10 Pro Tips For Wedding Videography

Did you ever entertain the idea to shoot professional wedding videos?
Read on, if you want to learn the ropes on capturing the most special day!

1. It's not about you, its about the couple
Shooting a wedding ceremony is a very significant job. The Wedding Day is irreproducible. This means you need to be very prepared and fit for the shoot. Try to arrive at least 30 minutes earlier to the location to get some establishing shots and sort through your equipment. Remember this day is about the couple, their family and friends. Try to be as inconspicuous and unintrusive as possible, while getting all the important shoots. This entails you to dress accordingly to the event.

2. Communication is key!       
First of all - You should meet the soon to be wedded couple before the wedding and talk about what they want in their video. Are there any special moments, surprises or performances planned? Are the bride or the groom wearing a family heirloom for the day? Make sure to talk to the wedding planner or the maid of honour, the best man and family for surprises, games, speeches and the like. Your goal is to shoot all these moments as they happen. The best way to archive this is by having a good time schedule of the event. If you know the people who organized the wedding it will be easier to learn about last minute changes. As a bonus they will act more natural in front of your camera after getting to know you! Another important factor is knowing the wedding locations, which leads us to the next point.

3. Reception and Ceremony Venue
Find out if there are any regulations and/or rules for the venues. For example some places will want a proof of insurance before you are allowed to work there. In churches there are often areas where you will not be allowed to shoot. Therefore make sure to bring a zoom lens and place your audio recorder as close to the altar as possible, to avoid the resonance of the church.

4. Get all the money shots
Assuming you have all your equipment and the time schedule at hand, here are the must have shots of any wedding:
Before the Church:
Wedding bands before they are exchanged -The wedding dress and shoes -The decoration -Bride and Groom getting dressed - greeting of family and friends
At the Church:
Bride walking down the aisle - Groom seeing his Bride - vows - the kiss - Bride and Groom walking out of the church – The wedding old-timer / Wedding coach
At the Venue:
Newlyweds entrance - the first dance – speeches - cake cutting
dancing and games

(Keep in mind to get the big emotions covered in your shots.)

5. IF there are more DP's at the wedding, make sure to have a chat.
This way you can work together not against each other and remember to synchronize your camera settings! This gives you the opportunity to show scenes in different angles.

6. Pack heavy, work light

You will need to bring a lot of bulky heavy gear like tripods, sliders, a shoulder rig and a second camera for total shots. So be smart and make sure to find a secure and reachable place, where you are able to store and access your equipment. This way you only need to carry the essentials. Try to fix the same release plate on all your gear for easy switches. Remember weddings go forever. So bring extra batteries and formatted memory cards.

7. Audio   

The prettiest picture does not make up for poor sound quality. Therefore you need to have several audio sources to record. Especially if the sound of your camera is not optimal. Use the H4N recorder or similar recording devices for the church.

8. Lighting
Shooting weddings can be very challenging when it comes to the light situation. Some parts of the wedding may take place outside in the blinding sun, while others take place in candlelight atmosphere or the lights get dimmed when the dancing starts. However, you should be prepared for these different light-situations and bring your own light. But please keep in mind, that some guests will not appreciate to be flashed excessively. So try not to become the mood killer. Use your light only when it is needed and appropriate.

9. Find a good ratio
Spending over 10 hours on the wedding might lead you to film way to much material. This is a typical rookie mistake. So listen to me. I know, you don't want to miss anything, but this will only make the cutting a torment. Keep in mind to get all the essentials I mentioned under point 4. The rest of the time belongs to the guests. Because they are, what the married couple wants to see right after their money shots! Imagine the long faces when old auntie Erna, who traveled 12 hours to the venue, does not show in the video! Outrage! So first cover all those important shots before you even think about getting creative. Having a second camera which captures the crowd at the wedding and the venue in total is really helpful, too. It helps you to edit shots and to cover for people running though your shot and in worst case saves important shots, if your hand cam didn't work. If you like to add some stunning lens flares and overlay effects in post production, check out our essential weddingpack! This might help give your wedding production the special kick.

10. Think about your price
You can make quick money out of wedding shootings, but this money is not exactly earned easily. In producing a wedding video you will take on a lot of responsibility and long hours of hard work, while everybody around you drinks and celebrates. So it is mandatory to have a thorough talk with the couple. Do they know how long their wedding film shall be? Only fifteen minutes or an hole hour? We all know that it can take days in post production for one hour of quality video, but the couple may not. On top comes if the couple has certain music wishes for their video. Find out all matters of expense before you make your price.

Remember, the money spend on a wedding video is money spend on a magical memory!