Our Top 5 Tips for Getting the Best Wedding Footage
Here are our top 5 tips to get the best wedding day shots and to avoid things like harsh lighting, awkward glances, and boring footage.
Shoot your romantics during golden hour.
By far the best time for video and photos is during golden hour, the hour before the sun sets (or the hour after the sun rises). Scheduling your romantic shots during that time will get you the best lighting for your shots, as long as the sun is out. Conversely, the worst time to shoot photos with direct light is during midday, so I highly recommend to be in a fully shaded area or indoors when the sun is directly overhead. The one exception for this is during fully overcast days. In cases where it’s completely cloudy, shoot at much as you like outdoors throughout the whole day.
Incorporate moving elements.
Since we shoot a lot of shots in slow-motion, having moving elements in your shots like bubbles, flower petals, champagne, or sparklers can really make your footage magical. Another way to do this is by taking shots of little actions like walking, slow-dancing, kissing, spins, and little touches with your partner. Choosing a photographer who is comfortable shooting action shots, can also make it easier on everyone and allows us to capture our shots during the same window, which frees up more time for you guys to mingle with your guests.
Choose a venue or location with a lot of natural light.
In general, venues that have large windows and doors that let in a lot of natural light will improve the quality of your shots. Bright interior lights are also a plus. On top of improving the quality of your shots, it will also make it easier for photographers to shoot with less flash photography, and that will improve your wedding video footage. Flash photography generally does not look the best on video.
Make sure you won’t have harsh lighting at the ceremony site.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shot weddings where the lighting was horrific at the ceremony site. It’s one thing that is almost always not considered when couples are choosing their venue. The main 4 causes for this would be direct sunlight shining at one or both of your faces (making you have to squint during the whole ceremony), overhead lighting, especially from the front, (giving you “raccoon eyes,” or spotty lighting (some parts of you in the dark and other parts in direct sunlight). These 4 scenarios are nightmares for both photographers and videographers alike. I recommend using a ceremony site that is either completely in shade, or backlit (the sun is behind you when looking at you from the front). I recommend either scoping out the ceremony site ahead of time during the time you want to have the ceremony or scheduling the ceremony during a time of day that will give you more flattering light. An awesome tool to see where the sun will be during different times of day that I highly recommend is called “Sun Seeker.” Doing this will greatly improve your ceremony shots!
Enjoy the moment and pretend we’re not here.
We know it can be hard to relax for a lot of people when they have two or more cameras pointed at you throughout the day, but try your best to stay present and pretend we aren’t there. Having a drink or two earlier in the day can often help take the edge off and relax you. More than anything else, the wedding day is about the two of you and celebrating your love, so keep the focus on staying present, appreciating every moment, and enjoying each other. This will get you the most natural and intimate shots, and prevent awkward glances at the camera and uncomfortable poses. Just have fun and be yourself, and trust us to make the magic happen behind the camera. We are here for you. Our goal is not only to capture breathtaking footage, but also make sure you two have an amazing, stress-free day!