Comfortable Shoes?
 

Hey folks,

I've got to find some more comfortable shoes for these long weddings. The bottoms of my feet feel like they've been beaten by a baseball bat.

I'm looking for suggestions on what are the best brand of shoes to wear in our line of work. Thanks for any help.

Kevin

I wear black leather Nike trainers. customers seem to understand.

I wear black Puma's canvas style shoes. They are very comfortable.

Kevin,

I don't do weddings, but I do have long days on my feet. My shoe shop recommended Ecco Men's Track II - I believe the style is called "Low Oxford", and they cost me an arm and a leg. Well, $200-ish (approx.). He sells them mainly to postmen and shop workers.

I thought it was expensive, but they have out-lasted any $50 or $100 shoes I've ever owned - four years and counting now!

I have a brown pair and a black pair, and they look very presentable for business and formal occasions. I can spend all day on my feet and never get sore, and I used to suffer from really bad foot pain in trainers or cheaper shoes. I wear them in the office, wear them on walking holidays, and wear them when out videoing as well.

I think you can pick up this brand in the USA - try them out, see how they go for you!

I don't do weddings but suffer from sore feet and swear by Birkenstock shoes & clogs - German, expensive, weird looking but SOOOOO comfortable. I don't wear anything else now.

http://www.birkenstockusa.com/

find a retailer near you and try them out - I regularly wear the Super Birki, a favourite of chef's & nurses

BTW - They're a lot cheaper in the USA, I'm paying nearly double here!!!

I'm throwing this out for the sake of argument, but aren't we supposed to look our best on shoots, I feel that rubber shoes/clogs, or any other kind apart from formal leather shoes is inappropriate for weddings despite us being vendors.

Surely there are stylish, comfortable leather suggestions.

I wear black leather shoes from Dr. Scholl's. They have built-in gel inserts and are quite comfortable. I typically shoot 10-12 hours (sometimes more) on a wedding day, and these shoes have held up beautifully.

I had a pair of Skechers beforehand and they were terrible. Get comfortable but good-looking shoes.

Boys...if I can walk around in some black high heels for the day, I'm sure some of you can ditch the clogs, sneaks and sandals! ;-)

I wear Bostonians with Dr. Scholls Gel inserts. My feet don't really start hurting until about the 9th hr or so... I recommend them.

Kelsey, I do so hope you are a woman!

Now that you mention it, that's the exact shoe I'm wearing I think. I couldn't remember the brand of the shoe, but I knew it had the inserts. Bostonians sounds right. Good shoes.

You have a point, although I doubt you're running with a camera on a steadicam and lugging around 50-60 pounds of equipment with those heels on, right?

Have a look at Cole Haan's line of Nike Air shoes. Good looking shoes and I find them to be very comfortable for long hours on my feet. (They can get pretty expensive, but I think my feet are worth spending money on)

Hence my post recommending the Eccos.

Comfortable, track-grade footwear that comes in black or brown. I use the black ones for any formal occasion I have to attend. Keep 'em polished and they look very smart.

I wear waiter's shoes. They have leather uppers, non-slip and so comfortable. Cost around $50. I've got 3 pairs. Had them over 12 months and they're still like new.

Manny

I've found stylish leather shoes, that look like a designer shoes, they are very comfy....
I never wear jeans or sports shoes... someone said, "you have to look similar to the people you make a video of", so I feel there is a need to look somewhat stylish.

1 pair of Rockports, 1 pair of Dr.Scolls gel insert and 1 pair of black SHINED walking shoes. Can't think of thename off hand but they are comfy and yes I wear them at weddings.
Regardless of what you wear, they need to be clean and shined and comfortable. Your feet are valuable tools you gotta take really good care of them.
BTW while I might agree about not wearing clogs I'v never had a problem with any client be it wedding or corporate about wearing my gym shoes as long as they are clean and shined.

Don

Amen Sista! I was thinking the same thing as I was reading through this post!

Not to beat a dead horse, but do you girls seriously shoot all day at a wedding in high heels?

Truthfully...yes. Now in the Summer I can get away with a very nice stylish sandal or one inch heel. In the winter I've been known to wear a boot with a 2-3 inch heel. If we go outside I will slip on my black Blundstones (sweet relief!), and I always have my furry Uggs waiting in the van for the drive home!

That being said I do NOT carry the amount of weight that you mentioned earlier. My heaviest single piece of equipment is my Flowpod (which is weighted). But I do carry to cameras (a GL2) and fully stocked camera bags, a tripod, my flowpod, my light/battery pack (maybe as heavy as the flowpod!!!), and a purse. I'm 5'7 and 135lbs so ratio wise I'm still carrying a lot!

Yep, I do too. I have a pair of dressy flats on standby in most cases, but haven't ever had the time to change them. I do weddings by myself a lot of times, with 2 camers and all the other equipment that goes with them and have yet to break down to buy a dolly. You should see me lugging it around, I'm sure it looks ridiculous, but I don't like making more than one trip (or leaving my gear unattended), so I just pile it all on and off I go!

I tried to do a wedding in a pair of "jazz sneakers"... black dance shoes that look like sneakers, which I could wear forever and my feet would never hurt... but I felt uncomfortable and out of place because it wasn't the presentation I wanted to project to my clients/families. Now, I don't typically wear anything over a 2 inch heel, but it still isn't alwasy easy! :)

Black leather trainers are quite smart. We do need to look smart but a few hours in normal shoes and my feet are useless for the rest of the day, let alone another shoot the following day. That said I do wear a glidecam smooth shooter ALL DAY. So I couldnt run in hard sole shoes without feeling scared of slipping. I also change after the ceremony from open collar shirt to smart black polo as it gets a little sweaty.

Its great to have a static camera which the wife operates and a glidecam that can quickly get where needed.

You girls are crazy! I can't believe you shoot in heels. Props.

I have to say, though, that I don't think you should feel you HAVE to wear heels to be presentable at a wedding. I'm pretty sure everyone would understand you have a physical job to do and that requires the proper footwear. I mean, the female servers at the reception aren't wearing heels, so why should you have to? Just my opinion.

Crazy huh? lol!

I don't actually feel that I HAVE to wear heels (hence the blundstones in the van!) However, I do feel that this is a business based on referrals (unlike the servers who are employed by XXX ) and people like a pretty package in ALL aspects. Undoubtedly your work should speak for itself (and you) and get you the jobs...but, when you are just starting out (like me) I need to come across as proffessionally as possible. In some cases I've had people book me without seeing my work just because I came across as knowledgable and proffessional (my portfolio building prices didn't hurt either!)

Besides, as a woman you get used to it.

Well, as long as it doesn't hurt your work and just your feet .... d;-)

I wonder if I'd get more business if I started wearing heels?

I'm not sure what KIND of work you'd get wearing heels...but I suspect you couldn't post it on here!

Buy A very comfortable pair of decent looking shoes, Whatever works best for you.
After our first 12HR shoot wearing dress shoes Both my wife and I hit the local shoe stores the very next day to find something dressy enought to be acceptable but comfortable enough to be in all day, and still allow the flexibiltiy to get up & down real easy from those Squat shots without cutting your feet in half. That first Long shoot taught us a Lot, comfortable shoes being only one of the lessons learned. She settled on a black Leather Runner style & I found a pair of Hunter Bay Black Loafers That I just Love. A long Shoot in anything less than a comfortable pair of shoes will just make your day absolutely Miserable.

just throwing this out here but in 25 years of video work (about 1300weddings) and 12 years before that in still work no one has ever NOT hired me because of my shoes. Actually in the last 8 years the only weddings I've even worn a tie at is when both my sons got married (no choice-my wife made me). I dress very professionally to include comfortable shoes and if that means black, clean,polished gym type shoes then that's what I wear. I've done some very very high end costly events wearing shoes like that and no one has ever said anything about my shoes. Clean and polished, that's the key. I work with a number of female photogs who do the same and to the best of my knowledge they've never not been hired because of their shoes either.
Having said that, you wear what you're comfortable in and if thats 2 inche heels or wingtips then that's what you wear. Keyword, comfort!

Don

Same here, Don. I've done a number of high end weddings, including our governor's daughter, and never had anyone have an issue with not wearing a tie or not having a suit or or whatever. I think as long as you dress nicely (black is good), then people understand that your job is a physical one and doesn't lend itself to running around in a tuxedo with a camera.

Like so many topice here at DVI, there are no right or wrong answers per se.

In my case, I bought a pair of very simple black wingtips at Wal*Mart for $19 for a play I was in. They were very comfortable onstage, so I decided to try them at my next shoot. I thought they were great, but I'm sure others would not have liked them.

At the end of the day the comfort/aesthetic issues will be a matter of personal preference.

Mephisto shoes.

I had heard that video super-stud Steve Fowler recommended these, so I asked 'what model,' and this was his response:

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They will be best pair of shoes you will ever own… and don’t toss them with the soles ware out. You can send them back and get them redone for about $80.00 bucks. I have two pair… Spencer and Gaetan. I just had my Spencers done. They’re four years old and they look great! I got them at Nordstrom and at the Walking Company. Although the Gaetan is a little more stylish I prefer the comfort of the Spencer. I would recommend that you go try them on before you buy them…
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They cost about $400.

jones

I used to wear all black tennis style shoes, but decided that they didn't go with my tux. I switched to formal black shoes for a while, but they weren't comfortable enough. My wife went to the local Rack Room and found me a pair of black Borelli loafers. They're leather (looking) and shiny enough to look good with a tux. I wore out one pair (it took a year's worth of weddings) and went back last month for another pair! Besides being extra comfortable, I like the shoe's soles. They have a rubber feel, and a good tread design. (I found that I slipped quite a bit with the formal shoes.) My feet used to hurt most of the day following a wedding, but after losing 45 pounds AND switching to these shoes, I'm on my feet 12 hours at a time with no complaints!

Mark

I swear by these http://tinyurl.com/6gr6rq from Big5. I got them about 5 years ago for about $25 & they've held up remarkably well. Very cushy & comfortable.

Anyone who spends $400 on shoes either has too much $$$ and couldn't give two hoots or is out of their mind :)

Many, many thanks to all who contributed suggestions. To the ladies shooting in heels, you have my utmost respect.

Looks like I've got a lot of shoes to try on.

Thanks again,

Kevin