Gender, and bride and groom prep at DVinfo.net

Adrian Tan · December 8th, 2012, 10:40 PM

You're working in a two-person team, one male and one female videographer. For a particular wedding, you're splitting up in the morning. Is it better for the guy to go to the groom's, and the girl to the bride's, or vice versa, or doesn't it matter?

What I'm currently thinking...

-- If the videographer is female, and fairly new she's better off at the groom's. They'll be kinder to her.
-- If the videographer is female, and has a polite and businesslike attitude, or a use-tele-lens-while-hiding-in-the-corner-of-the-room attitude, she'll get good stuff at either place, but the groomsmen will be slightly less relaxed around her.
-- If the videographer is male, the groomsmen will behave in a more... the Australian word is "blokey" or "blokish"... more masculine fashion around him, and obviously more relaxed about getting dressed, putting pants on, etc.
-- If the videographer is more inexperienced regardless of gender, they're better off at the groom's.
-- If the videographer is male, and sticks out like a sore thumb, maybe dressed in ripped jeans with a huge shoulder mount camera, then they're better off at the groom's. Ditto if they're male and have no tact or treat it like a set from film school, going straight up to the actors to stick a camera in their faces.
-- If the videographer is male and capable of flirting in a non-threatening way with bridesmaids, they're better off at the bride's house, for the sake of the giggling.

Chris Harding · December 8th, 2012, 11:47 PM

Hi Adrian

For dual preps I use a female 2nd shooter and she always goes to the bride not the groom. Firstly she doesn't need to be banned from the bedroom when the bride is putting on her dress as she is roughly the same age group so all the girls are comfortable in their underwear with her around..with me I would have to wait outside while the bride gets dressed.

The guys are normally quicker to get ready and get ready earlier too as they need to be at the ceremony ahead of the bride. That suits me too!! I can do the guys and then hightail it to the Church/Venue and set up with plenty of time to spare. That also allows my second shooter to get the girls walking out of the house to the limo and all she really needs to keep in mind is that she needs to be maybe 15 minutes ahead of the limo. My 2nd shooter gets the limo arrival and bride getting out and I relax at the main camera in the Church...she then does the bridal entry and after that simply shoots guest cutaways and other angles my fixed cam cannot get to...my 2nd shooter then does bridal exit and also congratulations and her job is then done!! I take it solo from the photoshoot onwards.

Works well for both of us!!

Chris

Osmany Tellez · December 13th, 2012, 10:32 AM

Hi Chris.

I have a dilema with this. Even though i value the fact that the bride will be more comfortable with a female shooter I also think it is more important to have a good documentation of the bride and it is more challenging than shooting the groom that i most of the time chose to go my self with the bride and send a female with groom. Its not that she can't do a good job but in my case i'm more experience than her.

does your second shooter uses steadicam, and slider and stuff?

yeah...the groom is so much easier that i always take the more difficult task and give the esiest.

thanks.

Noa Put · December 13th, 2012, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

What I'm currently thinking...

I think you are overthinking it a bit :) For me that would be simple, the female videographer goes to the brides house, when the brides is putting her wedding dress on she won't mind if the female videographer is with her in the room waiting to make a recording when she is "decent".

I had a wedding yesterday, the female photog could enter the bedroom while the bride was undressing and putting her bridesdress on and I had to wait in the hall untill the thing was completely on. They did call me in when the dress was allready buttoned up on the back so I missed that for a close up shot, a female videographer would not miss that part.

Chris Harding · December 13th, 2012, 05:31 PM

Hi Noa

I normally say to them "Please call me when the dress is three quarter way laced up so I get film you doing the final bit" Guess you will have to find yourself a female second shooter ???

Chris

Noa Put · December 13th, 2012, 05:39 PM

I did say that but they called me in when it was done...

Don Bloom · December 13th, 2012, 07:14 PM

Yeah they forget to call me in as well but then I go in and simply have them recreate the zipping, buttoning or tying the dress. Not the whole thing but about 4 inches for a zipper, the top or last button for buttons and then tying the bow of it's a ribbon type closure.

Adrian Tan · December 15th, 2012, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

I think you are overthinking it a bit :) For me that would be simple, the female videographer goes to the brides house, when the brides is putting her wedding dress on she won't mind if the female videographer is with her in the room waiting to make a recording when she is "decent".

Hey Noa, I think you're pretty much right. I shot one yesterday where I was barred from the room while my colleague happily got all the shots she wanted. Even later, when the bride was dressed, and I was shooting her through the window from outside, she was getting a bit distraught and wanted me to stop (her dress had ripped -- too tight -- she felt she couldn't keep on a happy face for the camera), but my colleague was allowed to keep on filming.

I think I'm probably the more experienced shooter between my colleague and myself. But at the end of the day, it's covered, she got the shot, and that's really all that matters.

One more thought -- about the bride's being a hive of activity while the groom is easy, I think it does vary a lot. I mean, sometimes the groom spends all morning watching TV, then gets up and is changed in ten minutes. But, equally, sometimes there's nothing happening at the bride's except make-up, while the guys are getting up to all sorts of antics (playing pool, playing cards, mucking around in general). For some cultures in particular, the guys' side might be a lot more frenetic than the girls. For instance, Indian weddings -- the last two I shot, the bride was stuck in some tiny hotel room getting makeup, while there was lots of rituals and commotion on the groom's side.

Long Truong · December 16th, 2012, 02:20 PM

I used to think that there was an issue with having a male shooter around when brides get ready but I figured it's all about how you approach it. I break the ice with them during our pre-wedding consultations and it makes the biggest difference.

To me, it's extremely important to work on building a strong relationship with my clients before, during and after the wedding. Not only does it give everyone a great experience working together, but it also helps me get much better shots because my clients are always very comfortable with me and we can avoid so many unexpected surprises as well.

December 8th, 2012, 10:40 PM	#1
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Gender, and bride and groom prep You're working in a two-person team, one male and one female videographer. For a particular wedding, you're splitting up in the morning. Is it better for the guy to go to the groom's, and the girl to the bride's, or vice versa, or doesn't it matter? What I'm currently thinking... -- If the videographer is female, and fairly new she's better off at the groom's. They'll be kinder to her. -- If the videographer is female, and has a polite and businesslike attitude, or a use-tele-lens-while-hiding-in-the-corner-of-the-room attitude, she'll get good stuff at either place, but the groomsmen will be slightly less relaxed around her. -- If the videographer is male, the groomsmen will behave in a more... the Australian word is "blokey" or "blokish"... more masculine fashion around him, and obviously more relaxed about getting dressed, putting pants on, etc. -- If the videographer is more inexperienced regardless of gender, they're better off at the groom's. -- If the videographer is male, and sticks out like a sore thumb, maybe dressed in ripped jeans with a huge shoulder mount camera, then they're better off at the groom's. Ditto if they're male and have no tact or treat it like a set from film school, going straight up to the actors to stick a camera in their faces. -- If the videographer is male and capable of flirting in a non-threatening way with bridesmaids, they're better off at the bride's house, for the sake of the giggling.

December 8th, 2012, 11:47 PM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep Hi Adrian For dual preps I use a female 2nd shooter and she always goes to the bride not the groom. Firstly she doesn't need to be banned from the bedroom when the bride is putting on her dress as she is roughly the same age group so all the girls are comfortable in their underwear with her around..with me I would have to wait outside while the bride gets dressed. The guys are normally quicker to get ready and get ready earlier too as they need to be at the ceremony ahead of the bride. That suits me too!! I can do the guys and then hightail it to the Church/Venue and set up with plenty of time to spare. That also allows my second shooter to get the girls walking out of the house to the limo and all she really needs to keep in mind is that she needs to be maybe 15 minutes ahead of the limo. My 2nd shooter gets the limo arrival and bride getting out and I relax at the main camera in the Church...she then does the bridal entry and after that simply shoots guest cutaways and other angles my fixed cam cannot get to...my 2nd shooter then does bridal exit and also congratulations and her job is then done!! I take it solo from the photoshoot onwards. Works well for both of us!! Chris

December 13th, 2012, 10:32 AM	#3
Osmany Tellez Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Panama City Posts: 190	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep Hi Chris. I have a dilema with this. Even though i value the fact that the bride will be more comfortable with a female shooter I also think it is more important to have a good documentation of the bride and it is more challenging than shooting the groom that i most of the time chose to go my self with the bride and send a female with groom. Its not that she can't do a good job but in my case i'm more experience than her. does your second shooter uses steadicam, and slider and stuff? yeah...the groom is so much easier that i always take the more difficult task and give the esiest. thanks. __________________ FCPS2, G5 Dual core 2.0 GHz, 2.5 Ram, Dell 2408, M-audio DX4, DVX 100A, Sachtler DV6, Manfrotto 561B, Zoom H-4, RE-50, AT890 shotgun, steadicam Merlin,

December 13th, 2012, 05:31 PM	#5
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep Hi Noa I normally say to them "Please call me when the dress is three quarter way laced up so I get film you doing the final bit" Guess you will have to find yourself a female second shooter ??? Chris

December 13th, 2012, 05:39 PM	#6
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep I did say that but they called me in when it was done...

December 13th, 2012, 07:14 PM	#7
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep Yeah they forget to call me in as well but then I go in and simply have them recreate the zipping, buttoning or tying the dress. Not the whole thing but about 4 inches for a zipper, the top or last button for buttons and then tying the bow of it's a ribbon type closure. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

December 16th, 2012, 02:20 PM	#9
Long Truong Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto & Montreal Posts: 188	Re: Gender, and bride and groom prep I used to think that there was an issue with having a male shooter around when brides get ready but I figured it's all about how you approach it. I break the ice with them during our pre-wedding consultations and it makes the biggest difference. To me, it's extremely important to work on building a strong relationship with my clients before, during and after the wedding. Not only does it give everyone a great experience working together, but it also helps me get much better shots because my clients are always very comfortable with me and we can avoid so many unexpected surprises as well.