DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Are you guilty of making these six mistakes before you even hit record?

Nov 8, 2021 by John Aldred Leave a Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

When it comes to shooting video, many of us will cut corners, especially on small scale lower budget productions.  It’s all too easy to just grab a camera and start shooting without actually putting any real thought into it. And usually, this lack of forethought shows in the final result.

In this video, Epic Light Media talks about six of the most common mistakes people make when shooting a video. They’re nothing to do with making sure batteries are charged or packing extra memory cards and while not all of them will apply to all situations, they’re all things that you’ll want to keep in mind if you decide to start taking video more seriously.

It’s a fairly solid list, although it does steer more towards the commercial side. That being said, they can apply to non-commercial video stuff, too. Particularly the ones about location, sound and light.

  • 0:34 – Didn’t think about location
  • 2:28 – Didn’t think about hair & makeup and wardrobe
  • 5:16 – Didn’t think about sound
  • 5:58 – Didn’t set client expectations
  • 7:00 – Didn’t think about lighting consistency
  • 8:35 – Didn’t think about the big picture

For me, I’m going to say that four and a half of these things are something that I think about when I’m shooting a video, but the vast majority of my video work isn’t commercial, so I have no client for whom to set expectations besides myself. I usually don’t worry about hair and makeup, although I do think about wardrobe. Whether it’s me on camera or a friend or whoever, I don’t want them wearing clothes that are going to draw your eye from their face or detract from their environment.

And it’s the environment that’s the biggest factor for me, which also goes towards the sound and lighting consistency. Environment sounds (the hum of an AC, birds chirping, etc) need to either be taken advantage of or eliminated. And if you are recording a person speaking, you need them to be heard clearly. Outdoor locations are my favourite for shooting video but where I live, the lighting isn’t always consistent – except when it’s consistently dull and cloudy. You need lighting and exposure consistency from shot to shot so that your final edit feels like it all belongs to the same video.

Looking at the “big picture” is something I’m still working on. I usually have a lot of what I film written out in advance and scripted with a shot list and I tweak them until it all makes some kind of sense. But once that’s done, I typically just go out and shoot, going through that list one at a time and once I’ve got a shot, I don’t worry about it anymore. And while I’m shooting it, I’m not worrying about what’s coming next. It’s definitely something I need to work on.

What mistake do you make the most or see others making when shooting video?

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

8 stupid photography and filmmaking mistakes we’re almost all guilty of making Are you guilty of making these 7 landscape photography mistakes? I know I am 9 things to check on your camera before you hit record If you’re making these six mistakes in your photography business, you need to stop it

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Epic Light Media, inspiration, Mistakes, Video

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Ten things you may not like about the Nikon Z9
Is the DJI Mavic 3’s 28x Hybrid Zoom dual camera setup really any good? Maybe »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Comparing iPhone 13 vs iPhone 14 for astrophotography
  • Don’t buy a Z8 directly from Nikon, customers say
  • YouTube is killing off “Stories” to focus on Shorts and Live
  • Four ways to shoot epic stop motion hyperlapse with a smartphone gimbal
  • Canon reported to be working on a “zoomable” teleconverter

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy