Well it had to happen 1 day......

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/eva-the-photography-robot-shoots-her-first-professional-wedding-gig

The link works but it says the page is not there Steve.

Corrected. :)

Just had a look at it and it seem very intresting. I would also like to know how much is to hire for the day.

It sadly won't replace the couples bridal shoot! I'd like to see it climb over rocks, down long staircases to get those magical shots !! Probably will work fine at receptions going around asking if people would like a photo ..sorta like a mobile photobooth??

What's a lot more threat is the fact that phones are getting to the stage where they are out performing our cameras ..The new Huawei P30 using quad Leica optics is looking quite scary and has super low light performance too. The issue isn't really with the phone vs camera but the fact that people use their phones for everything now ..they even sleep with them so if you can offer photos and video that they can access pretty much instantly on their phones you have an advantage ...You can shoot photos, 4K video and live stream nowdays on the device and I think people are moving away from sitting in front of the TV to watch their wedding and rather just share it on social media and walk into a store and print wedding photos wirelessly in a quality that would satisfy most brides!! I had a photographer use his tiny drone the other day to do the wedding group photos not his pro camera and he said the image is just as good!

The mind boggles as technology gets better and better ... I must admit it would be great to do a wedding video without lugging around tons of gear!!

I'm surprised venues haven't tried something with this. Or at least 'In House' videography. With that said, with simply placed cameras for Intros, 1st dance, toast & cake cutting, and making sure the events take place in planned locations, one could probably pull it off pretty simply with overhead type cameras.

I'm surprised venues haven't tried something with this. Or at least 'In House' videography. With that said, with simply placed cameras for Intros, 1st dance, toast & cake cutting, and making sure the events take place in planned locations, one could probably pull it off pretty simply with overhead type cameras.

That's taking away the whole point of wedding videography where the videographer uses their skill, creativity and experience, to capture the emotion of the day and follow the action. I think it would look just like CCTV footage, a bit like trying to make a blockbuster with locked off cameras.

Roger

Funeral homes tried this a while back to record services for families just using a fixed camera pointing at the lectern. Once live broadcasting became practical they also tried that using the same camera but it never really worked. We still do funeral broadcasts using a single camera on a dolly but being able to move and get correct coverage is far more important but even more so at a wedding where the operators skill in capturing pleasing footage is important. A fixed camera might work for speeches but it would have to be wide angle and would look very CCTV !! I have had weddings where the bridal party paired off into groomsman and bridesmaid and each decided to take a different route from the entry door to the bridal table which made our coverage very tricky and you had no idea which way the next pair would choose to walk! Fixed cameras don't work ..if they did we would be using them and sit back and just record whatever the camera saw! There could be however a use for these for Middle Eastern wedding receptions where the couple insist that every second of the event is captured (which we never do anyway)

That's taking away the whole point of wedding videography where the videographer uses their skill, creativity and experience, to capture the emotion of the day and follow the action. I think it would look just like CCTV footage, a bit like trying to make a blockbuster with locked off cameras.

Roger

I'm not saying it'd be ideal, I'm just surprised they haven't gotten into it. When they're showing a couple $10,000 venue, they could easily upsell "Videography coverage for an additional $1,000". Wow, saving the couple money & time searching for a videographer (never telling them nor the couple ever thinking it would be bad coverage)

Brides, believe it or not don't have too many expectations about video coverage as we think ..years ago I had a really bad wedding where everything went wrong and was quite ready to refund the bride the full price until she announced that she was delighted with her wedding video! Then again some brides want it to look like a blockbuster movie and pay peanuts for it!

I saw a "follow the action" camera advertised a while ago that you just placed on a tripod and it's motion sensor and motorised pan kept you in frame but how do you tell a bride "sorry the camera chopped your head off during bridal entry" I still think you need a videographer to create a wedding video.

Brides, believe it or not don't have too many expectations about video coverage as we think ..years ago I had a really bad wedding where everything went wrong and was quite ready to refund the bride the full price until she announced that she was delighted with her wedding video! Then again some brides want it to look like a blockbuster movie and pay peanuts for it!


That's actually pretty funny, and yes the latter part can be true.


I saw a "follow the action" camera advertised a while ago that you just placed on a tripod and it's motion sensor and motorised pan kept you in frame but how do you tell a bride "sorry the camera chopped your head off during bridal entry" I still think you need a videographer to create a wedding video

Yeah, if anything, I think videography is there and might take precedence, albeit fancy photographers & artsy types might be the ones getting into video, so there'll be competition. But yes, I agree trying to automate it or have their DJ's buddy do it and include it in his package is just doing it wrong.

Hi David

Nowdays I notice that 99% of the new photographers offer photos and video ... I winder if they shoot it on the same camera? The more experienced photographers (the few that are left) still do only photos. I got to realise that spending my life editing weddings had to come to a halt so we went the Live Stream route ...obviously unless you have a crack team and multiple cameras you do get a far more limited result on just one camera but I'm used to single camera shoots from the old days so I can still make it acceptable for brides, have a simple setup (no stedicams, cranes, rigs) and best of all there is no editing. (I do add a thumbnail to the live video later to add a title) but no real editing at all!! It's really nice to have the week free!!