Guides
Guides for wedding photographers who shoot video.
Practical, plain-English guides to the wedding film: from the kit in your bag to the teaser on your couple’s phone. Four topics, each with a full overview and focused articles.
01
AI wedding video editing
How an AI wedding video editor turns camera cards into a first cut, what it costs, local vs cloud, couples' privacy and what to check before you buy.
Read the overview- Local vs cloud AI video editing for weddingsUpload times for 100 to 500 GB weddings, what happens to couples' footage, and when a local or a cloud AI video editor suits your computer.
- What AI editing costs per weddingHow AI video editing tools charge, why AI is billed by the text and images it reads and writes, and measured and estimated costs per wedding.
- How AI finds the moments in wedding footageWhat happens between camera card and first cut, from checking sharpness and finding faces to transcribing vows and cutting on the beat.
- Keeping couples' footage private when you use AIWhat leaves your computer with cloud and local AI video editors, questions to ask any tool, and how to tell couples you use AI-assisted editing.
- Making an AI first cut your ownA review routine for editing an AI wedding film, from the first watch and story checks to trims, music, plain-English revisions, titles and export.
02
The wedding highlight film
What a wedding highlight film is and how to make one, from length and structure to vows, music, cutting to the beat and delivery to the couple.
Read the overview- How long should a wedding highlight film be?Three, five or eight minutes? How to choose a wedding highlight film length that suits the day, the speeches and the footage you have.
- How to structure a wedding highlight filmA practical wedding highlight film structure, from the opening line to the last dance, with chronological and audio-led shapes and pacing.
- Using vows and speeches in a highlight filmHow to use vows in a wedding highlight film, from clean audio and choosing lines to laying them over pictures and asking before they go online.
- Music for wedding films, from licensed tracks to the band on the dayMusic for wedding films, from licences and licence records to social platform rules and using the band or DJ recorded on the day.
- Cutting a wedding film to the beatCutting wedding video to music with tempo, bars and phrases, downbeats for the big moments, room for speech, slow motion and J and L cuts.
03
Wedding teaser reels
How to make a wedding teaser reel: why vertical, 30 or 60 seconds, framing faces for 9:16, captions, music, and sharing it within days of the wedding.
Read the overview- Framing wedding video for verticalCrop to 9:16 or shoot vertical on the day? The crop arithmetic for 1080p and 4K, reframing around faces, and leaving room for the apps' buttons.
- 30 or 60 seconds? Choosing a teaser lengthWhat a 30-second and a 60-second wedding teaser each do well, how their structure differs, and how to make the opening seconds and the loop count.
- Captions for wedding films and teasersWhy captions matter for wedding films and teasers, what an .srt file is, sidecar versus burned-in captions, and how to check names and spellings.
- Sending a teaser days after the weddingWhy a quick wedding sneak peek video helps the couple and your bookings, and a practical workflow from camera card to a teaser sent within days.
04
Video for hybrid photographers
How hybrid wedding photographers can add video without hurting the photos, from what to film and kit to settings, sound, editing and pricing.
Read the overview- Video kit for hybrid wedding photographersThe video kit a hybrid wedding photographer needs, from a second body, gimbal and phone to microphones, ND filters, batteries, cards and a tripod.
- Camera settings for wedding videoFrame rates, shutter speed, flicker, ISO, ND, white balance and picture profiles. The camera settings for wedding video that make the edit easier.
- Recording vows, speeches and the bandHow to record clear wedding audio. Microphones for the vows, desk feeds and recorders for speeches, the band's desk mix, sensible levels and syncing.
- A wedding footage workflow from camera card to backupA simple wedding video footage workflow, with verified offloads, folder names, split recordings, 3-2-1 backups, safe card formatting and retention.
- Adding video to your wedding packagesHow to add video to wedding photography packages. What to offer, how to price it from your own time and costs, contracts, delivery and samples.