Inside My Camera Bag | Vali Matei

Hi everyone, I’m Vali Matei and I’m a wedding photographer based in Bucharest, Romania.

I like to say about me that I’m a lucky guy. And that’s because, although an economist at the core, I got to turn my passion for photography into a job I do with love every day.

After 10 years in an office, in a telecommunications company, I decided that it was time for a change and to deal with what was previously just an obsession taking up my free time. So, since 2014 I’ve been a full-time wedding photographer.

I’m a wedding storyteller! And that’s because I like to document a wedding exactly as it was, without altering the feelings experienced and expressed on such a special day.

My photos will always be natural, energetic, funny; trying to capture people’s expressions, gestures, experiences and emotions.

I’m a fan of Canon and Fujifilm, and I currently use:

2 x Canon 5D Mark III – I have been using Canon since photography was just a passion, so it wasn’t hard at all to keep up with this brand when my hobby became a full-time job.

I love the colors offered by Canon and I will not change this system in the near future. For my weddings I use full frame DSLRs because, so far, no mirrorless has convinced me to give up the actual system I currently use.

Canon 35mm f/1.4 – It is my basic lens and the one with which I photograph 70% of an event. I really like this focal length and I could even photograph an entire event with this lens without feeling the need for anything else.

Canon 85mm f/1.4 – A lens that always sits on my second camera body that I use in parallel with the Canon 35mm f/1.4. I use it every time for group photos, photoshoots or important moments from the wedding party (first dance or cake).

Canon 24mm f/1.4 – I use it as a replacement for the Canon 35mm f/1.4 when the space for preparations on the wedding day is very small, or at the restaurant when I have intense parties and when the dance floor is very crowded.

Canon 50mm f/1.4 – I use it quite rarely and generally for preparations, where Canon 85mm f/1.4 is a focal length too long for that space.

4 x Flash Canon 430EX III – I like to shoot in natural light and use it as much as I can throughout the day. On the other hand, I always use flashes at the party.

If the location allows me, in general I use only one flash on-camera, but there are also cases when I use two flashes in the location plus the flash on camera. I do not use trigger and remote flash coordination – I do it with the main flash on camera.

I still use flashes in photoshoots when I play with the light and I want to get a creative frame, of course with a MagMod MagGrid installed on off-camera flash.

Personally, during vacations or for street photography, I use Fujifilm X-T2 (with two lenses: 18mm f/2 and 35mm f/1.4). It’s a light, retro-style camera that makes you fall in love with the authentic way of taking photographs. Both in appearance and functionality, it is a pleasure to photograph with it.

Until recently, for me everything was around photography; since the appearance of my baby girl, Mara, now all the photography goes around her. 😊

www.valimatei.ro | @valimateiphotography