First Wedding - Be gentle

Hi All,

I thought I would post my first wedding which I recently shot in South Africa. Most of it was shot on a Canon 5d Mkii (24-105 F4 lens) with the second camera being a Canon HF S10.

I learnt alot on the day, some shots are not as clean as I hoped but as I was shooting this solo the pressure was on.

Comments welcome - Be gentle

Brian + Lesley: Wedding Highlights on Vimeo

[Matthew Craggs]

For your first wedding, that was awesome. Kudos specifically for good audio, which I certainly didn't have my first time around. More kudos for taking on your first wedding with a camera with a learning curve, in really sunny shooting conditions, and walking away with a very respectable clip.

Plus, there is a giraffe. Any wedding with a giraffe gets my personal thumbs up.

I look forward to seeing more.

[Mark van der Byl]

Thanks for the Kudos Mathew.

I was lucky enough to tap into DJ setup to get the clean audio, not sure if I will always be that lucky.

Yes, I didn't expect such harsh shadows, but wasn't really sure how to avoid that under the African sun.

Giraffe were cool, again, we were lucky to get so close.

[Susanto Widjaja]

that was the best first time wedding video I've ever seen.

the giraffe was a cracker!! LOL!!! I couldn't believe it! it looks like they are in the ancient times with dinosaurs.

Well done, you definitely have the eye for nice shots. just have to shoot more and more.

some specific feedback according to my personal opinion:

1. too much slowmotion
2. the first few shots were great, but then it gets draggy because of the slomotion and the shots didn't evolve.
3. some shaky footage
4. some footage didn't need to be there

but like i said, all in all, great effort with great audio and slider movements.

You'll go far no doubt

Santo

[Johannes Soetandi]

Good job mate. Especially doing it solo, that is not easy at all. I particularly like the opening shot! I never thought wedding in Africa could be that pretty.

My comments:
- I feel the song suits the start but it drags halfway through. Expecting more of dynamics and climax
- I like to include the original conversation audio. It makes the footages more alive and gives the audience the feel as if they were there

This is just my personal opinion though :)

Anyway. did you use additional light with the 24-105mm f4L at the reception night or was that the HF S10? Looks pretty bright for an f4. I've been considering the HF series for a backup camera, and your clip just convinced me that it does the job well.

Thanks for sharing mate. Great work!

[Mark van der Byl]

Santo,
Thanks for the awesome comments, and there are definitley some areas I need to work on, note taken. Not sure if my next wedding (in UK) will have any giraffes but hopefully I will find/create something as good.

Johannes,
Appreciate the comments, will certainly take alot of this onboard when doing the full dvd for them, as so much more to include.
Not sure which shots you referring to but, will try list as much info here:
3:02 - 5dMkii and 24-105 F4 lens
3:05 - 5dMkii and 24-105 F4 lens (iso maxed, degraded quality in post to match next clip)
3:09 - HFS10 with videolight on tripod
3:14 - 5dMkii and 24-105 F4 lens
HFS10 proved a trustee backup, but limited compared to 5dmkii obvioulsy. I am hoping to get XHA1 to closer match 5dmkii.

[Sigmund Reboquio]

Hi Mark,

Over all, youve done a great job considering it is your first time.

My suggestion: There are 3 to 4 shots that included the photographer (you were in the back most of the time). It would be better if you will be on her side instead. There is also a shot, were the subjects are on their back as well. I suggest you try to work with photographers side by side. Dont get intimidated that they are experienced. 90% of them are really nice. This is my POV as a newbie like you.

thanks,

[Jawad Mir]

This is a fabulous first wedding video.

I won't give you feedback because most people have already but will tell you that you are on the right path dude :)

[Kelly Langerak]

Yeah, you killed it. I'd hire you in a hear beat!

What do you edit with?

In Final Cut Pro you can add the "smooth cam" filter and it might fix those unsteady shots for you.

You may also want to change the color of the shots of the groom in his room where it looks really orange.

Try adding a black n white or color correcting it to fix it a bit.

Here's a box of Kudos.

[Raymond Tsang]

The closing voiceover is amazing. I think you could have ended there without the cake shot and made a bigger impact (or use a shorter ending clip).

For situations like the groom preps, I would use manual white balance (kelvin mode) to handle the lighting situation (we always shoot with manual white balance).

You are definitely on the right track and looking forward to seeing more of your stuff.

[Mark van der Byl]

Thank you all for you comments. I appreciate the time you have taken to watch and comment, and it is taken all on board.

I edited this with Adobe Premiere.

I did try correct groom as much as possible as room was very dark and orange. But have just learnt how to adjust white balance under those circumstances. So hopefully next time will nail it.

Thanks again to all.

[Vishal Gupta]

Mark, I am starting out like you are (I actually am shooting my first wedding this coming weekend), but that truly was an impressive first shoot. I especially like the music. What was the name of the song you used?
I am not going to offer any feedback, as you have received a lot, that too from people much more experienced than myself, but I do look forward to seeing more of your work. I definitely learned a thing or two just by seeing your video and the feedback people provided you.

[Andrey Skachkov]

Hello!
Cons (minus) in the video:
1) During the walk you just also adopted at the camera photos. Where to move? Where to walk? You just saved a giraffe!
2) Why did you put the transitions? )))