How To Film A Wedding Ceremony - Wedding Videography Tips - Part One

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Today's video is Part 1 of my two part series surrounding How To Film A Wedding Ceremony. There was so much information and topics to cover surrounding the wedding ceremony and I wanted to make sure to cover every aspect. So if you like today's video be sure to like and subscribe to the channel to stay up-to-date on all things wedding filmmaking.
Musicbed Sync ID
MB01YTJNUCS0L17
The Tools I Use At Every Wedding ✌🏻
AUDIO
Zoom F2 Recorder - amzn.to/3jvU4xw
Tascam DR 10-L - amzn.to/3xxgd3w
Zoom H4N
CAMERAS
Sony A7Siii - amzn.to/3JRwZBU
Sony A7IV - amzn.to/32ujdUn
Lumix GH5 - amzn.to/3zr4C8F
GIMBAL
DJI Ronin S - amzn.to/2NcDMdF​
DJI Ronin S2 - amzn.to/3rfqLVx
ADAPTERS
Metabones EF to MFT - amzn.to/3lKSxqi
Metabones EF to Sony E Mount - amzn.to/3riAmLo
LENSES
Sigma 18-35 F1.8 - amzn.to/37sLH05
Sigma 24mm F1.4 - amzn.to/3AmuJwO
Sigma 35mm F1.4 - amzn.to/37va8Kc
Sigma 50mm F1.4 - amzn.to/3AjaZtO
Canon 135mm F2 -amzn.to/3yypE45
SUPPORT
Manfrotto Monopod - amzn.to/3ri57Qr
Sirui Monopod - amzn.to/2WZCAlu
Manfrotto Tripod - amzn.to/3s0szjo
3Pod Tripod - amzn.to/3rlRjV1
EDITING DRIVES
Samsung T5 SSD 1TB - amzn.to/3EK7qje
Samsung T5 SSD 2 TB - amzn.to/33m1FKH
Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD - amzn.to/30jvgTY
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[@jwate]

Talking about third and fourth cameras and me holding onto my only one… yep.

[@WaywardNorth]

Hey you can get a lot done with that one camera! Maybe a video on how to film a wedding ceremony with one camera should be a new video idea!

[@matrixate]

IKR. I actually have two. One has a 24mm, the second has a 24-70mm, but...I wanted a third one with a 70-200mm; neither of which I have yet. Oof.

[@AlexanderBischof]

Very good help. I am very experienced as a wedding photographer and sometimes for wedding films but now specializing in filming the complete ceremony. Very helpful!

[@donnellhicks]

Great job explaining the filming of a wedding.

[@TheDavidlezcano]

Helpful tips for ceremony setup! Looking forward to part 2

[@LakpaSona]

Thank you so much for this video . it's really helpful.

[@WaywardNorth]

Of course! Happy to hear it helped you in some way!

[@SeattledDreamProCo]

Love how you have a backup camera for your back up…great video.

[@queerfoto]

This is an excellent perspective. I found myself nodding along and saying “mmhmmm” because I’ve been in so many of these situations. And dude, kudos to you if you’ve been doing this by yourself or even just with a second. It’s a lot of work.

[@WaywardNorth]

Thank you so much! I used to be a solo Filmmaker for the first 2 years but realized I needed some help to tell better stories. I shot a few solos last year and it is certainly a ton of work! Having a process and system for navigating the wedding day has certainly kept me sane lol thanks for commenting :)

[@m.legato3698]

Excellent video

[@dustmicks1]

I have been watching a lot of your content lately. you deserve way more than 7k subs! Great content!

[@WaywardNorth]

Wow thank you so much! Really means a ton that you are finding the content useful in some way!

[@applehernandez08]

Basically I do what you do but because I’m paranoid of not getting the kiss or ceremony setup make it hard to move to the sides I use a Accsoon Cineye to check my exposure & frame and the camera also on a Ronin S that I control with a flysky i6s remote. I have the control on a camera strap and I only have to move one joystick. I’m on a RS2 gimbal that has a phone mount so I can monitor the other camera. Yes it’s a little heavy, not crazy heavy tho but it’s perfect, absolutely love it. Don’t have to stress about the other camera at all.

[@tobidada7146]

I remember scouring through KZbin a couple of years ago for detailed content like this on Wedding Filmmaking when I first bought my camera. Did not find. Fast forward right now I'm shooting my very first wedding, and I'm going in we'll prepared because of your channel. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@sotersfam11]

Im here for the same reason. Thank God I found your channel ♥️

[@BrandonTucker]

Great Job Dude!

[@WaywardNorth]

Thanks so much friend!

[@montejanofilms]

Great video, saludos desde México

[@jimio-writerdirector7170]

I finished my first wedding video in august and I am LUCKY it came out fantastic! The Ceremony was one of the most high stress situations I have ever been in: My camera didn't have great autofocus, so I manually focused with a gimble that doesn't connect to my camera! But it did stabilize, LOL so I would have to hold the gimbal in one hand, and with the other hand, focus, press play and then have both hands on the gimbal for recording. I would book end all the clips in editing and I had a second camera set up for the wide angle on a tripod. I AM SO LUCKY I got the rings and kiss and everything in focus. I have my second wedding this Saturday and so glad to have come across your video. Thank you!

[@jimio-writerdirector7170]

PS. I got a new camera with dual pixel autofocus and a gimble that connects lol

[@MrSkyC22]

Hey! Thats exactly what I did when I shot these corporate videos with the focus/gimbal haha but really glad it worked out for you! If you charged them for your work, would you mind sharing what you charged and then a couple quick tips/tricks/recommendations that you wish you had done? I'm shooting my first wedding next month lol so trying to get as prepared as possible.

[@sketchinbeats]

Good job keeping it together!

[@vincebaldwin2829]

Great video. May I ask, do you color grade in post or straight out of camera colors?

[@josh.nuttall]

Great video man! How do you deal with the changing light during outdoor ceremonies on your safety cameras?

[@WaywardNorth]

A curse that every videographer will deal with at some point. My best tip here is to expose for the bright sun. You can always introduce more light later in post, it’s much hard to retain those details with blown out highlights. This isn’t always the perfect solution but it can certainly get you by.

[@cosmonaut1961]

Hey! Thank you so much for the great video! What do you tell a photographer so they don't appear in the frame, or he /she don't get close to the bride and groom and ruin your footage? 😅

[@chrischadwick1]

Please could you tell me about your focus and apparure settings. How do you ensure your unmanned Tripod cameras remain in focus? Do you always use manual focus? What f stop is best for this? Thanks for all your helpful videos. This is top tier work!

[@davidcastillo3069]

I second this, would be very helpful to know.

[@bvill6749]

what about the focus mode when you have them walking down the aisle? does it focus back and forth from the bridal party walking and the guests?

[@joshualelo]

great video, super helpful:) do you ever switch framerates throughout the ceremony for parts that you know you'll want to be in slow motion in post (aisle entrance/exit, or first kiss) vs. parts that you know you'll want in standard 24 or 30fps (vows)?

[@WaywardNorth]

Thanks so much, glad to hear that! I actually just shoot in 60 FPS all day and edit in a 24p timeline. This way I can decide which moment’s may be best to slow down and which ones should play in real time.

[@mccartikiss]

@@WaywardNorth I hope you have a Hard drive Sponsor for all the storage needed haha

[@WaywardNorth]

@@mccartikiss haha I need one for sure

[@dustmicks1]

You should watch his fps video. Really helpful!

[@nashhall694]

Great video, I’m a solo shooter. Only shot a couple of weddings so far both with A7s3 & A74. I left the cameras on auto focus, but there was still some hunting. Next time I’ll lock them off on manual. What fstop do you use? I’m worried if I set it too low at say f 1.8 that they might go out of focus if they move around too much. I’m thinking f4? 🤔

[@WaywardNorth]

Yeah I like to set my 135mm to F4 so that I can retain some focus on my subjects faces. 1.8 is gorgeous but you never know how much moving around your groom or couple may do up front.

[@MikeEdwardsphotography]

Good stuff Jaired. Couple questions. One, do you not own a 70-200mm. Love this lens and the compression I get out of it is amazing. Two, you suggest using 3-4 cameras. I agree. I believe you own a C100, which has no record limit. So where do you generally set this one up? Your other cameras have a record limit. Three, Are you manually focusing your cameras on sticks?

[@WaywardNorth]

Hey Mike, Thanks so much! I love the 70-200mm F2.8 but it is a bit pricey so I went with the 135 Prime lenses for Bride and Groom Angles. In 2021, I had 2 C100s, Gh5, and the R6. So I was able to have two locked down on sticks for both left and right angles, My GH5 is my safety/wide angle and my R6 is was the Aisle/Reaction Cam. This year will look a little different but I plan on using the A7Siii as my main cam, the Sony A7IV left side bride angle, and my GH5 as my safety. I still have one C100 that will still use as a backup but trying to see what I can achieve with the Sonys this year!

[@MikeEdwardsphotography]

@@WaywardNorth oh how exciting! Sony is doing great things. Doesn't make sense for us as we are so vested in Canon. If Sony offered to take all our gear off our hands, we likely oblige. haha. Thanks for the response. Just followed you on IG. Blessings

[@justesmond]

Any pointers for matching cameras when using multiple cameras. My last wedding was difficult matching my R6 footage to the RP, because the RP doesn’t have a log profile. I used Cinestyle, but it still wasn’t seamless with my R6 footage after the conversion luts in post. Or perhaps a better question, what profile(s) do you use for the best match in post?

[@WaywardNorth]

Matching cameras can definitely be a frustrating experience. What’s helped me has been to test multiple profiles with each camera to see which one is close as possible. On my C100s I would use the Wide DR pp For the R6 I would use the neutral profile For the GH5 I would use the natural profile with saturation and contrast decreased There isn’t a perfect solution as each camera leans to a different color tone. For instance the canons would lean towards magenta and the GH5 towards yellow. But having them close in comparison will help you adjust in post to get a similar look and feel. Maybe a tutorial in the future for something like this! ✌️

[@justesmond]

@@WaywardNorth A tutorial would definitely be a great idea for a video!

[@cjg713]

how do you go with the exposure settings of the unmanned camera on a tripod, especially when it comes to the outside ceremonies with constant changing of the sun's brightness? Do you stay on a all manual settings or do you go with aperture priority with auto ISO or just auto ISO?

[@WaywardNorth]

I adjust exposure when getting everything set up and right before ceremony starts. A cloudy day where the sun goes in and out is everyone’s worst enemy. I expose for highlights which allows me room to raise exposure and retain detail in post. I find it’s best to underexpose your image if the camera can’t be manned the entire time. Once everyone is in place, I do check both angles and dial in exposure and focus. Ultimately you can only do so much so underexposing is a good rule or even Aperture priority if you want to set it and forget it. The only downside to AP is leaving it up to the camera to make your decisions and risking an inconsistent frame rate/shutter speed.

[@BrettsCorner92]

I have a Panasonic 875 is that good enough?

[@codyportraits7202]

Hey, do you offer in person teaching services? I stay in North Carolina and film weddings but I would love to learn more.

[@WaywardNorth]

Hey Cody! Feel free to shoot me an email [e-mail] Id love to hear more about your wedding business!

[@waynelast1685]

Who is manning the back cam and groom cam?

[@ronflores7]

In your gear i did not see a macro lens. Do you think its necessary for like ring shoots?

[@WaywardNorth]

I think Macro lenses are awesome! I personally don't use them but that is just a style choice. I have seen some cool uses out of them though for sure!

[@justesmond]

If you are shooting solo with three cameras, do you create a second back up for the Bride’s entrance?

[@WaywardNorth]

Generally the safety angle in the back of the ceremony would be your backup for the bride. You are limited shooting solo so it’s definitely important to have your aisle cam the main focus

[@MelvinDlaCruz]

you record all at 60p?

[@swashyhimself]

What's an efficient

[@JohnLe]

how do you make sure that your cameras (on the groom & wide) do not get blocked by people standing up for the bride?

[@WaywardNorth]

What helps me is to full sprint tackle them. Works like a charm. Referrals might drop a bit but worth it. In all seriousness, you can really only do so much to combat that. Try a tripod that adjusts via legs and center so you can try to get more height - I use the Manfrotto 055 in the back and it does help but again this angle is more so for safety of all the guests/bridal party entering - your main angle will be the aisle cam and left side groom reaction.

[@JohnLe]

@@WaywardNorth very good advices here. I bet after you hit one or two guests, the others will sit down haha.

[@craigcarmean4807]

Is that Brasstown Valley?

[@WaywardNorth]

It is!

[@Saywhatohno]

what settings do ou use

[@WaywardNorth]

4K 10bit 60FPS - 1/120 shutter - wide open aperture (f1.4 - 2.8) - neutral picture profile

[@Saywhatohno]

@@WaywardNorth that was super fast. Thank you

[@segura455]

I found the winning by myself and it was to much work

[@Brett.Hatfield]

guy breaks the 180 rule in the first two shots

[@WaywardNorth]

First two shots are actually same side. That third shot ill give to ya :)

[@Brett.Hatfield]

@@WaywardNorth love you bro

[@WaywardNorth]

What parts of the wedding day are you least confident in? Drop ‘em below! 🎥

[@samolive2528]

The Ceremony

[@WaywardNorth]

@@samolive2528 Well I hope this video helps and offers some insight and relieves some of those uncertainties!

[@jasonc5947]

Nicce! Need likes? -> Promo>SM!!!

[@papsny]

Well this video is for a traditional American wedding. When you start filming the weddings of different cultures and religions, you'd find that traditional American weddings are boring and too easy to film

[@JordanSubido]

To each their own. 😋

[@sketchinbeats]

Cool story bro

[@DanielDuhon]

That not always true. Some others are much more boring