Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) at DVinfo.net

Brock Burwell · January 8th, 2015, 11:46 AM

I meannnnn.............*Constructive Criticism* haha I'm an idiot

This is the second video I have made for this particular photographer (and only the 5th overall video I've made so I'm looking for advice here). It was shot on a 5Dmarkiii with a 70-200 2.8 IS and one shot with a Tokina 11-16mm. She wanted to show her outdoor photography as opposed to her indoor photography (video below). I shot this on three separate days to get three different groups of kids to get a variety of shots. Any comments? Criticisms?

Below is the first video I did for her

Mark Williams · January 8th, 2015, 04:42 PM

I just watched the first video. Not my area of expertise but let me say nice camera work, exposure and grading on your part.

Noa Put · January 8th, 2015, 05:07 PM

I liked it, nice colors and the fact you used a full frame camera just like she did made her photo's and your video match really well, except for detail. I personally would have used ML to shoot this in raw just to match detail better with her photo's. When I look at this I realize I need to get myself a full frame camera :)

Oren Arieli · January 8th, 2015, 07:53 PM

It's a nice piece, albeit you don't get to hear anything from the photographer. An interview would make it much more personal, getting a sense of their philosophy, approach, personality..etc. I would also cut it by 1/2. You've got to keep in mind that your target audience has a short attention span and if you're not telling a story, then you're just sharing a slideshow (remember how much we loved sitting for someone else's vacation photos slideshows? Yeah, me neither.).
There are a few back-to-back shots that could be matched better for color. The boy at 50sec is quite cool/blue followed by a very warm shot of the little girl.
Shots are nice, camera work is solid, and the children are cute...but there is no emotional attachment to the photographer (at least for me).

Brock Burwell · January 9th, 2015, 07:34 AM

Thanks Oren,

My first thought when she asked for a video was to do an interview but she was very adamant about this format. She actually didn't want to be on camera as much as she was, but I thought it was important that we saw her at least some.

I do have a question though, during one part of the video, a skater goes by as the music goes down, what frame rate should I have shot that at? It doesn't look right.

Chuck Spaulding · January 9th, 2015, 01:03 PM

Regarding shooting RAW, what did you use to grade this? DaVinci does a great job of grading 5D3 footage and you can sharpen it quite a bit, so I'm not sure RAW is worth the hassle. Just depends on your threshold for post processing.

I agree with Oren, it needs a story, in needs her story, you could interview her and use it as VO. Yes it could have been shorter, but given that people who view this are looking for a photographer who specializes in children, they tend to want to see more, and although I think you did a good job of balancing the live action shots of her I think adding more shots of her interacting with the kids would make it more compelling.

With todays camera's if all you want to do is take cool pictures, then point the camera at something cool. But if you want interesting pictures, then become a more interesting person. It was the shots of her interacting with the kids I think parents are going to find most interesting.

This was a very nice video, I really hope she's happy with it.

Brock Burwell · January 10th, 2015, 12:30 AM

I color graded it in Magic Bullet Looks. I'm really not great with it, but it's pretty straight forward and I enjoy using it.

You know, I did suggest to her about doing some voice over for the video and she didn't want to do that either. So basically she wanted just footage with music over it. Oh well. She liked it in the end.

I am doing another video for a photographer here in the Spring and I believe she will be OK with either an interview or some voice over in her video, so that's good.

BTW, what would you charge for a video like this?

January 8th, 2015, 11:46 AM	#1
Brock Burwell Major Player Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Charleston, WV Posts: 385	Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) I meannnnn.............Constructive Criticism haha I'm an idiot This is the second video I have made for this particular photographer (and only the 5th overall video I've made so I'm looking for advice here). It was shot on a 5Dmarkiii with a 70-200 2.8 IS and one shot with a Tokina 11-16mm. She wanted to show her outdoor photography as opposed to her indoor photography (video below). I shot this on three separate days to get three different groups of kids to get a variety of shots. Any comments? Criticisms? Johnson Photography Outdoor Stylized Sessions Promo - YouTube Below is the first video I did for her Johnson Photography Promo - YouTube Last edited by Brock Burwell; January 8th, 2015 at 02:33 PM.

January 8th, 2015, 04:42 PM	#2
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) I just watched the first video. Not my area of expertise but let me say nice camera work, exposure and grading on your part. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 8th, 2015, 05:07 PM	#3
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) I liked it, nice colors and the fact you used a full frame camera just like she did made her photo's and your video match really well, except for detail. I personally would have used ML to shoot this in raw just to match detail better with her photo's. When I look at this I realize I need to get myself a full frame camera :)

January 8th, 2015, 07:53 PM	#4
Oren Arieli Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 919	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) It's a nice piece, albeit you don't get to hear anything from the photographer. An interview would make it much more personal, getting a sense of their philosophy, approach, personality..etc. I would also cut it by 1/2. You've got to keep in mind that your target audience has a short attention span and if you're not telling a story, then you're just sharing a slideshow (remember how much we loved sitting for someone else's vacation photos slideshows? Yeah, me neither.). There are a few back-to-back shots that could be matched better for color. The boy at 50sec is quite cool/blue followed by a very warm shot of the little girl. Shots are nice, camera work is solid, and the children are cute...but there is no emotional attachment to the photographer (at least for me).

January 9th, 2015, 07:34 AM	#5
Brock Burwell Major Player Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Charleston, WV Posts: 385	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) Thanks Oren, My first thought when she asked for a video was to do an interview but she was very adamant about this format. She actually didn't want to be on camera as much as she was, but I thought it was important that we saw her at least some. I do have a question though, during one part of the video, a skater goes by as the music goes down, what frame rate should I have shot that at? It doesn't look right.

January 9th, 2015, 01:03 PM	#6
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,104	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) Regarding shooting RAW, what did you use to grade this? DaVinci does a great job of grading 5D3 footage and you can sharpen it quite a bit, so I'm not sure RAW is worth the hassle. Just depends on your threshold for post processing. I agree with Oren, it needs a story, in needs her story, you could interview her and use it as VO. Yes it could have been shorter, but given that people who view this are looking for a photographer who specializes in children, they tend to want to see more, and although I think you did a good job of balancing the live action shots of her I think adding more shots of her interacting with the kids would make it more compelling. With todays camera's if all you want to do is take cool pictures, then point the camera at something cool. But if you want interesting pictures, then become a more interesting person. It was the shots of her interacting with the kids I think parents are going to find most interesting. This was a very nice video, I really hope she's happy with it.

January 10th, 2015, 12:30 AM	#7
Brock Burwell Major Player Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Charleston, WV Posts: 385	Re: Photographer Promo (Construction Criticism Invited) I color graded it in Magic Bullet Looks. I'm really not great with it, but it's pretty straight forward and I enjoy using it. You know, I did suggest to her about doing some voice over for the video and she didn't want to do that either. So basically she wanted just footage with music over it. Oh well. She liked it in the end. I am doing another video for a photographer here in the Spring and I believe she will be OK with either an interview or some voice over in her video, so that's good. BTW, what would you charge for a video like this?