This is article #15 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Using Picture Styles or Controls Many DSLR cameras offer controls that influence how the camera processes the image. These controls let you perform tasks like boosting contrast or adding more saturation to the image. At first glance, the use of picture styles or controls can be very appealing. Why Use Picture Styles or Controls? The use of Picture Styles or Controls is a … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Using Picture Styles or Controls
DSLR Video
DSLR Video Weekly: Recording Audio in Camera
This is article #14 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Adjusting the Recording Volume It’s important that your camera be set to the correct audio levels when recording. If the levels are too low, you’ll hear lots of background noise when you boost the audio during editing. If the levels are too high (loud), you’ll click hear popping or clipping. It turns out that when recording digital audio, you have less flexibility than older … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Recording Audio in Camera
DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Shooting Mode for Video
This is article #13 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Choosing a Shooting Mode Your DSLR offers several different shooting modes to assist you in getting the right image. When shooting stills, I’m a big fan of Aperture Priority mode, which offers a great balance of control and lets me set the depth of field manually. Other shooting conditions may call for Program or Shutter Priority mode to properly expose the … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Shooting Mode for Video
DSLR Video Weekly: Fixing White Balance in Video
This is article #12 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. White Balancing Your Camera One of the most important settings on your camera that you need to choose is a white balance. This control allows you to set the overall color (or tone) for the scene. White is used as a reference point because it is the perfect blend of all the color channels. When a camera is properly set up, a white object will appear neutral with no color cast. … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Fixing White Balance in Video
DSLR Video Weekly: Why Does Video Look Different than a Photo
This is article #11 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Why Does Video Look Different than a Photo? When you look at the video your camera records, it may not look as clear or rich as the photos you’ve taken with the same camera. The reason for this quality loss is due to many factors that you need to understand. First, the total resolution of video file is much lower than a still photo. This means that the more … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Why Does Video Look Different than a Photo
DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Frame Rate
This is article #10 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Choosing a Frame Rate When you record a video file, you are essentially creating a container to hold multiple still images, or frames, that are captured in rapid succession (at a constant interval). The rate at which you capture these still images is called the frame rate. Video works because of a concept called persistence of vision, which identifies how the human brain … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Frame Rate
DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Frame Size to Record Video
This is article #9 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. A DSLR camera is more like a personal computer than you might think. It’s capable of calculating adjustments based on the available light and action in the scene; it can adjust and control how the camera’s lens performs. In fact, most DSLRs have several features that allow you to take complete control of your camera. Of course, those features require you to work through a … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing the Right Frame Size to Record Video
DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing a Camera for DSLR Video
This is article #4 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. It’s important to understand the role equipment plays in capturing great footage. If you put the right tools in the wrong hands, you’ll get subpar results. And if you put the wrong tools in the right hands, you’ll still get poor results. The magic really starts to happen when the right tools for the job are placed in the hands of someone who know how to use them. Choosing a … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Choosing a Camera for DSLR Video
DSLR Video Weekly: Shooting with Motion in Mind
This is article #3 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. If you’ve been shooting photos, you’ve probably developed many of the skills that are used to tell visual stories. Composition skills help you frame the shot, and exposure skills ensure that the details of the image are clear. You may be a great photographer or just getting started, but if you want to shoot great video, you’ll need a bit of retraining and rethinking. With … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Shooting with Motion in Mind
DSLR Video Weekly: What’s Not So Great About DSLR Video?
This is article #2 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Every coin has two sides. So, although there is much to love about shooting video on a DSLR video camera, there are some drawbacks that will drive you nuts. If you’re used to shooting video on a traditional video camera, these shortcomings will be particularly noticeable. Be sure to pay attention to these issues as you grow and develop your shooting techniques. Audio … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: What’s Not So Great About DSLR Video?
DSLR Video Weekly: Why Is DSLR Video So Popular?
This is article #1 in the DSLR Video Weekly series. If you'd like the whole thing in one shot, check out the book Creating DSLR Video: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Whether you stumbled across the video options in your DSLR camera or specifically selected your camera with video shooting in mind, I welcome you to the world of DSLR video. Telling stories with video is enjoyable and challenging. Your camera is a great tool, but by its very nature, video is a complex medium. Throughout this book I’ll focus on teaching you the most important … [Read more...] about DSLR Video Weekly: Why Is DSLR Video So Popular?
There’s No Replacement for Microphone Placement
Trying to record sound with your video? Having a good microphone is nearly worthless if you don't put it in the right position. The closer you can get the mic to the source of the audio the stronger the signal. Skimp on taking the time to position and test your mics and you run the risk of noisy and hollow sounding audio. Here are a few guiding principles when it comes to microphone placement: Too far away. Extend your thumb and pinky finger in opposite directions. This is a good target distance for the microphone to be from the mouth … [Read more...] about There’s No Replacement for Microphone Placement
Quickly Calibrate DSLR Cameras for Video
Plan to shoot video with your DSLR or Mirrorless cameras? Chances are you might use more than one camera body while shooting footage. This may be to get an extra angle or to avoid having to change lenses in the field. The closer your camera settings the match, the more seamless it will appear when you edit the different footage together. Ideally the acquired footage will match as closely as possible. This means that you to adjust both the aesthetic and technical properties. Aesthetic Matching Look inside the camera and check your menu … [Read more...] about Quickly Calibrate DSLR Cameras for Video
5 Ways To Use Your Body To Stabilize Video Recording Without A Tripod
The #1 piece of advice I give my students for getting a beautiful fluid stabilized video recording (no shakey parts) is to use a quality tripod with a quality tripod head. But there are times when you find yourself either without a tripod or not allowed to use one (like in a museum or highly trafficked area). Luckily, even though we only have two legs, there are some very simple things we can do to use our body as a tripod. Here are 5 ways to use your body to help improve the stability of your video capture. 1. Make your Body a Tripod … [Read more...] about 5 Ways To Use Your Body To Stabilize Video Recording Without A Tripod
How to Get a Stable Shot When Shooting Video
Shooting video on a DSLR, Mirrorless or Micro Four Thirds camera can be challenging. Let's look at how to choose the right camera or camera configuration for the task at hand. Even if you only have one camera to use, you can figure out how to optimize your set-up for the job. Form Factor Shooting video on a DSLR camera is currently not a well-designed experience in terms of ergonomics. The technical need to shoot with the camera’s mirror open requires the photographer to compose a shot using the DSLR’s LiveView feature or LCD monitor. As … [Read more...] about How to Get a Stable Shot When Shooting Video
Advice When Shooting Video to a Memory Card
When shooting video on a DSLR, you will be recording to one of the camera’s memory slots to a card. You’ll often feel as though you don’t have many choices when it comes to choosing your camera storage format. While some manufacturers support more than one format (offering both a CompactFlash and a Secure Digital card slot), the choice is still made by the camera manufacturer. Card format Knowing what each format is capable of is important. All modern storage formats have their advantages and limitations. You can use this knowledge when … [Read more...] about Advice When Shooting Video to a Memory Card
How to Expose a Video Shot
Correct exposure for video capture is complicated by several factors. Even if you’ve mastered it for stills workflows, additional limitations make video capture more difficult. As a photographer, you’re can take advantage of shooting in different program modes for unique situations. Perhaps you enjoy the ease of aperture priority. When shooting video, you will generally achieve best results by switching all controls over to manual. Your basic tools for exposure control are ISO and aperture. Unfortunately, with video you’ll lose the shutter … [Read more...] about How to Expose a Video Shot
Choosing the Best Capture Format for Recording Video
As you evaluate cameras for shooting DSLR video, one of the most important factors is the format or codec the camera records in. Different manufacturers use different file formats (and may offer different choices within their own product lines). It is essential that you understand the impact of codec, let’s compare how video compression relates to still compression. When shooting stills, you can often choose to shoot raw, TIFF, or JPEG. Raw files allow for superior latitude during post-processing since raw images are not permanently … [Read more...] about Choosing the Best Capture Format for Recording Video
Understanding White Balance & Video
When shooting video, it is important to achieve a white balancing setting that gives you the desired color temperature at the point of acquisition. While you can apply filters or effects during editing, these can add additional processing time to your workflow. Taking the time to manually white balance your camera will reduce shifts in color temperature as the subjects move in the scene. The last thing you want is shifts in color. https://vimeo.com/37315644 White balance presets All digital cameras have some white balance presets for … [Read more...] about Understanding White Balance & Video
