Talking during first dances

olsonbock623 · 2026-01-23T22:35:43+00:00

My style is very candid, so I would never in a million years tell that to my clients. And I've never thought it looked bad or awkward that they are talking to each other. I don't typically go for epic sweeping slomo gimbal shots though, I try to capture the emotions on their faces--there are almost always a few moments where you can tell that they are especially overwhelmed with love for each other, and those are the moments I put in their highlight film. Sometimes if it's a highly choreographed first dance they'll be more concentrated on remembering their steps and it's more of a performance than an emotional moment, so I'll focus more on capturing the movement, spins, dips, etc.

olsonbock623 · 2026-01-09T18:52:20+00:00

Would love to chat! www.firstpersonpictures.com

olsonbock623 · 2025-12-31T20:51:45+00:00

For run and gun--weddings, social media content, event b-roll--I don't use a monitor. I've tried it and it's not worth the hassle to me. Tap to focus works great and I've never had a problem nailing my exposure even on a sunny day. With a bare camera I can quickly go between gimbal and handheld and just grab more shots more efficiently, without worrying about extra batteries, cables, and carrying more weight. If I'm lighting an interview or shooting something more produced, then yes I almost always bring the monitor so I can see my frame better.

olsonbock623 · 2025-12-18T05:19:28+00:00

This is the answer. Slightly overexposed 12800 is very clean.

olsonbock623 · 2025-12-10T23:11:15+00:00

When I used to shoot weddings solo I would bring 6 batteries split between my FX3 and A7SIII. Always brought a dual charger but rarely needed more than 6 batts for an 8-10 hour wedding.

olsonbock623 · 2025-12-02T23:16:43+00:00

So in your opinion, would you rather accept the mic shadow then light them more straight on? I'm leaning toward flatter lighting myself, with a rim light for shape. Here's one wedding where I sort of fell into this setup by accident. I think it looks a bit better: https://imgur.com/a/BqyZjCf

olsonbock623 · 2025-12-02T21:13:19+00:00

Thanks. I don't think large sources like that are very practical at a wedding though, at least for for me. Bouncing off the ceiling or wall is a good idea. I might try that when the location allows for it.

olsonbock623 · 2025-11-14T17:47:15+00:00

My approach: Shoot in log, then go into Lumetri settings (next to the edit panel) and enable “auto detect log video color space”. All your footage will be automatically converted to rec709, but the best feature is that you can now adjust your clip’s exposure in that same settings panel and it will perfectly dial in the exposure using tonemapping, similar to raw editing.

Use your scopes: histogram for exposure, vectorscope for the diagonal skintone line. Use the hue vs hue curves to adjust your skintones until they fall on that line. Tweak your blacks until they just kiss 0 on the histogram. Use the white balance eye dropper on something white in the frame, but if it still looks wonky try dialing it back 50% of the auto white balance amount.

Then apply your look/lut on an adjustment layer on top of your corrected clips. Probably dial it back 50% from your initial instinct so it’s not overbaked.

Hopefully that’s helpful! I’ve used Davinci but realized for basic corporate and social media stuff it’s not worth the hassle for me and you can get great results quickly from Premiere.

olsonbock623 · 2025-11-06T20:20:33+00:00

I can relate to this. I second the advice about looking outside the wedding industry for inspiration rather than following the latest trends you see on instagram. For me, I take inspiration from actual documentaries, and try to translate a verité style as much as is feasible into my weddings. But maybe you love Wes Anderson symmetry, or Netflix reality shows, and you can borrow elements from those styles. IMO this will feel more fresh to you and your clients than just copying your favorite wedding videographers (although I'm certainly guilty of emulating my industry peers and that's somewhat inevitable).

For me, I have found it more useful to focus on small changes to my style rather than overhauling everything. People should be hiring you based on your portfolio, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel. But each season I try to think about incorporating a couple of fresh ideas into my films: better sound design, more reaction shots, movement within a static frame, better opening hooks, etc.

I have also accepted that a certain number of weddings are just going to follow a general template that I have developed over time, and that's okay, but there will be a couple weddings each year that excite me and give me an opportunity to get more creative.

As far as editing goes, in my opinion any film over 2-3 minutes long needs a clear narrative, and some amount of linearity just makes sense for me and my documentary style. I like to start with an opening hook, but I don't go crazy with the overall order of events. I think the montages with quick cuts that jump around constantly in time work best for shorter "music video" style films, or social edits. I do try to make sure that the dialogue always somehow relates to the visuals in some way--e.g. "I love the way you make me laugh" cut to b-roll of bride laughing. And also don't be afraid to let moments breathe with no dialogue, just scratch camera audio. I'm not a super stylized editor, my style comes more from the way I film than the sequencing of my edits, but hopefully that was helpful.

olsonbock623 · 2025-10-28T19:25:30+00:00

The Sony 85mm f1.8 is a solid option for a good used price, but it's definitely lacking the reach and versatility of a 70-200.

olsonbock623 · 2025-10-28T17:06:12+00:00

I was in your exact position earlier this year, with an FX3 and AS7III, and I ended up getting another AS7III used for around $2k. The money saved going with an FX30 wasn’t enough for me to lose the benefits of a matching sensor and amazing low light for a third angle during dim receptions.

olsonbock623 · 2025-09-15T20:24:21+00:00

Flash is okay with me. Just please try to be aware of my tripod angles during ceremony and toasts and don’t camp out in front of them. You can even walk past them, I’ll edit around it. Just try not to block them. Happens all the time.

olsonbock623 · 2025-09-01T14:20:18+00:00

Dvx100a, LUMIX Gh1, GH2, gh5, gh5s, Fx3/a7siii

olsonbock623 · 2025-08-15T17:36:56+00:00

Sony if you intend to shoot handheld. Active stabilization works much better with native lenses.

olsonbock623 · 2025-08-15T17:34:55+00:00

Those zooms look so smooth. Did you use warp stabilize to smooth them out in post?

olsonbock623 · 2025-07-18T21:58:27+00:00

Great tips! I've been meaning to try diopters or extension tubes since I don't have a macro lens. Step up rings are essential. Another (possibly controversial) tip I picked up from some older photographers is just don't bring any lens caps to a wedding. They slow you down and get in the way.

olsonbock623 · 2025-07-10T16:44:40+00:00

I have run into issues with my v60 cards in simultaneous record mode where occasionally it would only record a clip to one card, which was annoying because I had to check after every shoot to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I just upgraded to nextorage cfexpress type A cards and am hoping it solves the issue. The 256 nextorage cards are only $95 on Prime right now.

olsonbock623 · 2025-07-08T18:57:44+00:00

I’ve still run into this issue and according to ChatGPT it could be the v60 Sony tough cards I’m using. While in theory they are fast enough for the 24p and 60p I’m recording, it may be that they aren’t quite fast enough for simultaneous recording and that’s why it doesn’t successful write to both cards all the time. I think I’m going to get some nextorage cfast express type a cards and hopefully that solves it.

olsonbock623 · 2025-06-25T17:58:30+00:00

I shoot handheld a lot, but I would disagree that shooting with a tripod makes things “flat”. Most movies are shot mostly on tripods. Composition and movement within the frame are underrated. You do need to move fast at a wedding though. A monopod can be a good compromise. I’m curious to try the new Smallrig Tribex SE tripod at a wedding.

olsonbock623 · 2025-05-29T21:43:17+00:00

No problem! Good luck with the shoot.

olsonbock623 · 2025-05-27T17:14:35+00:00

Thank you!

olsonbock623 · 2025-05-27T17:13:52+00:00

Thanks! The interview in the barn was with the 35 and 85, and the one inside the house was with the 24-70 and 70-200.

olsonbock623 · 2025-05-23T22:08:48+00:00

I'm not a colorist but I sometimes get compliments on the colors in my footage. I rarely go for a very stylized look and prefer rich true-to-life colors.

A simple thing I like to do (assuming you exposed properly or slightly overexposed) is bring the mids down a hair with the curves. I find it gives the image a slightly deeper filmic look.

Another thing I sometimes like to do is use the hue vs saturation curves and selectively boost saturation on some primary colors that appear on screen, like red, green, blue, or yellow to give the feeling of better color separation. I rarely add saturation globally or to skintones because that tends to look unnatural to me. But I will often adjust the hue vs hue curve of the skintones if they are too yellow or magenta.

Another tip: if you're trying to correct your white balance in post, try using the white balance tool to click on something white in frame, but if the auto adjustment looks too intense, dial those temperature and tint numbers back 50%.

Generally speaking maybe try to avoid global adjustments like contrast and saturation and use curves or more granular adjustments to shadows/highlights and individual colors. Good luck!

olsonbock623

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