Photographer creates online buzz after shooting wedding using only an iPhone

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http://www.digitalone.com.sg/features/article/19021/1

Wedding photographer Kenny Kim generated a buzz online when he shot a friend's wedding using only his iPhone. The photos featured in this story are from his shoot.

He chatted with DigitalOne about why he did this experimental shoot, and how it affects the future of wedding photography.

1. What inspired you to shoot this entire wedding using an iPhone 4?

It first began as a curiosity. "What If..." were the two words that I kept asking myself to see if it was possible to capture an entire wedding using just the iPhone. I began to receive repeating comments from people when I shared my iPhone photos with them. Comments like: "Did you really take that with your iPhone?" or "How did you take such an amazing shot with just your phone?" This led me to think that one day, it this will be possible to capture an entire wedding using this device.

After all, we're doing pretty much everything else on it, aren't we? So I decided to take on this project even though I knew that the wedding industry was not ready for something like this quite yet. But it more of an experiment to see how far we have come and how much more we need to go.

2. What kind of housings, filters and post processing, or apps did you use to achieve the effects in the photos?

I used Camera+, ProHDR and Panoramatic to capture the images. Then my initial plan was to edit them using SnapSeed app but after realising how many photos I had taken, for sake of time, I decided to import them into my computer and use Adobe Photoshop to process them.

3. What is your usual camera gear and lenses of choice for weddings? What were the challenges of shooting entirely on iPhone?

I use all Canon gear for my regular jobs.

The obvious challenges, just like capturing any photograph, was finding good source of light. Without it, you really can't get the results that you want. Also the slow shutter speed caused images to become soft or blurred due to subjects moving around. While sometimes I did not mind the movements, I had to carefully plan my shots in order to get the right compositions.

4. Have you gotten any calls from potential clients wanting iPhone 4 photos for their weddings since you released this set of photos?

I would not be surprised if inquiries for an iPhone wedding photos will come soon in the near future. But my recommendation for any bride and groom out there considering this would be to still hire a main photographer who uses professional gear first. Then if you want, as an add on (just like having a photo booth), consider having someone else capturing these images using their iPhone.

5. What kind of reactions did you get from people who saw the photos from this wedding?

The reaction was great. Most people loved the idea. Many of them have told me that I reaffirmed what they were thinking and was something they have been wanting to try for some time now.

6. With all the advances in phone cameras and technology, how do you think this will affect the future of wedding photography?

It's like asking if Kindle will ever replace books. I don't think so - at least not anytime soon! You still need someone with a sound understanding of good photography who also recognises the importance of weddings to capture the moments for you. But I predict that this will become a nice add-on to a wedding day experience for clients.