Today I did my first wedding as a videographer and as a surprise to me; wedding photographer at the

[Ramirez]

This day was a very interesting day. The couple booked me as their videographer in the church during the wedding ceremony. I used my Panasonic GH3 with 12-35 on shoulder rig and Panasonic G6 on tripod with Pany 14 f2.5 lens.

An accident happened when I prepared at first; I mounted the GH3 and Pany 12-35 f2.8 lens on my shoulder rig... I went away and heard a sound of the camera hitting the wooden church floor. The camera and lens survived!! I have a small scratch mark on the lens as a reminder - the first battle wound! I can testify that the GH3 and 12-35 are made to last - these are robust things! A reminder to myself to be more careful in the future.

On to the church ceremony... This went well, I've become comfortable recording video with my Panasonics. I had both sides of the couple covered at all times; front and back. It was a classical wedding ceremony, singing, text reading etc.
I took different perspectives with my shoulder mounted camera and the other recorded from the front side of the couple at all times.

---- Then for the chocker! The newly wed husband told me after the ceremony that the wedding photographer couldn't come to the party, he asked me if I could do it... I couldn't reject.

To the wedding party. I have dreamed of doing weddings a long time. Now reality hit me. It was very fast paced.
To be a step ahead at all times is the most important thing! I photographed people, events (the dance, the cake cutting etc.). But as the time went by I really started to enjoy myself! I even added my own hybrid flair to it; I took some videos of some speeches, the couples dance etc. So I really combined classic wedding photography with some video.
For the wedding party I used; Panasonic GH3 & 12-35 (my hybrid cam), Fuji X100s & WCLX100 (for wide shots) and Oly E-M5 with 45 f1.8 (for closer shots).

I had all three cameras hanging around my neck and really enjoyed the time there. A really good thing was that I got respect even from the Canikons shooters. People have started to be aware of mirrorless cameras here it seems!

I took the plunge a little unprepared for the party photographer thing but it turned alright.

Well, now I have the editing to do... Final Cut Pro for the video and Aperture for the photos (that's my tools at least).

And the price wasn't decided beforehand so; what should I charge for all?
I could offer them alternatives like only digital images or printed images too. They want DVD of the video; they are not the demanding technical types (I'm going to give them the video as a file too as DVD takes away so much of the video quality).

A stressful but a very fun day

 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Glad it worked out! The first time is the scariest, but also the most exhilarating. I'm curious--how does your G6 footage compare to the GH3's? Is there a noticeable difference, or are they easy to match in post?

 

[biomed]

You will have to decide what your time is worth including PP. Did you have a set price for the video of the wedding? The cost of the party should be added. I used to do weddings many years ago and had package prices - the basic package included all od the usual wedding photos. Everything was shot on medium format with a Mamiya RB67 and C330. No videos. You might give them a break in exchange for using their photos and video for your portfolio to show future customers. There are a lot of resources on line for wedding videographers/photographers. I decided that wedding photography was not my thing and quit doing weddings after a couple of years. Any negatives I had were given to my former clients.

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

Nice writeup.

And the price wasn't decided beforehand so; what should I charge for all?

Let us know how that goes!

 

[RamblinR]

Bet your heart sunk when you realised your camera had hit the dirt ... relief when nothing was broken!!

Interested to know your thoughts on the G6 vs the GH3?

 

[Ramirez]

Bet your heart sunk when you realised your camera had hit the dirt ... relief when nothing was broken!!

Interested to know your thoughts on the G6 vs the GH3?

I was very lucky indeed! I had the GH3 and 12-35 mounted on my Sevenoak Rig. I saw when it all fell. My Rig had a stone counter weight so that hit the flow first. Then it flipped around and my Rode Videomic Pro got hit; it dampened the fall a little like an airbag. Then the lens hood took the hit.
The only thing that happened really was that the hood got pushed in on the lens barrel a bit. I had a hard time taking the hood off, that probably did a little cosmetic damage, just a little hardly noticeable. Everything worked during the whole evening! Focus, OIS... Nothing damage. And I learned to be even more careful!

I really love my GH3 and 12-35 now! It worked so well during the whole evening with video and photography! A real pro system!

I'll write more later about how the GH3 and G6 compare video wise... Need to go on a job now!

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

Slo-motion ... disadterrrrr.
I hate that! : when there's nothing you can do ...

 

[RamblinR]

I'm also new to the video side of things. Did a job on the weekend. Had the em1 on a tripod and ran with 2 em5's (one long zoom, one wide zoom).
The em1 froze. No footage. Luckily it is for a 2 minute promo and we were able to reshoot part. Has me a little wary now though.

 

[Ramirez]

Glad it worked out! The first time is the scariest, but also the most exhilarating. I'm curious--how does your G6 footage compare to the GH3's? Is there a noticeable difference, or are they easy to match in post?

On the video side the GH3 and G6 are both superb. I mostly use the G6 on tripod for video use only. Maybe there could be a difference between G6 and GH3 when panning fast due to the difference in bit rates. But to me the G6 video is great! I can easily match the videoclips from both cameras in post.

When I use two video cams the G6 always uses the Lumix 14 f2.5 lens as I want the stationary camera wide. And GH3 of course uses Lumix 12-35.
I also have both Oly E-M5 with 45 f1.8 and Fuji X100s with wide adapter hanging around my neck to take occasionally photos while GH3 is recording video on the shoulder rig.

My clients are alway impressed of the amount of cameras I use I don't feel "smaller" than those "full frame" guys as my combined cameras outmatch their one Canikon camera due to the different areas my cameras excels in:

- E-M5 for the great 5-axis stabilization
- GH3 and G6 for the great video capabilities
- X100s for the cool old look and great low light performance!
- m.Zuiko 45 f1.8, Lumix 12-35 f2.8, Lumix 14 f2.5 and the fixed f2 lens on X100s with both wide and tele conversion lenses vs their 24-105 f4

I feel that my way of using many cameras with different strengths has started to define the way I work; My minimum amount of cameras are GH3, E-M5 and X100s for a job (I add the G6 when I need two video cams)..

I really enjoy this approach of working! It is the hybrid way :smile:

 

[battleaxe]

How do you like the feel on the G6 vs the GH3, and other two you use?

 

[Ramirez]

How do you like the feel on the G6 vs the GH3, and other two you use?

The others does have a better feel to them than the G6. The GH3 is the best, according to me, specially with the battery grip attached. In my hands the ergonomics feels great.
The E-M5 with grip also has a nice feel to it.
The X100s with its metal body feels great too in a different way; the direct aperture-, shutter- and ev-dials are great - it feels like you are using a camera from the old world but with the convenience of the digital era.

The G6 feels the cheapest due to the plastic build, it takes good photos though and is the next best camera for video after GH3. I only use the G6 as a b-cam when recording video, I never use it for photography as all the other cameras are better in that regard.

I bought the G6 only as a b-cam for the GH3 when recording video.