was building up wedding work whilst at uni in Bath until I took the plunge around 10 years ago.

Now I adore that I can be much more confident in my equipment and abilities; with the speed and variety of weddings, it really helps to have everything as second nature. There’s still a lot I’d like to work on but that’s the complex joy of weddings!

Cameras

Nikon D850 & Nikon D750

Nikon is testing my patience with their mirrorless options but I do love them really. I’ve thought about switching multiple times but Nikon just nailed dynamic range with these cameras and so, for now, I’m really happy with them.

I usually have the D850 with the 35mm on the right and the D750 with the 105mm on the left. That is quite a heavy combo so I am looking forward to a mirrorless option but right now I don’t think they’re quite there (Hopefully this has dated poorly in a few months’ time!)

Lenses

Nikon 105mm f/1.4: A beast! I have to be careful not to overuse it.

Nikon 85mm f/1.8: A light workhorse that goes on if the 105mm is too long for speeches etc.

Nikon 58mm f/1.4: A beautiful lens that I should use more often.

Nikon 35mm f/1.4: The real workhorse. I used to have the Sigma but it failed me in multiple ways.

Nikon 20mm f/1.8: For wide groups, the odd portrait and packed dancefloors!

Lights/Triggers

Yongnuo YN560 IV & Yongnuo YN560 III: I currently use these as they’re cheap and do the job, but I’m looking for something with a wider range of power.

Bags/Straps

I unpack my stuff at the start of the day and then just carry around a few bits and lenses in my little Lowepro Stealth, often forgetting it in some corner somewhere.

HoldFast MoneyMaker Strap

Hardware & Software

Apple Macbook Pro
Apple Ipad Pro
Photomechanic
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop

Misc.

Imodium – vital, luckily learning from others’ bad experiences.

ibuprofen, earplugs, sewing kit, portable charger, bottle of water because hydration’s essential (Especially for destination weddings – take two) and bits of glass/prisms that I use for flares.