On this tutorial, Parker Walbeck from fulltimefilmmaker and his former student photographer Jake Weisler go over 10 tips for the aspiring wedding videographer.
If you are thinking of getting into wedding photography you have to realize that you will have a pretty steep learning curve. Anything that you can do that will help you learn and get over some of the hurdles along the way is important and this video has plenty of tips like that.
Here are the 10 points (there is much more info in the video itself of course):
- Pick the right gear – Although some photographers might think that this is the most important part, some of the other points are no less important. Having at least 1080p 60p) almost every camera has that now) or preferably 4K 60p (this one is actually still very rare), a good quality zoom lens (24-70mm or if you choose APS-C camera something like 17-50mm) as well as mic and a stabilizer are all essential.
- Communicate – both with your clients and with your stills photographer so that you would not step on each other’s heels.
- Choose the correct focal length – wide focal lengths are right for groups but are less flattering for portraits – use the 70-100mm focal lengths for those.
- Create depth – if you want to take your videos to the next level try and create some depth in your images – add something before your lens and something behind your subject (using leading lines is also a good idea).
- Capture the details – the flowers, the cake, the tables, lights and more are hand-picked by the couple – make sure you show up an hour early to shoot all these details without distractions.
- Lighting – weddings typically happen at night (although not exclusively of course). Having high-quality b-color lights (even smaller compact ones can be very useful.
- Right place right time – Plan up when and where you should be with the camera – you don’t want to be behind the bride when she walks down the aisle otherwise you will miss her face so plan ahead and when in debut – follow the bride (this one is always a good tip).
- Think about audio – good music and sound effects is great but if there are toasts or speeches they can take your wedding video to a whole new level but be sure that you know how to record them and be ready in time (also have a backup by connecting one of your recorders to the DJ system).
- Emotions – it might seem obvious that a wedding will bring emotions out of the couple getting married by sometimes they will need help and it is up to you to get these emotions out of them otherwise the video will look cold and lifeless. If you can make the couple move as much as possible – remember always that video is all about motion.
- Be confident – no one wants to hire a photographer who isn’t sure of himself so even if you have your debuts try and show that you are in control.
You can watch more HDSLR and video techniques on our dedicated HDSLR channel here on LensVid. You can check out more of Walbeck videos – here on LensVid as well.
Iddo Genuth 
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Having a gimbal for getting smooth following footage and creating movement during the still moments is becoming a must these days.