Concrete, Cacti and Desert Light: A Mexico Wedding by Lukas Korynta

The Gear and Details

Camera & Lenses:
Sony A1 ii + 28-70 f2 lens
Leica Q2
Fuji GA645
Contax G2
Nikon F100

Flashes: Godox

Coverage: 12 hours over 2 days

Photographer: Lukas Korynta

Setting the Scene

“The venue was a minimalist brutalist hotel in the middle of the desert and offered so many interesting corners to photograph. The bride and I communicated on Instagram prior to the wedding, sharing inspiration photos, some photos from the venue and just talking about the vision, but on the day of the wedding, we just went with what felt right. I knew I wanted to be light and nimble with my gear so I chose my Fuji GA 645 for my medium format and nikon f100 for 35mm alongside my digital camera. No second shooter meant I had to be fast when switching gear and loading my film.

I actually went to the rehearsal just for fun and brought my digital camera to test some settings in specific light, this helped me so much. I looked through those on my computer later in my hotel room and knew what will work best the next day - angles, settings etc. I never really do this and I’m not sure why this time I felt like I should but it was great going to the ceremony the next day knowing exactly where I want to stand for each moment.”

Getting Ready

“I mostly focus on pure documentation during the getting ready part of the day. I have my Leica Q2 with flash on it with me and Contax G2. I look for energy or even some adorable nervous moments that tell the story before the ceremony.”

Ceremony

“The light at the ceremony was really harsh, no clouds in sight, plus they had this very reflective mirror behind them so my angles were a bit limited but I still focused on capturing the right moment vs getting the best angle for light.”

‘A Moment’
This was one of my favorite moments of the whole weekend - right after the ceremony, the bridal party sprinted toward the couple to hug them. The groom literally jumped up and down out of pure joy. I was probably being shouldered left and right by the group running past me and I caught a split second of this over someone’s shoulder.

Portraits

“Portraits with Ana & Nick were so fun, they were just so happy and affectionate with each other, my ideas were mostly about placing them in the right spot and trying to get some more elegant portraits besides all the happy ones. Since I walked the venue the day before I knew exactly where light is going to be when we have our sunset portraits so I planned a short route in my head - from the ceremony, through the palm trees and cactuses to the rooftop of one of the cabins.”

‘The Bridal Moment’
Right before the ceremony, we had some time for bridal solo portraits. The bride loved this corner in her hotel room, she texted me a photo of it when she toured the location months before the wedding so I knew we have to use this staircase. The harsh light actually made this more interesting. And the wind! She fully embraced the moment, she was nervous before the ceremony but also glowing with happiness and excited. It was a green light for me to come up with ideas and actually create something interesting.

‘It just Works’
I honestly don’t even know why this photo works so well, but something about the layers and the groom holding her flowers just speaks to me. This was in-between poses, the bride was probably just adjusting her dress. I immediately knew this will be a black and white photo, it just speaks to me.

The 120 Portrait
This is film at its best. Shot on medium format in a soft light, scanned on Frontier scanner. It has this soft glow that 35mm or digital can’t replicate.

Reception

“I always do a mix of ambient light and flash, the desert sky definitely deserved to be captured the way it felt so I pushed my digital camera to its limits with ISO to catch it. And flash for anything fun and candid.”

‘Favorite Angle’
I loved this framing and kept taking photos from this angle throughout the day, always catching something different.

‘The G2 Magic’
Cocktail hour took place right as the sun was setting so the light was perfect. I used the Contax G2 with 28mm, put all other cameras away and just walked through the crowd looking for magic.

Closing Thoughts

“After the welcome night I sat by the pool in my hotel with my feet under water and thought to myself ‘this is it, this is as fun as being a wedding photographer can be.’ I knew it will be a great wedding, even the welcome night had an incredible energy, the location was stunning, the couple was so in love with each other and all of their friends and they were so thankful for me being there which felt great. A dream situation for any photographer.”

— Lukas