How to Use Slow Motion in Wedding Videos

Wedding video tips and tricks focus on many creative approaches you can use to put emphasis on the most emotional moments. Slow motion video can highlight key details when used correctly.

To be successful in your approach, however, use the effect sparingly. Anything that’s overdone will take away from the natural appeal of the ceremony and the reception shots.

As a wedding videographer, you have the creative freedom to shoot and edit a video in the way that meets the couple’s expectations. Still, follow few simple rules and guidelines when using special effects like slow motion video.

 

What Does Slow Motion Do?

 

To understand the best use of slow motion in wedding videos, you have to get at least a basic idea of what it does. In cinematography, slow motion builds significance in a moment. Viewers get to savor the little details that will otherwise go by unnoticed.

Whether you’re focusing on the face of the bride or beautiful table arrangements, ornate aspects of the shot will pop to give it more richness. A filmmaker can drive attention to any detail through slow motion introduction. Feelings are displayed clearly. The same applies to the intricacy of a wedding dress or the vastness of the beach where the wedding is taking place.

 

Should You Go for In-Camera Slow Motion?

 

Adjusting the settings of the camera itself will allow you to create slow motion video. The other option is to shoot at regular speed and to change the footage during the editing process. Which approach is better and which one delivers the most beautiful results?

Adjusting the video camera settings allows for the creation of true slow motion. Typically, video is recorded and it plays back at 30 frames per second. In the case of slow motion video, the 30 frames will be played per two or more seconds.

This means you will be getting 60 frames per second for motion that is twice as slow as the normal one. Exposure problems, however, could make it difficult to shoot true slow motion videos.

In addition, some cameras lack such settings. Thus, shooting at normal speed and changing the footage during editing may be a bit more practical. If you choose for regular speed during the video shoot, you can also give your clients two working versions. Showing them the wedding video with and without slow motion elements will give customers the control over the creative direction.

 

Wedding Video Tips and Tricks: Slow Mo Introduction

 

Slow motion gives the viewer an opportunity to take in every single detail that’s being depicted. The use of this effect makes sense when you want the viewer to really take in the ambiance and the beauty of the frame.

Many wedding videographers will thus opt for slow motion in the introduction of the wedding video. Slow mo can be used to demonstrate the beauty of the scenery for an outdoor or a destination wedding. It can also work beautifully with scenic shots created via a drone camera.

Scenery and landscapes can be quite busy to explore at normal speed. Thus, the introduction of the video presented in slow motion can really highlight the beauty of the day.

 

Slow Motion for Truly Touching Moments

 

Professional wedding videos tips and tricks also suggest you could use slow motion to highlight a very touching and intimate moment that the couple shared. The first dance is one example of a wedding video element that can benefit from the introduction of the slow motion effect. While you shouldn’t present the entire dance in slow mo, the effect could be added to the beginning or the end (for example, during a turn, an embrace or a gentle kiss).

This effect can create really powerful emotional imagery if you are very strategic about its introduction and placement. Thus, don’t feature a slow motion picture because it’s going to look cool. Ask yourself about the effect and whether it adds to the value of the video. If you don’t know exactly why you’re employing the effect, you should probably leave it out of the finished product.

 

Here Comes the Bride

 

Perhaps one of the best options for the introduction of the special effect is the first appearance that the bride makes walking down the aisle. The moment is dramatic enough on its own but a little bit of special effect highlighting can do no harm. This is one of the moments that you can actually shoot in true slow motion because you know when it’s happening, you can set up your equipment and you don’t need to be improvising.

A tripod and the placement of the right external lights will ensure optimal conditions to shoot the bride and the first reaction of the groom in slow motion. The movement of the bride, especially if you’re using stabilizing equipment, can look incredibly spectacular in slow motion. If you’re shooting an ethnic wedding and you’d like to present the beauty of a costume, a custom or a traditional aspect of the ceremony, slow motion would be your safest bet.

 

Wedding Video Tips and Tricks: Don’t Overdo It

 

A general rule of thumb for a short wedding video is to use slow motion just once. If you rely on the effect all the time, it will quickly lose its meaning and the audience will get bored. Instead of highlighting key moments or the beauty of the venue, you will be annoying your audience. Good slow motion is also created by experienced professionals who know what they’re doing.

Videographers who do not have sufficient experience with post-production should definitely outsource this part of wedding video creation. Otherwise, the effects could look way too amateurish and out of place. While most editing software does have slow motion features, a few adjustments will have to be made to give the moment strength and natural appeal.

You can get very creative with wedding videos shoots, especially if the bride and groom give you stylistic freedom. Slow motion can be a beautiful addition to any clip but it could also ruin the moment. Be strategic, use special effects sparingly and have a clear concept about the additional appeal that the respective feature will contribute to.