Gonna start shooting weddings with DSLR and need advice

R

randomname

Well-known member
I'm doing a wedding video for my cousin in a month for almost nothing, and I've decided I want to start doing them on a more regular basis once I have something I can show people as a demo. However, I need a lot of advice for things like: what do I need to know/buy if I'm shooting a wedding by myself on DSLR? what kind of lenses should I invest in? What kind of lighting/sound equipment do I need? What do I need to know for the shooting itself? Also, whats the best way to start getting work once I have my demo?
 
before you do anything else get a good solid contract and price structure set up. This is the most important and most overlooked part of doing weddings as a business.

Then find out how the best and biggest wedding vid companies in your area operate and emulate them as much as possible. Also figure out what you can do that they can't and highlight that in your demos.

Check out the videos from the biggest wedding companies in the world and get some ideas from them. Milk and Honey productions in New York City was my own personal goal.

You need to get some wireless Lavs, good ones. Lectrosonics, sennheiser, or sony at the minimum. Also you NEED a good actual video camera. Something that will be able to capture the entire ceremony with no problems and no issues. As far as lenses go you should get a good fast zoom that covers a wide range of focal lengths, a nice fast wide zoom, and a superfast portrait prime.
 
Starshine Video said:
You need to get some wireless Lavs, good ones. Lectrosonics, sennheiser, or sony at the minimum. Also you NEED a good actual video camera. Something that will be able to capture the entire ceremony with no problems and no issues. As far as lenses go you should get a good fast zoom that covers a wide range of focal lengths, a nice fast wide zoom, and a superfast portrait prime.
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+1 on all of the advice, but especially the video camera. You HAVE to get the "I do" every time or the bride and her mom will literally kill you :). I don't shoot weddings, but I have done so for a few family members and it is nerve wracking as hell. I would never do it with a DSLR unless it was a dedicated b cam for beauty shots only and no sync needed.
 
A big potential issue with DSLRs and weddings from where I sit (and I admit it has been a few years since I did a wedding, so obviously I didn't use DSLRs for it) is the short recording time. It obviously depends on how you intend to edit but you don't want to get caught at the vows or something similarly important and find you have to cut to start a new clip or allow your camera to cool down.

The images they make are fantastic and would work nicely in a wedding video no doubt, but I think the advice to have a dedicated video camera is a good one. I'd feel much better I think if I had a camera rolling the whole time (during the ceremony I mean) and then I could 'play' with the DSLR.

Sound is another issue, of course...
 
What do I need to know for the shooting itself?
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Things you need to know:

1. There's a good chance the photographer you're working with will be an a**hole. Either totally pretentious, or a complete doofus. But regardless, you will get in each other's way.
2. I Corinthians 13:1-13: Someone WILL read this at the ceremony (this only applies to Christian weddings) :engel017:
3. OK, you shoot the first dance wide and I'll get the close ups and the parent's reaction shots.
4. From here on out, you will absolutely, positively hear the song "I've Got a Feeling Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" at the reception. Just know that going in.
5. You'll also hear "All the Single Ladies" when the bride throws the bouquet.
6. You *may* hear "How Sweet It Is" when they cut the cake
7. Make sure you get fed. And no "sandwich in the servant's quarters" BS either. You tell 'em you want the Chateaubriand like everyone else is getting.

Any other advice, you'll have to wait for my book.
 
Deepfocus88 said:
Things you need to know:

1. There's a good chance the photographer you're working with will be an a**hole. Either totally pretentious, or a complete doofus. But regardless, you will get in each other's way.
2. I Corinthians 13:1-13: Someone WILL read this at the ceremony (this only applies to Christian weddings) :engel017:
3. OK, you shoot the first dance wide and I'll get the close ups and the parent's reaction shots.
4. From here on out, you will absolutely, positively hear the song "I've Got a Feeling Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" at the reception. Just know that going in.
5. You'll also hear "All the Single Ladies" when the bride throws the bouquet.
6. You *may* hear "How Sweet It Is" when they cut the cake
7. Make sure you get fed. And no "sandwich in the servant's quarters" BS either. You tell 'em you want the Chateaubriand like everyone else is getting.

Any other advice, you'll have to wait for my book.
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+1 :laugh:
 
i would suggest trying to work with a photographer as much as possible, a flash can wreak havoc on DSLR footage, and at least to me is extremely irritating and ruins the moment. by that i mean try and work out angles where his flash(es) wont kill your footage, and you wont be in his shoots. i shoot weddings with an XH A1 as the main camera, and have 2 or 3 other people shooting both DSLR video footage and photo's (new employees) so we can use the good footage, toss the bad, and have TONS of extra footage and shots.

i would look into portable external audio, and maybe use lav's or hidden shotgun or normal mics. personally i found most clients dont like to wear a lav, and if they turn wrong, again it ruins the shot. hidden mics work best.

advertise, go for a small website, and shoot as much demo footage as you can. and good luck; doing a wedding solo is NOT easy, we shoot weddings for additional income and to train new employees, as well as let would-be 'photographers' get a taste for it. i did one wedding solo, and it was nerve wracking to say the least, even with 2 cams 2 mics stationary lighting etc. running back and forth was very nerve-wracking; i will never do it again.

personally i would never rely on 1 camera alone, and NEVER on DSLR's alone, for weddings. one mistake and you can have some very, very upset clients. try going with a buddy, even if all he has is a little handycam and a tripod and is just there to help you; you'd be surprised what a good gear ***** is worth on a wedding shoot.

unless its a critical event or wedding ie big client or big paying gig, i avoid shooting weddings. i started as a photographer, and i hated feeling like i was ruining the moment, i almost always set up lighting (stationary constant) beforehand and cameras beforehand, and had 1 man per camera, with everything preset so all they had to do is frame and shoot. for video, same thing; everything rigged to go before everyone arrived, we shot and moved on, then got out of there.

frankly you dont sound like you have much of an idea of what you are doing; really just an inkling at best, no offense. i would strongly suggest trying to tag along with someone else for one or two weddings, or practice shooting a random sports game. dont just assume you can do it. a single person with a single camera is at a huge disadvantage. as a photographer, solo at even a medium sized wedding is difficult; for video, chances are, you are missing the best angle every clip; a second cam, that chance is reduced by half.
 
Whats normal at the reception for sound? Our videographer had a LED 'on camera' light, but never ended up using it. I would have thought he would have had a shutgun mic mounted on the camera, but I guess he recorded ambient sound and used the on camera mic for voice? I'd like to have both the LED light and shotgun mic for an upcoming event, but it might look silly mounted?
 
iunknown said:
Whats normal at the reception for sound? Our videographer had a LED 'on camera' light, but never ended up using it. I would have thought he would have had a shutgun mic mounted on the camera, but I guess he recorded ambient sound and used the on camera mic for voice? I'd like to have both the LED light and shotgun mic for an upcoming event, but it might look silly mounted?
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For the weddings I've done, I used a shotgun and camera sound during the reception. I had a an LED light just in case, but avoided using it at all costs. I was using an Ex1 so it had some pretty good low light performance. The brightness of the camera lights is really annoying for a lot of people and you lose a lot of the spontaneity. I tended to use gain over light, unless the gain got to be too much.

But of course it's good to have it for those instances when the reception hall is practically pitch black.
 
I would use multiple cameras and be careful to get the sound right. Three cameras is a good start and the use of wireless lavs and shotguns when you can't hook up the mic close.
 
Looking back at my first wedding shoot - as for basic shooting advice, me now would tell me then:

Shoot your first weddings on a tripod!!! Keep movement, pans, zooms to a minimum. Keep your shot composition simple - worry about creativity after you've edited your first wedding.

Hold the shot and keep the camera rolling for 5 seconds after you THINK you should stop. Your mind's eye and the camera's eye process time differently.

Shoot on two cameras ALL THE TIME! Spend $500 and get a cute little HD canon camcorder. Put this camera on a tripod, set it wide and let it ride. This is your "Oh crap" camera or your "what was I doing?" camera, the "did I not record that?" camera... basically, it's the "save your a**" camera.

AUDIO, AUDIO, AUDIO! If you can't afford mic packs, get some mp3 recorders. For any wedding ceremony, I'll have 5-10 audio sources. They won't all get used in post, but they're there if needed.


Shooting a wedding on a DSLR and doing it well, isn't as easy as it looks.
 
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