Capturing Kids for Perfect Wedding Videos

Most attendees will cooperate during wedding video recording to give the lucky couple the best film ever. There’s just one category of wedding-goers who could make things a bit more difficult – kids.

Filming kids to capture special moments is important. Little ones, however, may feel nervous, way too excited or not in the mood to help a cameraman.

As a wedding videographer, you also have to be a bit of a psychologist. Good communication skills are needed when working with shy couples or large groups of people. To include kids in the wedding film, you’ll have to charm those little party goers and get them interested in the video production process. Here’s how to make it happen.

Prep the Parents in Advance

The parents of the ring bearer and the flower girl are usually an important part of the wedding party.

Hence, you’re likely to meet them before the big day.

A talk with the parents gives you an opportunity to prepare for wedding video recording in the best possible way.

Ask the parents about the characters of their youngsters, whether the children feel comfortable in front of a camera, what outfits they will wear and if an adult is going to be capable of providing some assistance during the wedding day. Grandma and grandpa could be great assistants, especially if you tell them what you need in advance.

Let Kids Be Kids

The flower girl is just one of the kids who will get in the shoot.

Capturing kids among guests and relatives is as important for setting the mood.

Recording the ceremony is one thing. Working during the party, however, is a completely different endeavor.

To capture kids in their “natural habitat,” you have to let them get used to the cameras. Talk to parents and ask them to refrain from instructing the little ones.

Let kids be wild and have fun. Keep on recording that whole time. Eventually, they will get used to your presence and they’ll start acting naturally.

This is what you need among other things for a successful wedding video. Once youngsters are more comfortable, you’ll probably create some truly moving and precious shots. All it takes is a bit of patience.

Don’t Instruct and Over-Direct

Adults will often project onto kids exactly what their vision is.

The result of such instructional sessions will be a complete disaster.

Unless a child is a really good actor, you’ll get some footage that looks stiff and unnatural at best and completely absurd at worst.

Try to be silent, even when you feel the need to provide some instruction about a pose, a facial expression or an activity that the children get involved in. Directing youngsters is incredibly difficult and the outcome will often be much worse than what you’re going to get from silent and natural recording.

Get Down (Literally!) during Wedding Video Recording

If you loom over a child with a large camera, you’ll make them feel uncomfortable and even scared.

The best thing to do is to go down and be on the same level as the child.

Kneel down and introduce yourself before you start filming. This way, you can work on eye contact, body language and building a bit of trust. The very same position will do wonders when you begin the filming itself.

Smile and use gentle words, even if you don’t get what you need at first. Smiling sends very important signals to youngsters. It tells them that you’re a “safe” and potentially cool adult to interact with. If you manage to build that connection right from the start, you may have kids following you around and trying to assist you throughout the party.

Capture the Most Important Moments First

Do you have a list of shots that you must have and that involve children? These are the ones you will need to record first.

Tell the parents and the lucky couple exactly what your plan is. The adults will cooperate and they’ll also get youngsters involved in the process.

Doing a bit of staging and capturing some of those precious moments can be tricky. This is why you need to get started before kids become tired. Tired children are very likely to be cranky and uncooperative.

It’s very easy to draft a short list of everything you need to capture. You may want to feature the flower girl and the ring bearer by themselves, the kids with the bride and the groom, the kids with their parents, the kids during the ceremony, etc.

Partner Up with Mom during Wedding Video Recording

Here’s a very simple trick that can do miracles – get mom involved in the recording process. This can be incredibly helpful when you’re dealing with shy kids.

Have the mom standing right behind you. This is a great idea if children have difficulties looking directly into the camera and smiling. Their mom’s presence will calm them down and give them a sense of comfort.

Here’s one more thing to keep in mind – such shoots are likely to attract other relatives. The adults will often stand on the side as observers. Their behavior could create some problems because the kids will feel distracted.

In such instances, ask adults politely to give you and your young subjects a bit of space. Asking the observers to also stand behind you could be another approach that will help you do your job in the best possible way.

Don’t Stress Over Filming Kids

A few shots featuring kids will add a nice touch to the wedding video.

Still, you shouldn’t stress about the creation of such footage.

Getting children to cooperate outside the ceremony itself isn’t always possible. In addition, a cameraman who’s capturing the wedding alone will often have much more important tasks than following kids around.

The wedding reception provides nice opportunities for filming kids without making them feel threatened. Often, this is enough to capture all of the details. Be gentle, be patient and seek those special little glimpses into the life of the group. Even a single authentic moment with youngsters will help you make the video richer.