Becoming a good Videographer?
 

How long did it take you before you felt you were actually good. Luckily in my area there are NO professional videographers, so what I am offering is fantastic compared to Aunt Susie, but hopefully they never look on here and see the work thats posted here. :)

I love doing this, but look forward to winter when I can really put some time into learning and hopefully some schools.

Hope I am not alone in the road to improvement, and not everyone was good in the first few months.

Denny

Hi Denny!

I looked up your site, saw photography you do and I can tell, you are good!

Do not know if qualified to answer you question, but will give you my 2 cents,
The process of getting better consists of constant and never ending improvement (CANI, I think the principle, name came from Japan)

Going to school is great if you can afford and have time for it, (I took few semesters studying photography, at SMC, Cinematography courses at UCLA extension), also reading specialty books is of great help!
Forums give a great deal of assistance, professional workshops and seminars also a right direction in getting better. We can be good at every moment, actually do our best with the right attitude and still must look for ways for improvement!


Cheers!

Along the lines of what Oleg said: The day you take the exit ramp off the road to improvement is the day you're no longer good.

--JL

Denny,
Took a look at your site - outstanding. Did you build it yourself. Very classy. Your photographs are absolutely stunning. I especially like your color grading.

The only problem I had was with the music. It sounded a little overmodulated, you might be able to clean that up a bit. I know that you didn't ask for comments about the site but besides the great photos, that was the first thing I noticed. Of course it could be my computer speakers too!

4 year ago I thought I made great wedding video's, if I look back on those now I get the feeling; "what was I thinking?!" :D and in 4 years time I probably will think the same of my work now.

I see that as a positive progress because it means that I am growing, slowly but steadily. Actually I am my own worst critic, If I look at a wedding dvd I made and if I get a good feeling from it, I know I did a good job but that is not always the case. Every wedding is a challenge and not all work out exactly the way you wanted.

Being good means a lot of things, you can be good technically of creatively but as a wedding videographer you need to be good at both. Technically you can learn, creativity is often a second nature, some have it, some don't.

I will never say I am good in what I do but I will say that I'm trying to be good in what I do, for that reason I follow up a lot of work that is posted here because it often puts my feet back on the ground :)

To be honest I don't know many really good weddingvideographers here in belgium, that is based on the demo's they have on their site. Most film and edit the same way they did 15 years ago. Then I see a huge gap between the quality of work I see posted here were often new standards are set in weddingvideography.

It's like asking yourself how long it took to be a good father, I honestly don't know, my kids might know but I sure have tried for 16 years in a row now. :)

A thought about "Good" videography
 

"Good" is subjective. If you're an amateur videographer, "good" means your video pleases you and your viewers. If you're a professional videographer, "good" means your video pleases your customers.

A bride's father recently showed me his daughter's wedding video. Before I saw it, I was told that he/they had looked at 8 videographers in the area (major city), and that in addition to strong recommendations they felt that the videographer he/they hired work was, "light years" beyond all the others they looked at. I watched the video and my silent reaction to it was that it was okay, nothing special but, definitely professionally done. It was shot in 60i and looked like a soap opera to me and that's not my taste and the music choices weren't my taste or style either. If I was the videographer on the job my interpretation of the wedding and finished project would be totally different. Not better or worse, just different. The father of the bride that showed me the video LOVES the video, raves about the videographers that were at the wedding and is overall thrilled with his/their purchase and choice of videographer. The videographer who did this wedding is "good."

If you're a professional videographer with happy clients then you're, "good."

Denny,
Judging by the quality of your website and the images on it, I'd suspect you've gotten many accolades from happy clients. If this is true -- you're good!

--JL

Thanks everyone, and yes I did my website a couple years ago, am updating now so I have a seperate site for weddings and it will have video.

My photography work improves every week, I make it a point to make improvemants because I have many trying to copy me, so let them it will be old by the time they get it right.

With video, I look here almost every day, people around me get sick of me showing it off, but I explain this is why I have a passion for video, I want to show someone a video of their wedding that looks like that. I want their jaw to drop in amazement.

I did a video only wedding a while back and they were so happy they cried and sent two customers to me that week, was great because I had lost both of them to cheaper wedding photographers, so still picked them up, both are winter weddings which I will take all those I can get.

But luckily none of you are from rural pa, so what I do is good to them. Erie has some good videographers but thats quite a haul and most dont look that far. I know I have what it takes, if I need anything its time, and lots of help from here :)

Hi Denny,

Everyone's learning style and learning speed is different. It took me four years to feel like I had a decent product, but back when I started in 1996 the learning opportunities on the web did not exist. If I would have had access to this forum in 1996 it would have changed everything.

In my experience I seem to pick an area to focus on and really hit that one area hard. I went through the process of knowing where to be and when to be there...steady shots...moving shots...audio...lighting...editing...soundbites...people...and the list goes on and on. I'm always looking for ways to improve. I'm on the same road to impovement with you. Enjoy the ride.

Mark that helps a lot, to be honest was hoping to see responses like that. I have been working at it for several months and was a little discouraged that my moving camera techniques is still not very smooth. I do however have long periods that I dont use video, and only shooting Still Photography, but that is our only source of income so can not neglect that while learning video.

I feel better knowing that even the Pros took a while to get good.
Denny

no one starts out at the top. Everyone has a learning curve. As long as you learn something from every job, whether it's HOW to do something or how NOT to do something you progress.
You're either moving ahead or moving backwards but you're always moving (learning wise)

Don

Actually Mark and Trisha have two excellent training DVDs on moving camera techniques. Highly recommended if you want to improve in that area.

I think it's an ever-evolving talent that simply never ends. I've been doing this since the mid 90's and when I look back at how I was to how I am now, it's such an incredible difference, but if I did that same thing in five years, I'd probably feel the same way. I think the biggest element is learning the equipment as it makes a huge difference in the material, and the creative eye obviously helps. Your photography work looks great, and interestingly, I think I've either worked with you at an event in the past or some of your images look very familiar...hmm, hope they're not from someone else's site. PM if you want...I have to check this out.

I hope you were joking.

My images are not from someone elses website, the students all live with in 30 miles of me, pretty easy to check. I imagine someone using other peoples images would not be in business long, with myspace and the internet kids would figure it out quick if these were not local kids. I also believe the school uniforms would be a give away, and the local churches. And can you imagine taking images of a local photographers website, that would last about 30 seconds. Oh and many of the images are family some even our children pretty hard for that to be someone elses work.

I have worked in Warren, Bradford, Elicotville and Jamestown areas, thats as far as I have been so far.

I would love to know if these images are on anyone elses website, if so they are in deep $hit as I am the photographer and have the copyright on every single one.

Oh, I know they're you're photos. What I'm implying is that I think I've seen them on another site, as in another photographer of whom took them. Some of the images look TOO familiar and I know my competition, and photographers, very well. I'll check this out and get back to you.

Please do, I know a couple photographers who have had their images "Borrowed" by people just starting out.