Excelling at Wedding Videography Part 2

Now that you think you have the technical competence to videotape your first wedding you need to think about equipment. In my humble opinion a basic kit would include the following:

1. A good camera. (the latest trend is using a DSLR to shoot video. I am old school on that; I use a DSLR to shoot stills and a video camera to shoot video, but its up to you). Be sure to check the low light performance of the camera you are considering buying, as the days of roasting your clients with 300 and 500 watt lights are long gone.( or so I thought; I recently saw a videographer with a 300 watt light on his camera standing 2 feet from the couple. Needless to say, they were all sweating profusely) Modern cameras give remarkable images with minimal light. I often use no additional light for my ceremony coverage and if I do need light I use a 10 watt cool light on my camera. This ensures no discomfort for the couple.

2. A firm tripod. Ensure that the tripod you use is made to hold the weight of the particular camera you are putting on it. I use commercial grade Manfrotto tripods with fluid heads as they are fully adjustable and give no camera shake even with heavy cameras.

3. Lights. Your use of lighting at the ceremony should be minimal, however at the reception venue it is OK and usually necessary to use brighter lights. Get professional lights mounted on a light stand. If you use a very bright light mounted on your camera you will likely make it very uncomfortable for anyone to whom you direct your camera. If you have a light on a stand, raise it above eye level and point the light slightly downward. If you keep it a practical distance from your subjects they will be able to see comfortably even when the light is directed toward them.

4. Microphones. Your audio capture is as important as your video. Get a wireless lavaliere microphone for the groom to wear so that you can capture the vows without the external noise at the venue(sneezing guests, crying babies etc.). At the reception you can use either wired or wireless microphones for the toasts if they will all speak from a podium. I do not ususally plug into the DJs mixing board for audio as most of them will introduce unacceptable levels of hiss and distortion into the feed.

5. Miscellaneous Stuff. Extra tapes(unless you use a tapeless camera), Gaffer's tape(to tape over your cables to avoid a trip hazzard), a surge protector, batteries, microphone cables etc.

I started out renting my equipment from another videographer and you may be able to do the same. (sorry, currently I do not rent equipment)

You will also need an appropriate outfit (a good suit is prefered), clean and comfortable shoes, decent bags/protective cases for your equipment and a pleasant demeanour.

Next we will look a bit at your actual coverage on the wedding day.

I have posted a shot of myself in the very early days.