Wedding Video Editing and Photo Editing Workflows 101

Wedding video editing and photo editing can be very time-consuming. These processes, at the same time, will often determine just how beautiful and polished the outcome is going to appear.

 

Experienced photographers and videographers have workflows in place to speed things up and eliminate many of the repetitive post-production tasks. If you’re still fairly new to the field, however, chances are that you’ve failed employing such time-saving opportunities.

 

Workflows allow for the creation of simpler processes that save time while delivering a consistent outcome. The following guide will acquaint you with some wedding video editing and photo editing workflows you can put in place and consistently rely on for the completion of upcoming projects.

 

What Are Photo and Wedding Video Editing Workflows

 

Before moving on to more intricate aspects of exploring the topic, let’s focus on the definition of a wedding video editing or photo editing workflow.

In this context, the term workflow refers to a series of steps that you’ll need to go through in order to complete the project.

It is a structured process that eliminates redundancies and relies on strategies/techniques that help for the faster delivery of consistent results. The use of the right kind of software product is an important part of post-production workflow creation. The same applies to automation that allows for the elimination of repetitive steps or their quicker tackling.

 

Each videographer will come up with their distinctive workflow. The type of content being created will have a significant impact on workflows of preference. The experience of wedding videography and photography professionals also plays a role in workflow creation.

 

The Benefits of an Optimized Post-Production Workflow

 

You may be wondering about the importance of workflows and whether you really need to work on such a structured process in order to get better and faster results during post-production.

 

The short answer is that every professional needs good editing workflows in place. Some of the biggest reasons why such strategic processes matter include the following:

 

• Wedding videography and photography workflows help you save time
• They reduce the amount of effort required to successfully complete the post-production process
• Workflows improve efficiency
• They get you acquainted with new software products and their features, keeping you ahead of the game and allowing for the creation of outstanding content
• Innovative workflows enable some degree of automation to simplify post-production complex processes
• Through workflows, you can break complex tasks down into manageable steps, making post-production less overwhelming
• Workflows allow for the creation of a highly tailored post-production approach that takes into account both your strengths and your weaknesses

 

How to Design Highly Effective Wedding Video Editing and Photo Editing Workflows

 

Workflow creation is a highly personalized affair. What works well for one professional will deliver mediocre results for someone else and vice versa.

While it’s up to you to determine what kinds of workflows you’re going to employ, there are certain steps you can follow to maximize efficiency.

Some of the tips that can help you determine what optimal post-production workflows for your business are going to be include the following:

• Focus on repetitive tasks that take a lot of time and consider ways to automate some of these processes
• When possible, implement batch processing protocols
• Consider all aspects of post-production – from processing raw footage, to sound mixing and even the addition of effects
• Don’t underestimate the importance of file storage and organization workflows
• Establish a systematic approach that’s applicable across projects
• Prioritize the right tools and software options that will deliver consistent results

 

Types of Wedding Videography and Photography Post-Production Workflows

 

Post-production workflows can be used during every step of the post-production process. They can be broken down into the following:

• Importing and organizing your raw footage files
• Building the rough cut
• Doing more refined editing
• Adding visual effects
• Doing sound mixing and audio editing
• Final fine-tuning
• Exporting the final video
• Communication and collaborative video editing workflows

While skipping some of these steps may be possible, given the specifics of your project, most videographers and photographers will have to go through multiple phases before the client can receive the end product.

The aim of workflows is to speed up these stages and to help post-production professionals stay on top of projects, regardless of workload or video complexity.

 

Important Steps to Follow When Creating Your Wedding   Video Editing and Photo Editing Workflows

 

A deeper look into workflow creation will make these complex processes a lot clearer. Please refer to this guide whenever you’re attempting to come up with new strategies to optimize your studio’s work.

 

Organize Your Raw Footage

 

You’ll need to do a few things to get yourself properly prepared for the editing stage. First, you need to have your raw footage files organized and categorized correctly. A good workflow starts with coming up with a naming methodology that provides enough information about each individual file.

Knowing which wedding it belongs to and what’s the date on which the event took place can be beneficial. Once you have the nomenclature in place, you’ll find it much easier to keep your database well-structured.

It’s also a good idea to organize your raw footage in separate folders and sub-folders. The way you come up with the structure depends entirely on what you find logical and intuitive.

Some photographers and videographers organize their files by stages of the wedding (wedding preparations, ceremony, reception), others may have a different concept. It doesn’t really matter what approach you’ll choose, as long as it makes getting around the archive easy.

As a final step here, you should always make file backup a part of the workflow. Technical emergencies occur and losing valuable data is always a possibility. Determine how often you’ll do backups and where the additional copies of your raw footage are going to be stored.

 

Choose the Right Kind of Editing Software and Get Functions Customized

 

The photo and video editing software is an important part of workflow creation.

You have many options to choose from. Picking one option or the other will depend on your experience level and the end result you want to achieve. We recommend testing a few demo versions to determine just how intuitive and usable each one will be. 

Once you pick the right software, you’ll have to start doing a bit of customization work.

Many editing tools allow for batch processing and some degree of automation. Setting up those workflows will save you a lot of time later on, as far as repetitive and tedious tasks are concerned.

If you’re not tailoring the work experience to your distinctive needs, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to utilize everything that the chosen program is capable of.

 

Utilize Keyboard Shortcuts

 

Speaking of making the most of the program and reducing the amount of time required to do post-production, we have to mention keyboard shortcuts.

Photo and video editing software tools work with keyboard shortcuts. This is another opportunity to streamline processes and save some time while dealing with cumbersome post-production processes.

Most keyboard shortcuts are standardized. Still, some photographers and videographers are used to key combinations that may not be the norm.

The good news is that software programs allow for the customization of keyboard shortcuts. Switching to ones you’re familiar and comfortable with can help you optimize processes by not having to get used to something new and atypical for you.

 

Wedding Video Editing Essentials: Assembling a Rough Cut

 

Importing media and assembling the rough cut come next, as far as video editing is concerned. When it comes to photography, you still need a story and you have to pick the pictures that deliver the precise message you want to convey.

It’s always a good idea to keep a bit more material than what you’re going to use in the end. While modifying the rough files and putting together a narrative, you may find out that some additional footage will come in handy.

To make the content importing and rough cut assembly simpler, you can utilize the batch processing, automation, and keyboard shortcuts already mentioned as a part of workflow creation. This is the part of the editing process where such tools will come in most handy.

 

Fine Tuning and Effects

 

This stage has a self-explanatory name. It’s now time to polish the rough cut and add special effects, if these have been discussed and are considered essential for the creation of a quality final outcome aligned with the bride and groom’s vision.

There isn’t an awful lot to discuss here workflow-wise. 

Special effects, filters, and masks are readily available within editing tools. It’s up to you to familiarize yourself with those options and determine when and to what extent you’re going to be employing those.

Color grading and corrections, as well as balance, will also need to be adjusted during this part of the process. The workflow should encompass whatever changes you deem necessary to achieve the best picture with the finest quality. 

 

Audio Editing

 

Once you’re done with the video editing workflows, it’s time to point your attention toward the audio.

Audio editing, depending on the conditions, can be as time-consuming as making sure the video’s quality is good enough. 

Syncing, timing, noise reduction, and volume control should be a part of your audio editing workflow at the very least.  You’ll also need to decide if you’re going to be adding music or other kinds of audio effects to make the presentation more wholesome and consistent. 

It’s a good idea to build an audio library in advance, giving you an easy opportunity to pick sounds and music that make sense for the particular video being edited at that moment.

 

Exporting Video and Making Sure the Final Result Is Polished

 

As a final step, you’ll have to go through the video or photo album one last time before exporting and making sure that the outcome is delivered to clients.

Batch processing and automation can be incorporated in this final step, just like they’re an important element to use during the early stages of editing. You’ll also need to determine where the finished files are going to be stored and how they will be shared with the client. 

You may also want to create smaller versions of each file for the purpose of online uploading and addition to your portfolio. 

 

A Few Additional Tips to Help You Do Wedding Video Editing and Photo Editing Faster

 

The steps outlined above will form the backbone of your wedding video editing or photo editing workflows. Once you come up with the right structure and the processes needed to simplify some of the more complex steps, you’ll see a significant reduction in the amount of time required for the completion of the job.

Apart from focusing on these important workflow elements, you can do a couple of additional things to achieve an even higher level of efficiency.

Come up with an editing plan, especially if you have a lot of work to do: Knowing what you’ll need to do and coming up with a timeframe for the completion of such a project can help you save some time and keep your head in the game. It’s always a good idea to have an action plan. Will you need to do a lot of cutting?

Will there be transitions, graphics, animation, special effects? How about audio work? Will you separate the video in chapters and how much time will you need to dedicate to the creation of each? Ask yourself these questions and come up with a post-production scenario. Obviously, you’ll need to maintain some flexibility as ideas change but an action plan will help you maintain focus.

 

Bonus Tips

 

• Use markers to keep track of the editing process: Most types of editing software allow you to place markers for the purpose of annotating important moments or spots on the timeline that will require additional work. You can’t imagine how much time you’ll save when you don’t have to look for the exact spot that will require some additional post-production effort.

 

• Harness the power of real-time editing: Looking over your work and editing at the same time will save you time. You’ll be identifying weaknesses on the go, making improvements simultaneously. If you go through this process three to four times, you’ll end up with a polished result that wouldn’t require any additional work. 

 

• Take a break before reviewing: Stepping away from the project will help you gain a fresh perspective before doing the final review. That’s a hack writers and other creative professionals know all too well. Taking a break may seem counterintuitive and it will probably make you feel like you’re wasting time. A break, however, will effortlessly boost your productivity. Allowing your batteries to get recharged will help you spot issues and overcome them much faster than you would have ever been capable of in the past.

 

• Practice, practice, practice: That’s not so much of a step but a general philosophy to always incorporate in the work that you do. The more you do post-production and the more you enhance your workflows, the better and faster your outcomes are going to be in the future. So, continue editing as much as you can and explore different techniques and approaches. In time, you’ll discover the one that’s most in line with who you are as a professional. 

 

Keep on Working, Keep on Growing

 

Needless to say, workflow creation is far from a static process.

The processes you conceptualize and put in place at the beginning of your career may no longer serve you well in a couple of years. Getting more clients will have you changing the way you handle post-production when the number of projects is limited.

In time, technology is also likely to change.

As new software products become available and as they start incorporating more sophisticated capabilities (like AI, for example), you’ll once again need to alter your workflows to start benefiting from these opportunities.

Growing your wedding photography or videography business is all about being very professional and maintaining a degree of flexibility. If your workflows can accommodate the changing nature of the work that you do, chances are that you’ll enjoy sustainable growth and exciting professional opportunities in the long run.