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Bridal Prep Q&A

L feel the first question that I want to ask you a lot of people are asking about manually focusing and pulling focus so and uh maria had asked the bigger says the big problem for me is sometimes I I'm trying to focus and I lose the moment so I mean do you have any suggestions of people of how they can pull focus easier while you're manually focusing everything? It depends on the moment they're capturing usually if it's a moment where for example it's two people just talking there conversing and having like an emotional moment I try not to shoot too shallow because there's no point like the act the heart of the shot story is what they're saying not so much the details or so you know this is a mean if you're looking at like the diesel are you know being a full frame that the mark to the mark three but even that the crops inside like it's it's quite shallow you know like even if you're shooting at three point two it's not like everything's in focus anyway so don't get too carried away wi...

th having things shallow I remember when the five day came out it's like everything has to be shallow it's like you know shoot one point eight because it's like a movie you know what I would say is picky aperture that is realistic so then you don't have to uh overly focus on the moment so you'd say you'd save more of a shallow depth of field for maybe detail shots or something where you know, people are in place and if you're if there's more movement in the shot, you would just close down your aperture yeah like, you know, shell in the field again like I was going through the full aspects of killer shots he should he should be driven right should be deliberate now if there's a moment between two people it's, a mom and mom and daughter are mom and bride it's like the only time I'm mike have a shallow but not overly shallow depth of field, but a bit of shallow depth of field then is when I maybe pull focus from her reaction two for example, she could be it's primitive example, but you know what I mean? Like I wouldn't I wouldn't be too concerned with, you know, having a shallow like a fast aperture together charlotte because you're trying to make it filming you know shots are not made filming because of the shallow depth of field it's how you captured the moment and speaking of capturing the moment we just got a question in from brian fisher sometimes it may be difficult to get the camera set up in time to capture the moment you want, so what is more important getting the best composition or capturing the moment good question brian brian's a cool I know brian's really cool guy eyes excellent question for everyone I would content is king content is king so I would you know you just do your best it's a live event you know I mean like, you know, kind of like on the compositions like I'm like I'm trying to like get a shot so like, you know, moms like getting all teary and like I'm like I'm not gonna forget it that's not gonna work I mean, look, I haven't got the right that this perfect angle don't laugh okay? I need to get the perfect exposure, right? Okay? And the lighting now you obviously you you want to get a close at least dancer brian's question you know, like, you know, I might be like feeling around I just kind of do my best and if I get if I get most of it, then I'm good like the sun rays in like maybe he's question is referring to all of something's in the way right? And I can't get back maybe let's sound restricted to get son raisin you know, a frame that I'm not really happy with, right? Just trying to think an example I don't really crowded and this is no way for me to move I my answer to the answer the question I rather just get the moment because if you're like a little bit if you got a little bit too much headroom for some reason because I don't know just you know you're you're something's happening and you can't get the shot then I can always in post just slightly zoom in a little bit like a tiny tiny bit tiny bit but definitely content is king just just do your best and get the moment okay, I have another question from brian who says, hey, I'll feel great work so far how much time do you usually need to spend at the bridal preparations to get the shots you want and can you give a rough breakdown of how you spend your time like for example ten minutes to assess the space twenty minutes to film makeup application are there some key shots you aim to get before you leave to go to the wedding ceremony? Excellent question so I would spend probably five minutes max introducing myself saying hide everyone and then probably another five minutes checking the space and the lighting and then you know in ten in space of ten minutes ten fifteen minutes I've introduced interest myself fix the lighting get on my gear ready to go and start shooting fifteen minutes that's why I said it was a good idea that arrived ten fifteen minutes before you actually made to stop and certain shots that that right the next question but was like the checklist the question was do you spend ten minutes preparing our setting up, you know, looking at the light and then you spend about twenty minutes or what? How much time do you spend on the makeup application and so basically and then also the third part of the question was what are the key shots that you're looking for good okay, so with the makeup honestly wouldn't spend that much time I mean think of how many happened here many shows with makeup do you want you know, like I think once you've got lady maybe even three or four shots that's enough to tell a story that t demonstrate what's happening here she's getting her makeup done but you want to make it look interesting because then that that enhances and helps to put the narrative together you know, when you're building up to for the ceremony or you're talking about something about when they were leading up to when they first met or some aspect that reflects that some sort of parallel with them getting ready so there's so much happening right? This people conversing there's people running around they might have some kids, right? So you want to get a variety of different moments sometimes I'm like I could also kid and she's like doing up his shoe lace and I'd just like to shoot that you know, like you don't want to spend too much time on one thing it's very easy like to kind of get carried away and get a shot here you know and you know she's like you know doing make up again so you know so like you know you get you know one shot over here and then once shot now but I'll get one shot of it down from like here and then maybe you know I mean like makeup artists like generally a pretty quick you know especially like if they've already done the foundation part and all that thing and then you know you look for moments you spend thie idea is you want to basically maximize sorry you want teo get as many many stories as possible that's why many story they may be having a bit of a chat here and talking about the schedule that's one story um mom might be this happens I'm not you know saying these are things that we'll probably most probably happen some using examples where they're quite common mom's probably preparing her speech for the number bright smashes this writing in court I'll go there and I'll get a variety of shots so you want to get in let's get a note pad and and I'll show you how I do that yep and a pen I should probably write something like this l fia is a creep he makes all these funny like impersonation and they're like really creepy so I'll get you just to kind of like bring the table in and just right on the table like you're actually writing it so I would like you know cools is another moment and I'll come this way because I don't want to see if I come here and I do it here right what happens looking life right so you need to always be aware of where the light's coming from cnn block it now look like I said I already established that you know I'm the guy you know filming and everything and I'm alfio and good was gonna come over here without like you know, hitting them that's one then what I'll do is I'll create create the depth of field will make it oh I'm not gonna tell it to move she's just doing a thing right yeah you could probably add like a few more and then you come and like you're creating a set design you can do other winnings doesn't have to be commercial shoot make your chutes interesting use a hobbit stage not again it's part of the winning it's like a flower that could be anywhere see what you're doing is you're creating a more interesting frame I wouldn't prefer to move this table but you know what dancing brian's question I prefer just to let her be and just captured like the best I can already got two shots here and then next thing is probably she's, you know, getting emotional she's like thinking about what she's writing and I'll probably want to get a shot like she's like, you know, yes, my close up shot there and I'm kind of shooting up but she's looking down so it's acceptable you can't shoot up in this aspect in this example, but if she's up upright and I wouldn't be this angle, this is fine. Sometimes I would even go like underneath and this guy you've been using, mostly the fifty correct now you also have other types of equipment that you bring with you to a venue like a slider and forget what the one that I am terrible at what is it? Not the mono pod that glad clyde campbell can either specific situations at weddings that you solely dedicate those two? Or is it just based off of it could be anything anything I, jimmy person don't use a slider lot? I'm sure you've noticed this. This is how I roll and you noticed a lot of my shots they do very right there is variety and they're all from the mono pod over time, I've just developed, you know, the skill to get comfortable with the money part. It doesn't make me like this master of super expert it's, just that I've done a lot of practice, you know, like it's like anything I've spent some time, you know, trying things I liked experiment and I just fine with the slider if it can be quite fiddly mai mai right, like it could be worth diddly like philly like it's because it's like this apparatus and but I still use I still think it is about value behind it and I could use it maybe as a sliding um detail shot because with the macro and you up really close I wouldn't do it on detail shot like that with the money part yeah um sometimes like if I've got this space to do it and it's kind of cool, I could do like a slider shot here she's here and she's like, you know, doing the makeup and I could do like a reveal, but I could I could get just good over like a shot with the money with the money part so you know, just be very selective how you use your you're a slide out because I just find them very bulky but you can also get I've seen others since I was do this and I just it's not one of my preference but it works you could have a very simple men for the very light try pot you know those troubles it almost like a photography type tripod with the legs and so chunky this a little bit thinner you can have one of them and have ah tiny slider like possibly um like this wide right so it's basically a miniature version ofthe can we get a close up or a shot of that it's lighter so that's a good that's a good like that's a dp slide all very smooth and you know you want to use the whole length you just kind of used like a small portion of free move the movement but you can also get army many slide out and a very simple tripod of like try party you could go around and you can go here and then you set it up and then you just because it's so small it's not bulky there's not like a lot of weight you could do it that way I know some people do it that way I prefer doing it this way you can see I get a lot of different shots with the money I pod and it works for me cool so she's writing away I think I'm dying like I'll get one I've got three shots her face so the rule is it's right you go I'll probably get one more shot it would be like a white shot to show the room so my rule is what you showing what's happening who who is it that you're shooting it's the bridesmaid so I get her face on dh where is he so what does it say to get a note to get that who is it? The bright made and where the sheets in the house so when you have those you know the old who what when I'll win but where you have that in your head then that's like your checklist to get the shots that you need to establish the mini story you've mentioned two things that you could possibly fix in post production one was the contrast and one was if the shots not quite perfect you could you could crop it later but no I wouldn't that that want that cropping I wouldn't suggest that that just like something where for example if something sticking out of the frame a little bit like an orange bag then maybe like a millimetre or something like something really small you can crop image but that's all weii just get a shot off you can see what I'm I'm just showing this let's say um let's say see the cable is like sticking out let's say that was a nice frame with something you know maybe I'll like zoom in a bit and avoid that you know that kind of I'm just demonstrating like the amount of zoo it's going to be something really minute but I never have that issue because I always look for cleaning my frame I stress about that, but if you're desperate like how brian mentioned what happens if you can't move and you've got this cord there and do you move around and just look for the better frame no, just get it because something like that where? It's, something sticking out, just a tiny bit. But you're getting these awesome moment. Just get it, because I would so zoom in that, like, if it's like a tiny bit, but then that's. Why it's important to have, like, change the lens, you know, sometimes I bring in eighty five with me, all right, but usually I have my macro and have my fifty. So maybe the macro might work just as well, because then you can get a shot off the face and shot of the maybe if they're talking about the letter or something you can like. I say, you get the mini story, and I have to get the whole thing, so pick your lenses, you know.