Moments to Treasure

“I always said that I would never, ever shoot a wedding,” laughs Yannick Zurflüh, “but now it’s what I love doing the most.” In fact, studying Economics and Business Administration, he thought he would have “a proper job, in a suit!”, but as photography was a much-loved hobby, it was never far away, and began to creep into his life in a more meaningful way.

Though on the surface, Yannick’s wedding work has a documentary or candid look, you soon see something deeper within it. A more inclusive connection to the people he’s shooting, which makes you feel almost like a guest at the event. “I always enjoy capturing those honest moments,” he explains, “the things that happen in between the structure of the day, like grandparents sharing a moment of joy and reflection, or a look between friends during the speeches, moments which only someone who’s part of the event would see.”

“To do that I have to become part of the event, eating and drinking and sharing the feelings with them,” he continues. “So I take the time to get to know the couple I’m working with, inviting them to dinner with me and my partner, and staying in touch all the way up to the event and beyond. In fact, many of my closest friends started out as couples I was photographing! It’s definitely more of a social experience than just a photography task.”

Such a human approach needs a camera and lenses to suit. A pairing that reflects the photographer’s view of the world, and helps them in the way they work. That’s why Yannick most often twins his two Sony Alpha 9 bodies with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA and FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA lenses.

“Something else that those prime lenses’ fast apertures provide is calmness,” Yannick continues, “which in all the chaotic fun of a wedding can be really important. I almost always shoot wide open, and they’re pin sharp at f/1.4. I really need the ability to isolate the subject, which just doesn’t happen so well at the f/2.8 you’d get on a zoom. Nowadays, I can shoot everything wide open, and the look is so much cleaner and calmer, creating these amazing moments of stillness in the middle of celebration.”

Allied to his Sony lenses, the Alpha 9 gives him “maybe the most important thing for wedding photography,” says Yannick, “and that’s silence. It changes everything. Anyone who has shot a wedding in a small church with a mechanical shutter knows it, because that just sounds like a war is going on, right when everything should be at peace. It also opens up new levels of intimacy, and you’ve no idea how many more crying men I’m able to photograph! Before they would tense up around a camera, but now everyone, including myself, can feel much more comfortable.”

Working wide open and with no second chances, focusing accuracy is vital, and for Yannick the Alpha 9s excel there, too. “I can shoot 5000 frames and have every one of them sharp,” he explains, “and it also lets me work with the camera at chest level, composing via the screen and letting the Real Time Tracking AF take care of the rest. When you’re a photographer who loves people you don’t want to be just a walking camera, with your face hidden, but this way I can interact, or look somewhere else, so it’s less intrusive, less disturbing, and just gets me closer.”

Now, as things slowly return to normal after the pandemic, Yannick is looking forward to getting closer again. “I’ve been filling in the months with commercial work,” he explains, “but it’s weddings that really gets my heart beating. And part of that is my desire to create long term value. In this world, everything is so fast, but I want to create something that will still be enjoyed by my couples’ grandchildren. That’s who I’m shooting for really, the next generation, who’ll want to see where they came from and all the little details that matter. So it’s not just the big moments of the ceremony, it’s about the setting, how people dress, the way people come together, and all those gestures of empathy that make every wedding unique.”