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Courtney Pecorino Turns Weddings Into Art with Fujifilm GFX 50S

January 10, 2022

By Fujifilm (Sponsored)

Courtney Pecorino

All Photos © Courtney Pecorino, Photographed on Fujifilm GFX Systems

Courtney Pecorino photographs weddings in Las Vegas with her Fujifilm GFX 50S, capturing deeply personal moments in a town noted for its “anything goes”, fast-paced scene.

Courtney Pecorino is a wedding photographer in the wedding capital of the world: Las Vegas, Nevada. She was born there and even finished college locally as an art student at the University of Nevada.

How Courtney Pecorino Uses Fujifilm GFX 50S to Turn Weddings Into Works of Art

As a child, Courtney remembers eyeing her grandparents’ stash of cameras, including more than one last-century instant camera and two traditional film cameras. “When my grandmother passed away, I remember discovering in the back of her closet a whole treasure trove of old cameras and expired film rolls. My grandparents were not professional photographers by any means, but they shared a real joy for setting up casual family portraits during vacations and family gatherings.”

Courtney was inspired by those happy experiences to take a photography class in high school and was immediately smitten. She was so visibly enthusiastic with the art and craft of picture taking that her teachers asked her to assist them in managing the darkroom and running equipment demonstrations for the classes that followed. 

She continued to pursue photography on a more personal level when she went across town to college.

“It was an amazing arts education,” Courtney says. “Luckily, the bulk of the photography courses at the university still featured classic black-and-white imaging by 20th Century masters. Through that learning, I studied the work and felt the presence of the greats and I was a particular fan of Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe and Sally Mann. Digital photography was happening back then, but it was still primitive and in only a few classes was it even considered or taught.”

How Courtney Pecorino Uses Fujifilm GFX 50S to Turn Weddings Into Works of Art
How Courtney Pecorino Uses Fujifilm GFX 50S to Turn Weddings Into Works of Art

Despite the fine-art experience in her college photography and film classes, the first jobs she scored while she was still at university were shooting fast-paced weddings on the Vegas Strip. 

“I was immediately thrown into a whirlwind of shooting fast, thirty-minute back-to-back weddings,” Courtney says. “I had to learn my settings on the fly and had to make sure I was now photographing correctly for real-life color in constantly changing environments. On average, I shot 4 or 5 chapel weddings per day (15-minute ceremony, 15-minute portrait session). On high-volume wedding days, I’d shoot about 12 to 15 weddings per day.”

A decade later, she is using a FUJIFILM GFX 50S mirrorless digital camera and a FUJINON GF50mmF3.5 lens.  “My medium-format Fujifilm gear now helps me to slow down a bit, take in the moments happening before me, and shoot as if I am only working with limited frames,” says Courtney.

How Courtney Pecorino Uses Fujifilm GFX 50S to Turn Weddings Into Works of Art

“My goal is always to bring out my subject’s story and connection, but with my other gear, it was hard not to get caught up in shooting as much as possible to give them plenty of photos,” she continues. “This camera has actually changed the way I think and act while photographing. It helps me to only shoot what I need to, in that I’m already able to see exactly how each image will be exposed in the viewfinder. This is one of my favorite features of the Fujifilm GFX system. This alone lets me slow down and really consider the shot a little more carefully, like I always do when I shoot with film. I find myself marveling at what I’m seeing, somewhat forcing me to take my time with composing and perfecting the frame, already knowing it’s perfectly lit and color balanced.”

Today, Courtney shoots only 25 to 30 weddings a year, and that gentler pace lets her take time to interview her clients—learning how they met, what they love doing together, why they fell in love. 

How Courtney Pecorino Uses Fujifilm GFX 50S to Turn Weddings Into Works of Art

“Shooting with the Fujifilm GFX 50S boosts my creativity and it brings out more of an authentic feel in my work because of its simulation to film,” she says. “I’m reminded that I am an artist. It moves me to create meaningful work with my clients. I truly feel that my clients don’t see their session as merely a session yet an experience. When I’m using my Fujifilm GFX 50S, I spend a little more time with my couples, all because I slow down, take my time, and breathe in the moment with them.”

She adds, “I really see my job as accurately capturing, frame by frame, the love they have found for each other. By the time we shoot, I know them well and they know me. I prompt them throughout the shoot to move naturally while remaining close. I want this to be a forever record—not just of the day they married—but of a bond they had on that important day that will hopefully power them throughout their lives together.”

To see more of Courtney’s work, visit: courtneypecorino.com


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