Photography and videography share a number of skill-sets and even equipment. If you have a good camera and the right tools, you may think that you could move from photography to recording video. But how easy is it to transition from photography to videography? And what do you need to do in order to make that transition?
Understand What You Need to Know to Do Well
If you don’t appreciate concepts like subject motion, camera movement, and frames per second, your videos won’t look nearly as good as your still photos. Before you start booking videography gigs, learn more about these concepts and how to compensate for them. For example, learn how the frames per second affect footage quality since you are locked into the decision once you start filming. And you don’t want to make a mistake. The alternative is being told your videos are dull, static, not fluid or just don’t look right.
Know Your Equipment Inside and Out
Focus in videography can make or break the film. When you are taking photos, you set up your shot, you set your focus, and you take your shots. In videography, you set the shot, you set the focus, and then you have to change the focus as the subject moves. You will probably have to pull things into and out of focus. You must practice racking focus or else your videography will be a blurry mess you can’t recover from, no matter how much editing you do.
Understand the different types of camera motion and when to utilize them. You can see this in films and on TV. They utilize pans, zooms, pans, and a variety of other shots. Sometimes this is done to convey a certain mood, and in other shots, it is necessary to capture the action. Good videos require camera motion, and that can be hard for photographers used to static shots.
If you don’t have the right equipment or skills, experts in digital video production in Houston can capture the high-quality video you need, leaving you to handle the editing and your clients. Bringing in the professionals could also save you if your attempts to film a commercial or event didn’t go as planned.
Understand How to Edit Video
When you’re filming, capture the motion from start to finish. If you leave every action in the movie, it draws out the movie and could make it boring. However, you have to ensure that the shots convey all the information viewers need to follow the story. Favor shots that convey information beyond the action such as the emotions on someone’s face or details that hint at the context of the scene.
Learn about the Importance of Sound
Another issue videographers have to deal with is sound. In fact, the sound becomes the biggest concern for the videographer. The wind whipping up makes it hard to capture the conversation. Then there’s the fact that the audience doesn’t want to watch a nearly silent video. You have to know how to record and edit sound. Many videos benefit from music added in post-production. It can aid your storytelling or even cover up your mistakes. Learn about audio recording and working with sound before you try to become a videographer.
Conclusion
Demand for video is growing, and many photographers are eying moving to videography. However, it isn’t easy unless you’re willing to invest the time and effort to learn what you need to know in order to succeed.
Image Credits: Videography from echoevg /Shutterstock
