THINGS TO KNOW

Just some things to consider that you, as a normal person, wouldn't think about when it comes to your video and photo projects.

Lighting

In every shoot, session, and event, lighting is key to taking successful pictures - whether they are still photos or moving pictures. If you have a reception that is in a hall lit only by candles, that's great for mood lighting, but terrible for video and photo. It is the difference between grainy, soft-focused - blurred even - pictures and sharp, clear pictures. 

The events with the best photos usually take place outdoors with natural light. Yes, flashes were invented to counter this, along with mounted continuous lighting solutions, but this can be a distraction for your event. It is something you must consider. 

An evening reception in dim hall may produce 30-50 good photos with a flash, but outdoors with the sun still in the sky, you will net about 10x that many photos, and they will usually be more candid in nature.

For wedding ceremonies we do not use flashes or any other light source except what is made available by the ceremony facility. It is our belief that the ceremony itself is far more important than taking the picture, and we do not wish to be a distraction for all the witnesses. It is imperative for you to arrange to have as much lighting available as possible. We will use flashes and other lighting devices only in non-ceremony situations, but these do have limitations.

Pre-planned lighting gear, the gear you see on stands with giant white umbrellas and the such, are useful for staged and posed photos with little variance except what the object of the photo can muster in the limited space affected by the lighting. Yes you can get some great candid portraits in a controlled studio setting. But trying to get great candid shots from a wedding party of 30 or at a wedding reception or sporting event is really not going to happen apart from having it all take place in a stadium designed by a lighting technician with light everywhere - apart from where good ambient light already exists. We like ambient light here. So we try to use it whenever, and as much as, possible. 

Candid & Reportage Styles

Candid and Reportage picture styles are almost synonymous, in that they deal with showing things exactly as they happened. They are photos or video that are not posed and are taken usually without the knowledge of the subject(s) at hand. 

When you think about it, most people usually only see themselves from one angle - the bathroom mirror. So when they see themselves in candid photos laughing, with their mouth open very wide, or from the side which may or may not accentuate a non-perfect chin, well, people tend to feel self-conscious and awkward. DON'T WORRY. All your friends and family have already seen this side of you, and guess what? They're still around you!

We like using the candid style at weddings because it's an accurate representation of events and gives you more than just posed shots.

Fashion Styles 

Shooting fashion style photography is quite the trend in wedding and senior/student/family portraiture. This is where all the artistic photos come into play. It is the antithesis of the candid & reportage style, since everything is posed, colored and corrected in processing and post-production, and is equally focused on the creativity of photographer as well as the scene he/she is creating with the focus of the picture.  

We also like to shoot in this style because every moment is unto a story itself. Maybe it's a short moment, like a first kiss, or a long moment, like a wedding ceremony, or a lifetime of momemts, like growing old. All these things are but stories, and sometimes to convey that story in the confines of photography and video, certain liberties must be adhered to, taken, and cast aside. So is the story ever accurate? Sometimes there's a Truth beyond the truth, and that's what artists get at. News reporters want the truth, and nothing but it. 

Every photographer will have their own style of this genre. Make sure you look at all the photos they have available to look through. It will help you get a better feel for what they see when they look around.

But also take into account that creative people tend to not want to do the same thing over and over again. Creative people, just like we here at Red Six, are always experimenting with new techniques to see if we can make something better than the last project.  

Home Video Clips

Now, more than ever, personal home video recorders are available, and with that comes a bit of a responsibility on your part to start making some home videos. At least, gathering footage. Why? If you have a lot of clips that you've recorded you can easily put together little montages that tell a story of your life.

Here are two examples:

Hello, Walter from red 6 [matt wolfe] on Vimeo.

YOUTH from Tommy Petroni on Vimeo.

So when it comes time to make a video, like a wedding video, how much cooler will it be to have footage of when you first started dating? When friends and good times are in abundance, it's good to remember, and easier to remember when you can see it. So take advantage of the technology.