Almost everyone says they’re camera shy before their wedding. Very few people look it in their wedding film. The reason is simple: on the day you are busy, surrounded by people you love, and thinking about anything but the lens. Still, there are things you can do beforehand that make it easier.
Why do people feel awkward being filmed?
Because most of us are only ever filmed when someone points a phone and tells us to do something. A wedding is the opposite. Nobody is asking you to perform. A good videographer films what’s already happening, from a distance, and you are rarely aware of the moment being recorded.
Meet your videographer before the day
This makes the biggest difference. A stranger with a camera is hard to ignore, and someone you’ve talked to and laughed with is easy to forget. Getting to know your videographer before the wedding means that by the time they arrive in the morning, they’re a familiar face in the room.
Choose a filming style that suits you
If the thought of posing makes you uncomfortable, look for a videographer who doesn’t direct. Unposed, documentary-style filming asks nothing of you. Watch a few films in the portfolio and notice whether couples look staged or relaxed. Then ask how much direction is given on the day.
Give yourselves something to do
People look awkward when they stand still wondering what to do with their hands. In the portrait session, walk, talk to each other, fix a buttonhole, read the card your partner wrote that morning. Movement gives the camera something real and gives you something to think about other than the camera.
Talk to each other and ignore the lens
You never need to look at a video camera. The moments that work best on film are the ones where you’re looking at each other or at your guests. If you catch the lens by accident, it doesn’t matter. It gets left out of the edit.
Don’t worry about your voice
Hardly anyone likes the sound of their own voice on a recording, and it puts some people off having their vows or speeches filmed. Those recordings are the part couples value most a few years on. A small lapel microphone is all it takes, and you’ll forget it’s there within minutes.
Say what you’d prefer to avoid
If there’s an angle you dislike, a moment you’d like kept private, or a relative who hates being filmed, tell your videographer in advance. It takes one sentence, and it means you won’t spend the day thinking about it.
What if you’re still camera shy on the day?
Then it will last about ten minutes. Nerves about the camera fade quickly once the morning gets going, because there is too much else to think about. By the ceremony most couples have stopped noticing it altogether.
Trust the edit
Hours of footage become a few minutes of film. The blink, the stumble over a word and the mouthful of canapé at the wrong moment never make it. What’s left is the version of the day where everyone looks like themselves at their happiest.
If you’re unsure, ask to watch a full film from another couple’s wedding before you book. It’s the first of ten questions worth asking any videographer, and it will show you how relaxed real couples look. The pre-wedding consultation included in every Alchemist Films package is there for exactly this kind of conversation.
Alchemist Films is a wedding videography company based in the Cotswolds, filming weddings across the UK, Europe, and internationally. If you’d like to talk about how the day is filmed, get in touch.
How do I look natural in my wedding video?
Meet your videographer beforehand, choose an unposed filming style, and focus on each other and your guests. You never need to look at the camera.
What if I am camera shy at my wedding?
Most people are. A videographer who films from a distance without directing will capture you as you are, and on the day you will be too busy to notice the camera.
Do we have to pose for a wedding film?
Not with a documentary-style videographer. Ask how much direction is given on the day before you book.
Will wearing a microphone feel strange?
Lapel microphones are small and light. Most people forget they are wearing one within a few minutes, and they make sure your vows and speeches are heard clearly.
Can we ask the videographer not to film certain things?
Yes. Tell your videographer in advance about anything you would prefer left out, so it can be kept out of the film.