Recently I bought a new camera to decrease the weight of my backpack so I can walk around without any pain in the chest. This new gear is also capable of creating movies. A whole new aspect for me as a photographer. My old beloved D700 had no video options at all. I did already create some movies with my iPhone and drone of course but always edited them on my iPhone. This time I started a new edit in Premiere Pro and some After Effects because I wanted to create something more than the normal iMovie transitions and color grading.
I can tell you shooting a video is something way different than taking pictures. First real project for me was the wedding of my sister! I haven’t been around the whole day (needed to rest in between al the activities, so I tried to create the best movie I could do for my sister and her husband.
I did start thinking about the things I did want to shoot a long time before the wedding. But wasn’t able to check all the items from the pre-created list. So that was my first point I wasn’t happy about! Point two, creating a video isn’t the same as the pure art of photography. The photographer my sister contracted for the day was a good one I think. Well I mean he always tried to get the same shot as me! Great minds think alike but the problem I encountered because of this… there was always some camera gear in my shots or the light from some strobes. Lesson learned; great minds might think alike, but maybe I shouldn’t try to get the same shots for video as that I should want for a photo. A single picture needs way more storytelling in one single frame, while in a video you can tell the same story with multiple shots. Too bad I only got one sister, so my wedding possibilities are running a bit short after this one to practice this skill a bit more.
At first sight I wasn’t happy at all with the material while I copied all the created A and B-roll to my computer. Here starts point three! Because it was my sister, I wanted to have the best and only the best shots for her special day. Turns out my sister didn’t look at the movie in that way at all… Another lesson learned, know your audience. The specific people you did create this video for don’t look at the video the same as I do. They don’t see all the imperfections; they only see the beauty from their special day.
While editing I started to think what music I wanted to include for this video. Had a nice discussion about it with 
During the period of time editing the movie I learned a lot! Cutting clips on music, how to use B-roll, mixing some audio from other objects but do make them sound as sounds that were actually there. Learned about new equipment I do want to buy for future projects, like a proper microphone (the reason there is no speech in my video), a gimbal because getting rid of all the shaky footage is a crime during editing! Last but not least way more memory cards. Lighting a scene for video and the proper settings on the camera works different than shooting it for a photograph. Blinking LED lights (wrong shuttertime my own mistake) and strobes from a photographer can ruin your shots pretty easily.
Just presented it yesterday to my sister and her husband. Turns out they did like the short video from their wedding day very much. You can imagine that I left home with a smile on my face (while sleeping in the car).
I was allowed to share it. So, by sharing it here I would love to hear your opinion, tips etc. Anything to help me and step up my video skills to the next level would be appreciated!
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