By Matt Webster


When I’m photographing a wedding in the Barossa Valley, I'm trying to tell the story of the day honestly and beautifully, without myself or my gear getting in the way.


The Fujifilm X-Pro3 helps me do exactly that.


It’s small, light, fast and captures incredible images (it also looks fantastic).


I'm able to move through a wedding day quietly, without carrying a bulky camera bag or pointing gigantic lenses in peoples faces. Everyone feels more relaxed, the moments feel real, and the photos feel like they should. Natural and full of life. The X-Pro3 helps me keep connected to what’s happening in the moment. It lets me work instinctively, rather than be distracted my gear.


Capturing weddings across the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills also means that I'm often travelling between multiple townships on a wedding day to get the images the couple want. Whether I'm heading up to Seppeltsfield Road for portrait photos, or driving from the bride prep at an Airbnb in Tanunda to the ceremony at a church in Moculta. Keeping my gear light and portable is very valuable to me.


It not only means I can move quickly between a wedding ceremony in Eudunda to a wedding reception at a winery in Angaston, I can also be ready to climb over a barbed-wire fence for sunset photos in a vineyard if I need to (obviously with the permission of the vineyard owner - biosecurity is a real thing and not to be taken lightly out here in the Barossa - please do the right thing).


I'm able to spend more time watching for interactions, the light, the emotion and the small details that tell the bigger story. One of the things I love is shooting through the optical viewfinder. When I’m looking through it, people naturally look straight back at me - or rather, straight into the camera. It creates these authentic, engaging interactions that feel human and unposed. There’s a connection there that just doesn’t happen when you’re holding a giant camera out in front of you, staring at a screen.


I first discovered this way of shooting with my Fujifilm X100F (The X-Pro3's baby brother). I originally bought the X100F as a personal camera, but I decided to bring it along to a wedding reception at The Vine Inn Community Hotel in Nuriootpa. It completely changed everything. Without an imposingly large camera in my face, I could move quickly, really focus on people’s interactions, reactions, and capture those genuine, unguarded moments — all while staying practically invisible. Not only did I get some great shots that I might have missed with my other camera gear. The couple and the guests seemed so much more comfortable and relaxed. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders - literally from my camera gear, but also creatively. I knew I could never go back.


It re-enforced what really matters on a wedding day. It's about the people.


That experience made me invest in the X-Pro3... two of them infact! It gives me that same freedom, but with the flexibility to handle an entire wedding day. I use Fujifilm’s newer lenses (specifically the Fujifilm 33mm f1.4 LM WR and 18mm f1.4 LM WR, which stay on my X-Pro3's most of the day), so it’s incredibly fast to focus, tack sharp when you need it to be, yet has this beautiful film-like quality when you want something softer and more nostalgic. It really is more than just a camera. It's a tool that helps keep me inspired, and everyone more comfortable being photographed.


I've used a bunch of different equipment from all the major camera manufacturers over the years. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, but nothing quite got me going like this. Don't get me wrong, I'll gladly use any equipment you put in-front of me. And often do for other photo assignments. But for me, and at least for now, when given the choice for shooting a wedding, I WANT to use the X-Pro3. I get genuinely excited to use this camera. It's creatively inspiring to use. It also helps me stay present, not JUST capture great quality images. I mean, It does that too, but it also changed the way I work on a wedding day. I'm able to watch, anticipate, and document more moments as they unfold.


And for my couples, it means their photos are captured naturally, without distraction or interruption.


Although it's not the only camera I use on a wedding day, I feel more freedom using the X-Pro3. I still get the shots I want, but now I get more of what I was missing. There's more honesty in my images, which is what I'm aiming for when photographing a wedding day.