Wedding photography and videography are the meat and potatoes of many photographers’ careers. This means it’s a great market to get involved in because of the sheer volume of work that is available. However, it also means there’s a lot of competition. And it’s up to you to figure out how you will compete in that market if you want to get involved.
There are many ways to compete in the wedding videography market and some are wiser than others. For example, you could always undercut your competition, but this creates a pricing war that will end up driving down the value of your profession. You’ll also end up getting the least extravagant jobs available if you price yourself the cheapest. That won’t do your portfolio any favors.
Instead, it’s better to compete with your peers by being the most up-to-date in technology and style. Like anything that revolves around technology, the biggest challenge is in keeping up. That’s an opportunity for startups and experienced professionals alike to improve their standing in the industry. Just offering the newest look is enough to outcompete most of the competition.
Drone Technology
One of the most interesting and innovative approaches to wedding videography, in general, is the use of drone technology. This isn’t exactly new technology but it is becoming an absolute requirement to compete. This technology is a lot of fun to use and there are lots of different features and innovative videography techniques that can be employed with flycams.
One of the disadvantages of flycam use is that there is a big learning curve. While most drones can practically fly themselves with gyroscopic self-leveling technology, there are a lot of considerations nonetheless. Drones are not suitable to fly in all weather conditions, there may be regulations surrounding flights that require permits, and there’s always the chance that you’ll lose contact or battery when your drone is in a compromised position(such as while over water). These are things to consider when using a drone.
Up-To-Date Processing Methods
One of the most important aspects of videography in the modern era is post-production work. This aspect of the profession is always changing and has the potential to make the greatest changes to your outcomes with the least effort and expenditure.
There are new technologies that are just emerging in the market. One of the most interesting and potentially game-changing technologies is LUTs. LUT stands for ‘Lookup Table” and it’s essentially a mathematical algorithm that processes the color and hue of your work to produce outcomes that give your work a characteristic look. Unlike filters, LUTs produce a much higher-quality image that doesn’t degrade at all. You can get an idea of the different textures available by checking out industry cinematography and photography.
LUTs produce specific feels by casting your video in certain color schemes and can totally change the feel of your work. Depending on the LUT used, it can make the final product appear warm, crisp, rustic, or whatever look you prefer for your work and style. There are specific wedding LUTs for use in the industry that provide new, dreamy outcomes that add a special kind of magic and tone to the final product. LUTs aren’t the only new processing technology available, but they are the most promising and they’re the ones that will come to dominate the market in a short time.
4K Video
Of course, high-resolution products are of the utmost importance and that goes without saying. Nonetheless, in the pursuit of modern production quality, it’s important to stress that anything less than Ultra-HD is unacceptable and if word gets out that you’re still in the stone age, you’ll be left in the dust.
Make sure you advertise this feature and explain what it means in your advertising as many customers will not know much about it and it’s a marketable feature.
Basic Equipment
There’s a lot of lighting equipment that videographers can’t forget. There are dozens of things that are needed to produce professional-quality content that can compete with everyone else. Don’t forget these basic tools to get the job done correctly:
- Camera tripods are required to produce a stable image or to hold a perspective for a long time. You may want to have multiple takes going simultaneously and you’ll need to set up your cameras on tripods to do that.
- Lighting and reflectors are necessary to add brightness and crispness to your product. Without proper lighting, the image quality will be lacking. Proper lighting, along with a few other things, is the essential component that separates amateurs from professionals. There are lots of different forms of lighting available and you’ll want to obtain more than a single rig to have the range that you need.
- Gaffer’s tape is a high-quality tape similar to duct tape that is used to protect and fix the copious electrical wiring that the job demands. It can also be used for quick and dirty repairs and it can solve a variety of problems that may pop up.
- Microphones and booms are required for audio. Unless you plan on doing everything with a soundtrack, the audio quality needs to keep up with the video quality. Having excellent footage with an audio track ruined by wind noise and poor sound quality is going to be severely detrimental to the overall outcome.
Extra Batteries
Weddings are often long events and may be held in remote locations. There is no guarantee that power will be accessible regardless of where it is filmed. A professional is always ready for all unforeseen problems that might pop up. That means lots and lots of backup batteries.
A wedding is a thing that can be put on hold or repeated. You get one shot and one shot only to catch these beautiful moments. Failing to do so will lead to bad reviews and a detrimental effect on your business. Redundancy is required in all areas and batteries are the number one place to start. Stock up on multiple batteries for all your different devices.
A Good Camera (Or Two)
Last but not least, you need a high-quality camera that can get the job done with the right features. However, to do a really good job, you’ll need two or more. They don’t all need to be top-of-the-line. Anything with 4K resolution ought to be adequate as a secondary or tertiary unit for diverse angles or effects. Having a multiple-camera setup gives you a lot of flexibility to impress your customers, provide multiple cuts, and experiment with innovative cinematography all while maintaining a high level of professionalism. Just be sure to keep track of everything.
