Guide to shooting weddings (not really dvx related, sorry)

i think most of your tips are good, tc. however, i disagree with a few of your rules.
i pride myself on being more than a standard wedding videographer (not that there's anything wrong with that). i let my clients know (via my website) that i treat their video as i would my own film and try to make it as "artsy" as possible. the clients respond well to finished product.

granted, your tips are excellent and i'm not saying i think you're wrong. just disagree.
 
I like all the tips and used them all when i started not long ago. I have never had a chance to film a 2 cam shoot yet nobody wants to pay the extra so i am always filming alone. hard to get all footage sometimes but i manage. if anyone has tips on filming alone id like to hear them.

One thing i find frustrating is the photographers sometimes. i once had to push one out of my way and warned him to stay away from me (after he repeatedly stood in front of my camera to take his shots) all taking place in the church but i had to do something. I would like to hear some things you guys did or did not put up with if anyone has any interesting stories.

BTW another vote for a wedding section.
 
Thanks to everyone posting on this subject.

I have shot a couple of weddings here in Japan and think that our business will expand to include it as a regular service.

With the amount of money spent here on the service and reception I was kind of surprised to hear the wedding centre rep grumble when I approached him with a figure of just under $1000. He gave me a video of the company they were currently using and said they did if for 500...what an atrocious piece of sea-sickening video that was!! And the quality might have been even worse than drunk uncle Bob (or Hideyuki) footage I have seen done for free.

I would love to know the standard fee my esteemed DVX User members are charging for say a 1 man (or woman) team shooting the wedding and reception. I might consider doing it myself for 500 just for something different but I can't justify sending one of my shooters out for that much (especially when there are editing and authoring expenses to consider).

Another point I was wondering about was the popularity of "documentary style" Vs "Cinematic Style". We shot a wedding at the end of last year in a really creative and 'artsy' way. The results were (I thought...stopping to pat myself on the back :) ) exceptional, especially given the demo reels we had watched. As it turns out this Cinematic style, for want of a better phrase, was less well recieved than the non-stop, lock down documentation of the entire wedding. What have been other people's experiences?

I also vote for a wedding section!!

Cheers!
 
I too vote for a wedding section. i have a question though: what is the difference between "documentary style" Vs "Cinematic Style"?
 
Hmm - I would not shoot a wedding under a grand ever.. and that is for friends.. and that is for stills.. but most of the wedding video guys here in Vancouver would charge 3g - I know of a still photographer that works 40 days a year and charges 4g. I know of a wedding firm that charged 3g with a steadicam and a Canon for shooting a wedding a couple years back. He had an assistant (which by the way you really need - especially when walking backwards) If I had a steadicam (variant of) I would charge more for sure. More than 3g. At those prices you get pickier clients but also more respectful ones and you can afford help. Make an excellent demo reel. Remember they are hiring you for you and your particular vision of a translation of that day. That is unique. Do not undervalue that. I have been a still photographer for over 20 years and find that price is not so much of an issue as much as it is their investment in you making them look good and translating that day into a memorable event - like the one they envision in their head. I had Southby's contact me from Florida to shoot homes in Vancouver for them - because my still photography was unique. Same thing with FujiFilm. (I did not seek them as clients)

Still photography to me is 10 times easier than video. Especially because of the time for editing. I think video - especially with our cameras should cost more than stills. Once I am finished getting my equipment (just got my dvx 2 weeks ago) my wedding price - with a steadicam type of unit will be 3500-4000 - mind you I have those years in experience in stills. I would not want to charge less than this.. I have found when you have a cheap client (i mean cheap not broke) there is a lot less respect for you and that translates into less respect for yourself and I cannot stand that.

These are unique cameras in my point of view and not everyone has them. With the right lightiing these camera can make a wedding look incredible (I just shot one last night - anxious to edit it)

I would really like to make a wedding shoot with two Dvx's running - one tripod - one steadicam and shoot the whole day and charge 10g and turn it into like somnething they see on the Life Channel - but i have to find the right client for that.

Come from abundance and not scarcity and your clients change.

Thank you to all who contribute on this forum.. it is the most helpful forum I have ever found and enjoy participating. If any of you need photography questions answered feel free to PM me.
 
That's a great post jimwww. If done properly, this is challenging and somewhat strenuous work and we all deserve to be compensated accordingly. How many people really can do what we do? From quality camerawork to sitting in front of Final Cut Pro or any of the other pro level editors and actually knowing what all the little slides, icons and tools on the palette are for, we are professionals. Well, I know what most of it does, anyway. How many people do you know, outside of the film and video world, actually look to buy a camera with as much manual control as possible?
I don't want to come across as a pompous jerk, because I'm not, but I just like to remind myself that I am in a special group who possess technical and artistic ability that is found in a relative minority and deserves to be well paid. If you intentionally try to severely undercut everyone else in your market you hurt everyone. I guarantee the other professionals in the area won't appreciate it either.
 
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Well, I just shot another wedding this past Saturday. The preceding wedding I broke from my usual procedure and went hand-held at the ceremony with a shoulder support. I didn't care for the result as it wasn't as steady as I would have liked. I went back to using a tripod and personally like the result but my question is, what really is the standard or norm? I don't want my footage to be boring but at the same time even the least noticeable camera shake irritates me.
 
sorry for the bump, but i'm wondering how long it usually takes until you to hand over the finished product to the happy couple?
 
Yeah, and I just read it from the first post to JoeJITSU's posting. With great pleasure and making notes (learnlearnlearn). Very valuable thread. Thanks!
 
It is always better to have two shooters:thumbup: Most of the weddings I've shot though have been solo:( I hate shooting weddings and avoid them at every opportunity:violin:
 
so if your flying solo, which camera do you usually run during the ceremony? i try to put my 2nd cam behind the groom to get a good shot of the bride, leave it running and unmanned. and i stay with my main camera in the back for the establishing shot. Is this the norm or is there a better way that I'm not aware of?
 
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