Wedding Photography: 10 Hacks for both Photo & Video

Photography Tips  •  Wedding Photography

Being a wedding photographer does not necessarily mean that you can’t try your hand at some videography. Being a hybrid shooter has certain perks of its own. While it gives you an edge over the competition, it also gives you an opportunity to charge more. But to be able to do both, you need to be able to work efficiently as well. To help you out, wedding photographer Taylor Jackson shares 10 hacks to taking wedding photos and videos:

Stabilization matters a lot when it comes to taking videos. If you have a camera with a stabilization system built-in, that’ll help you out to some extent. Otherwise, using your camera strap or viewfinder as points of support will let you take smoother videos. A good alternative can also be to use a GoPro. Its amazing stabilization almost matches the output of a gimbal. If any shake still manages to creep in, you can use software to sort it out. For instance, the warp stabilizer feature in Premiere Pro is a great tool to use to stabilize videos in post.

Another very important aspect that Jackson talks about is slow motion. Slow motion footage adds that cinematic feel to the video. It captures the movement in a way we can’t see in real life. It also has the advantage of letting you create more content by shooting less video. Be sure to go through your camera menu and set it to shoot at 60fps, or even 120fps if absolutely necessary. Further, using a handle to add motion when doing a slow motion shot will add to the cinematic feel of the video.

If you are primarily a photographer, always give greater importance to the images first. Photograph the important moments first, and then shoot video. This method also puts less of a load on the camera’s buffer system. And if it gets really difficult for one person to handle, let the second photographer take the video.

What do you think? Are you confident enough to work as a hybrid shooter in weddings?