Top 5 Things I Learned as a Beginner Videographer
Hi there! We’re Tana and Cory Metcalf - a husband and wife photo/video team, local to Utah! We love exploring all that this gorgeous state has to offer and taking our doggos along for the journey, as well!
YouTube is your friend
Whenever you are learning something new it can be hard to know where to start. Like many people, I believe it’s best to go to YouTube and just start watching videos. Youtube University is LEGIT! This will obviously grow your knowledge, but it’s also very helpful to learn lingo and terms that will guide future searches. There’s a hundreds of hours, probably even thousands, to consume on broad topics like videography. A great video to start with is here and it relates to my next point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVuTuib65WM
2. Learn the Technical side of your equipment
There is a TON to learn, I know, but the best thing to learn as a beginner is the Exposure Triangle. This triangle is the coordinating relationship between the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Understanding this principle is critical to getting your settings right and getting a high quality shot.
3. Practice, practice, practice
Like anything skill in life you have to practice. You can watch as many video tutorials or read as many articles as you like, but it will never fully make sense until you actually try it out for yourself. Just like a professional golfer will hit a thousand shots in practice so he/she will be ready for a tournament, you should be practicing, even if it’s in your home, so your comfortable at your paid shoot.
4. Pay attention to your surroundings
In my experience, starting out, I was very focused solely on the models or the bride and groom. When you are a new videographer I know how stressful it can be when there is so much going on at a shoot - directing the couple to pose correctly, are my settings right, what’s the lighting situation, etc. Keeping all these things in mind, don’t forget to take just a second and note the background, position your shot to avoid any unwanted distractions (like outlets on the walls or garbage cans in the background), and step back to look at the scene in front of you with your eyes first. It will save you time in editing and make your video higher quality.
5. Double check your settings
This is not meant to stress you out more, but make sure to double check your settings - ISO, shutter speed, aperture, FPS (frames per second), etc. I know the feeling of just go, go, go when you are at a shoot, but it’s crucial to know what your settings are and if they are right for the shot/lighting.
If it takes you a handful of seconds to change your settings let the couple know you need a second to change your settings, and then continue the shoot. The couple will often welcome the small break anyway to reset.
