Anyone do photography and videography for weddings?

Peter Jefferson · June 18th, 2006, 11:49 PM

"For the record, Canon DSLRs do not have any way to turn off the shutter "sound" ... many times referred to as mirror slap."

wierd, must be the geographic release build then, coz ive asked about 3 photogs to kill the "slap" hehehehe and theyve been able to do it...
Its actually quite freaky to see flashes go off but not hear anything, and these guys have used 20d's (ive only asked canon guys who ive worked with before)

I'll see if i can find any more info, but they did turn off the slapping

David Ennis · June 27th, 2006, 11:06 AM

I'm no wedding videographer, and thanks to this very enjoyable thread, I'll resist the temptation to become one for at least another year (I'm a teacher with summers off). Even as an amateur producing pretty good three-cam DVDs of stage productions just to preserve memories and make people happy, I'm all too familiar with the general thanklessness of the endeavor.

But Peter, when you're ready to can it all, you still have a writing career in front of you.

Mike Oveson · August 4th, 2006, 01:02 PM

After reading through this thread I should be scared off from the prospect of doing both photo and video. No offense to anyone involved, but the animosity between the two industries is very clear. But, despite this thread, I intend to make this a business goal for the next year. Biggest difference is that I wouldn't be trying to do it myself. I don't see how that would even be remotely possible. My wife has a keen eye and is very well at directing people, so I want to add photography as part of our package. I think that we would get more video jobs along with the photography rather than someone looking for video and wanting to add photography. That's how my current arrangement works. My cousin does photography, I do video. When he gets a job that wants video he calls me. When I get a video job and ask if they'd like a package deal with photography, every couple I've talked to already has the photographer booked. So, I might as well cut out the referral fee to my cousin and do this with my wife. Makes my world easier too because it will be easier to work with her than a stranger. Most photographers in the area are easy to work with. Most aren't exactly warm, but I've yet to meet one who hasn't been civil. So, that's my current plan. If anyone has warnings please voice them now. =)

Steven Davis · August 4th, 2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Oveson

If anyone has warnings please voice them now. =)

When you do go into doing both, make sure you get along with yourself at the wedding, don't get in the way of your own shot, don't take control of the bride and grooms movements from yourself, and by all means pay yourself the referral fee.

Vincent Croce · August 4th, 2006, 02:13 PM

Thanks for the belly laughs, Steve. I almost had coffee come out of my nose...

Michelle Lewis · August 5th, 2006, 08:57 AM

I'm on th cusp of getting a DSLR. I'm excited about the prospect of the new Nikon D80. I want to see what that's about before commiting to a camera.

I decided on adding photography because the photographers I've worked with have no aesthetic integrity and imagination. Usually I attach their photos to my DVDs. I'm constantly overwhelmed that the few pics I take with my point-n-shoot, were ALWAYS so much better than the high-priced photog's pics. I always feel a pit of resentment against them for doing a bad job, in less time, and getting paid much more for it. At my last gig, the photog didn't know what to do with the couple, so I stepped in and woke up their poses, their attitudes, and those shots were by faaaar the best shots of the day.

I know what I do well, and what I do not do well. I direct people well. I realized that I'm limiting myself by only offering videography. Financially and creatively.

Steven Davis · August 5th, 2006, 09:19 AM

Michelle, what I see on the blogs is that the 80 will be similar to the 70 but with more pixels and such.

I'm still chewing on the D200, to see if that's where we want to go.

And ditto on the rest of your comments, :}

Michelle Lewis · August 5th, 2006, 10:39 AM

Yeah, the D200 is my fantasy camera, I just can't afford that kit, plus the Nikkor lenses I'll have to invest in. For now I'd rather put my money into the lenses and get the D200 or it's upgraded equivalent, later on.

Paul Cypert · August 7th, 2006, 04:50 AM

This thread is a stitch. You guys crack me up. There's photographers saying the same things about you guys re: being over shoulders and all that.

For the record my background was film then photography in college. My gear is way over 5K in photography...actually more than your 15K of video gear, but I don't always bring all of that to the wedding...heck 5K isn't even some DSLR's...

To the OP: do both if you can. It's worth it as the bride would rather have one group and not shop around. But make your product excellent. Brides don't care if you spend 80 hours or 10 hours making something....they care that the end product is something that makes them go wow and remember their day in tears all over again. My photos do that and my video is getting there (so I don't charge as much for my video yet).

Brides can be stressed out and emotional. They can be unpredictable. They are more unforgiving to be honest of photos than video. Video they expect to look like things were and have a good pace. Photos they expect to tranform them and their event to something in their mind. Good photographers (not all wedding photographers are this for sure) can do this. I shot a wedding in a dump of a house that was horribly decorated and badly lit. You'd never know it looking at the pics....but the video guy just showed up and shot and it looked as it was and the bride was happy.

You'll double your mental stress, but you'll double your profits if you do both. And if you fail you'll be the person that they forever remember as blowing their big day. I like the pressure and excitement. I love the relationships and getting involved in their lives and in their day. I stay friends with my clients and hang out with them from time to time in the future. I'm friends with their parents and sisters. I get referal work. I wouldn't trade it for anything (well maybe being able to direct indie films)...but that passion translates to them as we meet. If you don't have that and are just showing up and going through the motions do yourself and the rest of us a favor and stay out of the game.

And if you're going to just whine about photographers making more and not challenge brides and the market with vigor then please get out of the game as well. You have yourself to blame and nothing more at the end of the day. A good salesperson with a quality product with good marketing and quality can sell anything for any price. You can get faster PC's for sometimes a third of a top of the line powermac...but they got style and precision. Some folks here are like if ford just kept making the focus year after year and pissed and moaned about jags selling for what they do. Make your own jag and sell it. I don't care if the market doesn't normally charge that much...it'll learn to tolerate it if your quality is there. I've seen people push 1-2K markets (small town west texas) to over 5 or 10K in less than a year...

Paul

Steven Davis · August 7th, 2006, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson

"For the record, Canon DSLRs do not have any way to turn off the shutter "sound"

Hey Peter,

Call me crazy, but I think you posted on this thread somewhere that you were lookiing at the 50D. Have you looked at the 200D from Nikon.

By the way, this type of question was the reason I posted this thread, hehe, what happen to the focus? :}

Paul Cypert · August 7th, 2006, 07:04 AM

If you knew DSLR's and don't have a bunch invested in Nikon you'd be talking about the 30D or 5D from Canon and not D80 or D200...the D200 has nice build but it's like using a panasonic video camera...everything's there, but everyone knows sony has better low light...

Canon rules DLSR in noise and other factors. I was a life long Nikon shooter...well ok, I started with a pentax K1000 like most folks...but used Nikon for over 10 years and switched to Canon last year. The ISO 1600 looks like 400 from Nikon...that's a lot more available light shooting which people love...8vs10 megap's is nothing especially if you're getting all that grain in your D200 file...one as to quadruple megapixels to double resolution (like people think you can go from the D70's 6Mp's to the D2x's 12MP's and you've doubled your resolution...not the case)....

If you're just now investing Canon is the way to go. Not only do they have the only (barring the horrendous Kodak hybrid cameras) full frame sensors on the market, but the best low light performance in a DSLR...plus some great IS lenses...

Peter Jefferson · August 7th, 2006, 09:09 AM

yeah steve, i have ben looking at the 5d, and im very imprssed with it.. used it afew times at a couple of shoots, and i really cant fault it.. also took out a 30d, but it just didnt "feel" the same.. dunno.. hard to explain.. i still feel the 20d's LCD is MUCH sharper when previewing shots... im constantly double chekcing focus with teh 30 when i didnt have to with the 20.. i'll get used to it i guess

what im lookin at now is as i move across to integrate a photographic studio here, i want to completely jump the wagon and go a couple of XLh1's with a couple of 5ds.
Im not really into canon gear, but the H1 is a great camera if i do say so in my biased old anti-canon video self...

The ideal relationship is to share L series lenses across formats as reqiured...
I originaly considered the HVX, however P2 still doesnt cut it for longform and i have to make a decision pretty fast.. I like the variable frames, and the colour space is astonishing for a camera or this range, but i need to decide much faster than i anticipated...
So im thinking just make the investment all at once and go all out..

I still dont know.. i do know that a 5d and a (30d as a backup), lense, mobile lighting kit, 2x580ex's etc etc will be in my posession within the next 4 weeks, so i'll be snapping away soon enough, as i have Photoshoots lined up from Sep till early next year.. hoping they wil eventually overide the video queries, but we'll see how it goes

I dont dislike video, but the market here is very how do i put this.. umm saturated with misinformation and precedents which have made video work much more difficult to value and sell...
when u consider that 80% of weddings have a pro fotog, and of those, abotu 20% have a pro video, then by offering a stills package your tapping into a larger market, in turn, offering u more work and exposure.

Its all one big friggin headache i tell ya.. sometimes i wish i just went back to marketing and NLE training..

"wow peter....i didn;t think of how different folks are in your region. here is los angeles, our clients really give us high regards and not just by the work alone, 50% of the time is because of "who" we are as people and how we treated them as clients. we wouldn't have it any other way. if we detect "non-fitting" clients meaning our personalities may clash, we simply pass on producing their wedding video. its not worth it to us to have clients we don't feel we would mesh well with."

This attitude is changin .. in the past with "budget" prices, people didnt value the product or the business or the human as a whole..
Over teh last 6 weeks ive shot 7 weddings.. its winter here, so its fairly quiet on this war front.. the thing though is that as i get invovled with the clients.. to a point of helping them draw out a decent running order for their day.. not jsut for me, but for everything.. i was thinking of gettin my wife invovled in wedding coordination.. lol
Only recently however have they started to change this negative attitude.. why?? IM not doing anythign differently.. so whats the deal??
now heres the doozy.. these 7 clients paid the higher end prices of packages i was offering at cheaper rates last year.. were talking 500 to 1 grand difference...
After this, it really sunk in that the more they pay, the more they appreciate you, your work and the final product... hell, we were even mentioned at 5 of the 7 speeches... <now this is a rare thing.. no really... it is... >
Of those weddidngs, we handled almost everything and it was the Photogs who shot over our shoulders...not the other way around.. things are turning.. better or worse who knows.. but the fact that people are now starting to understand the inticacies involved, makes a huge difference..

I love what i do, and i love the idea of the high tension and make or break mentality i get into when i shoot.. and of teh clients i meet, i mesh well with all of them, but sometimes, when they need to vent, they have 2 people to vent to, and tht the fotog and the video, becuase when u get down to it, the only thing they really only have left of the day are these 2 archives...

Just today there was a thing on TV about bridezillas, and they were talking about how mnay girls base their life around arranging their weddings.. they put so much energy into it, that once its over, they have nothing left... so tehy continue to stalk the bridal forums (this was coming from the owner of a prominant bridal forum/directory (which i might add is having bandwidth issues.. so more than likely he was refering to teh fact that even after these girls are marrid, theyre hanging out in these bride to be forums... )
But the point is, that most people who really do have a life, who are busy, have a career, children, are ok with all this.. but the problems lie with those that go to work, then come home and bum around and do nothing really have nothing better to do.. theyre bored... i know my wife can be total bitch when shes bored.. so thse girls are no differnt.. sometimes they get lost in teh excitement and forget themselves..
Usually by then, its too late for us to notice before we can take steps..

Marc Ries · August 7th, 2006, 04:23 PM

Last month I just did a photo/video shoot for my daughter's wedding. She also had a professional phographer for 3-hours at around $200/hr. (this in the Salt Lake City, UT, area).

I'm on the opposite side of the fence, since I've been shooting digital stills for many years, but this was my first video shoot. Note that I didn't get paid for the shoot and don't bother doing it professionally.

I just finished up a DVD of the whole thing, using all of my video and photos, which turned out great.

The "pro" photographer had quite an arsenal of digital canons, lenses, etc. and this was an outdoor wedding.

In the end, the only difference I could tell between his photos and those that I took with my Nikon D70 were in the "artistic" mode -- super close pics of the brides dress textures, food, flowers and a number of angled shots.

Now studio photography is a different matter, mainly because of the space and specialized and expensive lights, backdrops, etc.

So I guess the photographer looks at the videographer with envy, and vise versa. In the end, if you have a decent eye for scenes, a steady hand and some decent equipment, you should be able to do either reasonably well and probably as good as most.

Paul Cypert · August 8th, 2006, 06:00 AM

A photographer charging 200 dollars an hour for wedding photography (unless that was for 10 hours coverage or something) isn't much of a pro except in the sense that he gets paid (sort of) to take pictures...

If you are seriously thinking about it, make sure you have more than the one D70 as those can go out at a moments notice...when I was Nikon and the D70 was my backup to some D2h's and D100's I had a D70s go out after 8K shutter clicks...very unexpected...

If he was shooting outside and not utilizing fill flash, etc and your images were coming out the same...I'm sorry she had him for her photographer...

Paul

Rick Lang · December 29th, 2008, 02:48 PM

I started with photography and then I went to film school and now do both. (more to that but that is the general way the things went) I have done both photo and video at weddings but I am not going to after my last one this April. My market lacks the drive and creativity for video and when I do photo, I sometimes got worried that the videographer won't cover it in the same style as I do. So now, I just do photo or video. It's a bummer because if you have someone you can trust on getting the right shots then by all means do it because not only you get more money out of it but your day can go better and then in turn come out with a better product.

June 27th, 2006, 11:06 AM	#47
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	Waiting for Peter's first novel.... I'm no wedding videographer, and thanks to this very enjoyable thread, I'll resist the temptation to become one for at least another year (I'm a teacher with summers off). Even as an amateur producing pretty good three-cam DVDs of stage productions just to preserve memories and make people happy, I'm all too familiar with the general thanklessness of the endeavor. But Peter, when you're ready to can it all, you still have a writing career in front of you. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me

August 4th, 2006, 01:02 PM	#48
Mike Oveson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ogden, UT Posts: 349	Wanting to do both After reading through this thread I should be scared off from the prospect of doing both photo and video. No offense to anyone involved, but the animosity between the two industries is very clear. But, despite this thread, I intend to make this a business goal for the next year. Biggest difference is that I wouldn't be trying to do it myself. I don't see how that would even be remotely possible. My wife has a keen eye and is very well at directing people, so I want to add photography as part of our package. I think that we would get more video jobs along with the photography rather than someone looking for video and wanting to add photography. That's how my current arrangement works. My cousin does photography, I do video. When he gets a job that wants video he calls me. When I get a video job and ask if they'd like a package deal with photography, every couple I've talked to already has the photographer booked. So, I might as well cut out the referral fee to my cousin and do this with my wife. Makes my world easier too because it will be easier to work with her than a stranger. Most photographers in the area are easy to work with. Most aren't exactly warm, but I've yet to meet one who hasn't been civil. So, that's my current plan. If anyone has warnings please voice them now. =)

August 5th, 2006, 09:19 AM	#52
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Michelle, what I see on the blogs is that the 80 will be similar to the 70 but with more pixels and such. I'm still chewing on the D200, to see if that's where we want to go. And ditto on the rest of your comments, :} __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

August 7th, 2006, 09:09 AM	#57
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	yeah steve, i have ben looking at the 5d, and im very imprssed with it.. used it afew times at a couple of shoots, and i really cant fault it.. also took out a 30d, but it just didnt "feel" the same.. dunno.. hard to explain.. i still feel the 20d's LCD is MUCH sharper when previewing shots... im constantly double chekcing focus with teh 30 when i didnt have to with the 20.. i'll get used to it i guess what im lookin at now is as i move across to integrate a photographic studio here, i want to completely jump the wagon and go a couple of XLh1's with a couple of 5ds. Im not really into canon gear, but the H1 is a great camera if i do say so in my biased old anti-canon video self... The ideal relationship is to share L series lenses across formats as reqiured... I originaly considered the HVX, however P2 still doesnt cut it for longform and i have to make a decision pretty fast.. I like the variable frames, and the colour space is astonishing for a camera or this range, but i need to decide much faster than i anticipated... So im thinking just make the investment all at once and go all out.. I still dont know.. i do know that a 5d and a (30d as a backup), lense, mobile lighting kit, 2x580ex's etc etc will be in my posession within the next 4 weeks, so i'll be snapping away soon enough, as i have Photoshoots lined up from Sep till early next year.. hoping they wil eventually overide the video queries, but we'll see how it goes I dont dislike video, but the market here is very how do i put this.. umm saturated with misinformation and precedents which have made video work much more difficult to value and sell... when u consider that 80% of weddings have a pro fotog, and of those, abotu 20% have a pro video, then by offering a stills package your tapping into a larger market, in turn, offering u more work and exposure. Its all one big friggin headache i tell ya.. sometimes i wish i just went back to marketing and NLE training.. "wow peter....i didn;t think of how different folks are in your region. here is los angeles, our clients really give us high regards and not just by the work alone, 50% of the time is because of "who" we are as people and how we treated them as clients. we wouldn't have it any other way. if we detect "non-fitting" clients meaning our personalities may clash, we simply pass on producing their wedding video. its not worth it to us to have clients we don't feel we would mesh well with." This attitude is changin .. in the past with "budget" prices, people didnt value the product or the business or the human as a whole.. Over teh last 6 weeks ive shot 7 weddings.. its winter here, so its fairly quiet on this war front.. the thing though is that as i get invovled with the clients.. to a point of helping them draw out a decent running order for their day.. not jsut for me, but for everything.. i was thinking of gettin my wife invovled in wedding coordination.. lol Only recently however have they started to change this negative attitude.. why?? IM not doing anythign differently.. so whats the deal?? now heres the doozy.. these 7 clients paid the higher end prices of packages i was offering at cheaper rates last year.. were talking 500 to 1 grand difference... After this, it really sunk in that the more they pay, the more they appreciate you, your work and the final product... hell, we were even mentioned at 5 of the 7 speeches... <now this is a rare thing.. no really... it is... > Of those weddidngs, we handled almost everything and it was the Photogs who shot over our shoulders...not the other way around.. things are turning.. better or worse who knows.. but the fact that people are now starting to understand the inticacies involved, makes a huge difference.. I love what i do, and i love the idea of the high tension and make or break mentality i get into when i shoot.. and of teh clients i meet, i mesh well with all of them, but sometimes, when they need to vent, they have 2 people to vent to, and tht the fotog and the video, becuase when u get down to it, the only thing they really only have left of the day are these 2 archives... Just today there was a thing on TV about bridezillas, and they were talking about how mnay girls base their life around arranging their weddings.. they put so much energy into it, that once its over, they have nothing left... so tehy continue to stalk the bridal forums (this was coming from the owner of a prominant bridal forum/directory (which i might add is having bandwidth issues.. so more than likely he was refering to teh fact that even after these girls are marrid, theyre hanging out in these bride to be forums... ) But the point is, that most people who really do have a life, who are busy, have a career, children, are ok with all this.. but the problems lie with those that go to work, then come home and bum around and do nothing really have nothing better to do.. theyre bored... i know my wife can be total bitch when shes bored.. so thse girls are no differnt.. sometimes they get lost in teh excitement and forget themselves.. Usually by then, its too late for us to notice before we can take steps.. Last edited by Peter Jefferson; August 7th, 2006 at 09:48 AM.

June 18th, 2006, 11:49 PM	#46
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	"For the record, Canon DSLRs do not have any way to turn off the shutter "sound" ... many times referred to as mirror slap." wierd, must be the geographic release build then, coz ive asked about 3 photogs to kill the "slap" hehehehe and theyve been able to do it... Its actually quite freaky to see flashes go off but not hear anything, and these guys have used 20d's (ive only asked canon guys who ive worked with before) I'll see if i can find any more info, but they did turn off the slapping

August 4th, 2006, 02:13 PM	#50
Vincent Croce Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 263	Thanks for the belly laughs, Steve. I almost had coffee come out of my nose...

August 5th, 2006, 08:57 AM	#51
Michelle Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 95	I'm on th cusp of getting a DSLR. I'm excited about the prospect of the new Nikon D80. I want to see what that's about before commiting to a camera. I decided on adding photography because the photographers I've worked with have no aesthetic integrity and imagination. Usually I attach their photos to my DVDs. I'm constantly overwhelmed that the few pics I take with my point-n-shoot, were ALWAYS so much better than the high-priced photog's pics. I always feel a pit of resentment against them for doing a bad job, in less time, and getting paid much more for it. At my last gig, the photog didn't know what to do with the couple, so I stepped in and woke up their poses, their attitudes, and those shots were by faaaar the best shots of the day. I know what I do well, and what I do not do well. I direct people well. I realized that I'm limiting myself by only offering videography. Financially and creatively.

August 5th, 2006, 10:39 AM	#53
Michelle Lewis Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 95	Yeah, the D200 is my fantasy camera, I just can't afford that kit, plus the Nikkor lenses I'll have to invest in. For now I'd rather put my money into the lenses and get the D200 or it's upgraded equivalent, later on.

August 7th, 2006, 04:50 AM	#54
Paul Cypert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangkok, Thailand (work in US in the summers) Posts: 89	This thread is a stitch. You guys crack me up. There's photographers saying the same things about you guys re: being over shoulders and all that. For the record my background was film then photography in college. My gear is way over 5K in photography...actually more than your 15K of video gear, but I don't always bring all of that to the wedding...heck 5K isn't even some DSLR's... To the OP: do both if you can. It's worth it as the bride would rather have one group and not shop around. But make your product excellent. Brides don't care if you spend 80 hours or 10 hours making something....they care that the end product is something that makes them go wow and remember their day in tears all over again. My photos do that and my video is getting there (so I don't charge as much for my video yet). Brides can be stressed out and emotional. They can be unpredictable. They are more unforgiving to be honest of photos than video. Video they expect to look like things were and have a good pace. Photos they expect to tranform them and their event to something in their mind. Good photographers (not all wedding photographers are this for sure) can do this. I shot a wedding in a dump of a house that was horribly decorated and badly lit. You'd never know it looking at the pics....but the video guy just showed up and shot and it looked as it was and the bride was happy. You'll double your mental stress, but you'll double your profits if you do both. And if you fail you'll be the person that they forever remember as blowing their big day. I like the pressure and excitement. I love the relationships and getting involved in their lives and in their day. I stay friends with my clients and hang out with them from time to time in the future. I'm friends with their parents and sisters. I get referal work. I wouldn't trade it for anything (well maybe being able to direct indie films)...but that passion translates to them as we meet. If you don't have that and are just showing up and going through the motions do yourself and the rest of us a favor and stay out of the game. And if you're going to just whine about photographers making more and not challenge brides and the market with vigor then please get out of the game as well. You have yourself to blame and nothing more at the end of the day. A good salesperson with a quality product with good marketing and quality can sell anything for any price. You can get faster PC's for sometimes a third of a top of the line powermac...but they got style and precision. Some folks here are like if ford just kept making the focus year after year and pissed and moaned about jags selling for what they do. Make your own jag and sell it. I don't care if the market doesn't normally charge that much...it'll learn to tolerate it if your quality is there. I've seen people push 1-2K markets (small town west texas) to over 5 or 10K in less than a year... Paul

August 7th, 2006, 07:04 AM	#56
Paul Cypert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangkok, Thailand (work in US in the summers) Posts: 89	If you knew DSLR's and don't have a bunch invested in Nikon you'd be talking about the 30D or 5D from Canon and not D80 or D200...the D200 has nice build but it's like using a panasonic video camera...everything's there, but everyone knows sony has better low light... Canon rules DLSR in noise and other factors. I was a life long Nikon shooter...well ok, I started with a pentax K1000 like most folks...but used Nikon for over 10 years and switched to Canon last year. The ISO 1600 looks like 400 from Nikon...that's a lot more available light shooting which people love...8vs10 megap's is nothing especially if you're getting all that grain in your D200 file...one as to quadruple megapixels to double resolution (like people think you can go from the D70's 6Mp's to the D2x's 12MP's and you've doubled your resolution...not the case).... If you're just now investing Canon is the way to go. Not only do they have the only (barring the horrendous Kodak hybrid cameras) full frame sensors on the market, but the best low light performance in a DSLR...plus some great IS lenses...

August 7th, 2006, 04:23 PM	#58
Marc Ries Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 61	Last month I just did a photo/video shoot for my daughter's wedding. She also had a professional phographer for 3-hours at around $200/hr. (this in the Salt Lake City, UT, area). I'm on the opposite side of the fence, since I've been shooting digital stills for many years, but this was my first video shoot. Note that I didn't get paid for the shoot and don't bother doing it professionally. I just finished up a DVD of the whole thing, using all of my video and photos, which turned out great. The "pro" photographer had quite an arsenal of digital canons, lenses, etc. and this was an outdoor wedding. In the end, the only difference I could tell between his photos and those that I took with my Nikon D70 were in the "artistic" mode -- super close pics of the brides dress textures, food, flowers and a number of angled shots. Now studio photography is a different matter, mainly because of the space and specialized and expensive lights, backdrops, etc. So I guess the photographer looks at the videographer with envy, and vise versa. In the end, if you have a decent eye for scenes, a steady hand and some decent equipment, you should be able to do either reasonably well and probably as good as most.

August 8th, 2006, 06:00 AM	#59
Paul Cypert Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangkok, Thailand (work in US in the summers) Posts: 89	A photographer charging 200 dollars an hour for wedding photography (unless that was for 10 hours coverage or something) isn't much of a pro except in the sense that he gets paid (sort of) to take pictures... If you are seriously thinking about it, make sure you have more than the one D70 as those can go out at a moments notice...when I was Nikon and the D70 was my backup to some D2h's and D100's I had a D70s go out after 8K shutter clicks...very unexpected... If he was shooting outside and not utilizing fill flash, etc and your images were coming out the same...I'm sorry she had him for her photographer... Paul

December 29th, 2008, 02:48 PM	#60
Rick Lang New Boot Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vincennes Indiana Posts: 7	I started with photography and then I went to film school and now do both. (more to that but that is the general way the things went) I have done both photo and video at weddings but I am not going to after my last one this April. My market lacks the drive and creativity for video and when I do photo, I sometimes got worried that the videographer won't cover it in the same style as I do. So now, I just do photo or video. It's a bummer because if you have someone you can trust on getting the right shots then by all means do it because not only you get more money out of it but your day can go better and then in turn come out with a better product.