Video for Photographers: Pick One

Just do one at a time.

I guess many of us do both, photography and videography. Maybe some people can switch easily and quickly between the two on a shoot, but I suspect that’s rare. Not technically, that’s just getting a few settings right (and having the discipline to check). On my S5, I have custom modes for photo and video so it’s an easy switch.

But mentally, it’s not an easy transition to stop considering the still image and the moment, and to think about the moving image and the rolling narrative.

As a photographer first, I find there’s a constant temptation when I’m filming to switch back. To make a few stills. Because I see the possibilities, and because it’s familiar and comfortable. But it breaks the flow of the filmmaking, changes the thought process and perspective and awareness. So there ends up being compromise in both.

One of my early frustrations with videography was when I framed a sequence as I would with a still image and expected the clip to be immediately interesting. And it didn’t work, at least not consistently. I was assessing the clip individually as I would a single photo, rather than considering it as a part of the whole, whether it fits into the overall story and sequence. It’s much easier to know, to me at least, whether a photo will work than to know how well a filmed sequence will fit into a completed video. I’m sure that comes with experience, but there’s a patience too that isn’t as much a requirement in photography. There’s a trust in the process, to plan out the shoot, the storyboard, and to follow that through to build up the material you need. And to know that sometimes it’s going to be the soundtrack that really brings it all together.