Wedding on the Beach...a little nervous

[Steve Frank]

Hello, well I guess it was bound to happen (living so close to the gulf coast). I will be filming on the beach, near about sunset, in less than 2 weeks. What considerations should I be thinking about as it relates to sand, salt & moisture and expensive camera repairs? Lenses: 70-200 2.8L IS EF, 50 1.2L EF, 14 2.8L EF, Cinevate Atlas 30, Steadicam Flyer, GENUS ND fader / filter. Any precautions you would suggest? Should I only change lenses indoors? How about cleanup after the shoot?

On the creative side: any particular settings that work great on sugar white sand?

Any, "definitely don't try this" anecdotes?

Thank you for any advice or any threads you may direct me toward, Steve

[Warren Kawamoto]

1. When working around salt water, make sure your gear is well protected. The salt spray will corrode everything amazingly fast.
2. The steadicam will be useless in wind.
3. Do not get sand in the slider.
4. Have a lav mic on both the officiant and groom, that way you'll always have a good sound source when the wind blows hard. This is because one person will always have the wind on their back.

[Steve Frank]

Hey Warren, Thanks for the input. My mom's actually from Maui but we haven't been back there in a long, long time. I'll bet you've done more than your share of "beach" weddings. When you say I need to protect my gear, could you give a suggestion (how do you protect yours). I guess changing lenses outdoors is strictly forbidden, right? How about clean up after the gig, do you use a blower and maybe a lens pen on the glass? Could you give a link to some of your work? Thanks, Steve

[Don Bloom]

While I've only done a small handful on the beaches the first thing I do is, cover the camera with a rain jacket. Barring that, I've used plastic garbage bags which I actually think work better. I can use gaff tape to seal up everything. I don't like changing lens outdoors under any conditions I would think about not doing it on a beach full of sand. Try to keep your body between the wind and the camera as much as you can. Get a UV filter that youmight not mind throwing away after the beach portion of the wedding. If the wind IS strong enough and you're lens is into the wind and you DON'T protect, you could very well be buying a new lens. A filter is lots cheaper.
I wouldn't use a blower to get any sand off the body simply because you could blow the sand into places you can't get to and not even realize it, however using a brush can cause it's own set of problems so whatever you use, use plenty of descretion...IOW go easy with it.
Oh yeah, have fun!

[Charles Newcomb]

Rent a camera and let yours stay home for a nice rest.

And watch out for those land sharks.

[Steve Frank]

Thanks Charles, Thanks Don,

I'm going to try to remember to have fun and that idea of renting a camera is appealing. There's not enough money in the bill for renting and profit...but I guess it really keeps me from worrying. It just reminds me to think twice about buying a used camera from a rental outfit. Protection will probably end up being plastic and gaffers tape. There is a hurricane named Sandy that might not like cameras but I think she's going to stay out of the gulf. Thanks again, Steve

[Walter Brokx]

Bring 1 or 2 extra UV filters for your lenses.
Near the sea your lens may get blurry from salt, dust and water and you won't have time to clean it.

(At least that always happens when I'm shooting at the Dutch beaches.)

[Jon Fairhurst]

True!

And if it's windy, be VERY careful if you need to change lenses. Expect to do a wet cleaning of your sensor after the shoot. You can send it in for service or do it yourself if you study the topic, buy the right stuff, and are careful and handy.

I've cleaned my sensor once - after shooting on a windy day at the beach.

[Steve Frank]

Hey Gang, well, I took your advice and had fun. Here's a highlight vid of the "beach" wedding. Please let me know what you think of my work.

ALL Video - Steve Frank - Wedding Highlights - B + B on Vimeo

[Travis Wilber]

Not bad. Looks like you had decent lighting for the ceremony. Any tips you found after shooting all day there?

[Paul Swanson]

Hi Steve, very nice especially with just one camera! I don't own a 5d MKIII so i was wondering if your doing in post production to get colors or is that just how the 5D records.
Thanks

[Bob Hart]

On a shoot over here, as for cleaning the camera, rather than risk blown sand falling into the camera from shaking and vibration in travelling back home or shoving it in with a improvised clean at the beach or by turning it over in the hope debris would fall away, we took the camera with attached lens we had used to the nearest car cleaning place and used their big powerful vacuum whilst tickling bits of stuck sand off with an art brush.

One of those little battery powered vacuums would be just as good but we did not think ahead at the time.

The camera and lens were properly cleaned later at home.

The garbage bags whilst better than nothing, did not entirely do the job for us because there had to be an opening for the follow focus and lens changes which were not optional in our case.

[Steve Frank]

Originally Posted by Paul Swanson

Hi Steve, very nice especially with just one camera! I don't own a 5d MKIII so i was wondering if your doing in post production to get colors or is that just how the 5D records.
Thanks

Hey Paul, thank you. I use Sony Vegas Pro 10 and do a little sharpening and that's it. Keep in mind that I'm using a GENUS 77mm ND (Neutral Density) Fader Filter. I love the way you can maintain a low F-stop outdoors in bright light with that and also if you have to shoot under fluorescent lighting it's great to eliminate the banding. Also my 2nd shooter (my son Jesse) used his T3i with stock lens for a few of the outside shots. I've really been pleased with the Mkiii but then again I'd better be because after laying down that much $$$ for camera body and lenses it will be a while before I change. Happy New Year!

[Steve Frank]

Originally Posted by Travis Wilber

Not bad. Looks like you had decent lighting for the ceremony. Any tips you found after shooting all day there?

Hello Travis, thank you. The weather was perfect, just a slight breeze and I didn't drop the camera once. I ended up wrapping my 70-200 with plastic and gaffers tape so it was a little awkward to zoom, focus and adjust the ND filter. I only used the slider indoors and didn't even put the steadicam on. I changed lenses only when I had to and only indoors. I'm not sure I want to do too many more beach weddings unless the price is just too good to pass up. Hope we all make a lot more money next year.

[Steve Frank]

Originally Posted by Bob Hart

On a shoot over here, as for cleaning the camera, rather than risk blown sand falling into the camera from shaking and vibration in travelling back home or shoving it in with a improvised clean at the beach or by turning it over in the hope debris would fall away, we took the camera with attached lens we had used to the nearest car cleaning place and used their big powerful vacuum whilst tickling bits of stuck sand off with an art brush.

One of those little battery powered vacuums would be just as good but we did not think ahead at the time.

The camera and lens were properly cleaned later at home.

The garbage bags whilst better than nothing, did not entirely do the job for us because there had to be an opening for the follow focus and lens changes which were not optional in our case.

Hey Bob, that's a great idea. I've got a shop vac and I think I'll be using that technique next time.