Tips for Photographers Going to Video

Posted December 11, 2017

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In all our years of training, we've found that photographers make great video producers. Their already acquired knowledge of camera settings and how to tell visual stories makes the transition easier. However, there are some key differences from a technical standpoint between still photography and video.

Check out this video from B&H highlighting some of the key differences between photo and video and some tips:

Here's what's covered in the video:

Frame rate
Constant shutter
Continuous lighting
Video codecs
Photo vs. video lenses
Image resolution

Whether or not you are a photographer it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of a terms and features of manual camera settings. While it certainly true that you can get great video if you are working in automatic, particularly when producing video with your smartphone, but you can really up your game and have a better understanding of camera function by learning about these manual settings.

The reason that great photographers make great video producers, though, doesn't have a lot to do with their understanding of equipment and light, but rather their understanding of visual storytelling. Telling a story in video is similar to that of still photography. It is all about guiding the viewer through the world you are taking them through, and creating a series of questions in the viewers heads that you plan to answer in the next images. It is visual storytelling that is the most important aspect of video production. No matter what equipment you use, what kind of video you are making, or how much experience you have, the most important thing is the story. It is the story that is going to either keep the viewer watching, or cause them to lose interest and close your video before it's over.

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