Camera settings for wedding video

Stills habits don’t carry straight over to video. Shutter speed sets how motion looks, so you fix it and control exposure in other ways, and small choices on the day decide how easy the edit will be. This article covers the settings that matter most for wedding video and why. It’s part of our guide to video for hybrid wedding photographers.

What frame rate should you shoot wedding video at?

Frame rates follow the local mains frequency, because mains lighting flickers in step with it. In 50 Hz regions such as the UK and Europe, the standard rates are 25 fps for normal speed and 50 fps for slow motion. In 60 Hz regions such as North America, they are 30 and 60 fps, with 24 fps also common for a film look.

Pick one base frame rate for every camera and phone, and switch to double that rate for moments you want in slow motion, such as confetti, walking shots or a spin on the dance floor. Played in a 25 fps film, 50 fps footage runs at half speed. Keep the vows and speeches at the base rate, because they carry sound and need to play at normal speed.

What is the 180-degree shutter rule?

The rule says to set your shutter speed to about one over double the frame rate. At 25 fps, that’s 1/50. It gives each frame a natural amount of motion blur. Much faster shutter speeds make movement look choppy, and slower ones smear it.

How do you stop flicker under artificial light?

Mains lighting pulses twice in every cycle of the mains supply. If your shutter speed doesn’t match that rhythm, you see flicker or rolling bands, especially under LED and fluorescent lights. At 50 Hz, use 1/50 or 1/100. At 60 Hz, use 1/60 or 1/120. This is one reason 25 and 50 fps suit the UK, since their natural shutter speeds are already flicker-safe.

If you shoot 60 fps in a 50 Hz country, use 1/100 rather than 1/120. LED screens and stage lighting can flicker at other frequencies, and some cameras offer fine shutter steps or flicker-reduction settings for this. Test on the dance floor before the first dance.

How do you set ISO, aperture and ND for video?

With the shutter speed fixed, exposure comes from aperture, ISO and ND.

• Indoors, open the aperture and raise the ISO as needed. Don’t drop the shutter speed below the rule to gain light, because motion will smear. Some cameras have a second base ISO that keeps noise lower in dim rooms, so check your manual.
• Outdoors, even base ISO at a wide aperture is too bright at 1/50 in sunshine. A variable ND filter cuts the light so you can keep the shutter speed and a shallow depth of field.
• Keep exposure manual where you can, so brightness doesn’t shift during a clip. Use zebras or the histogram to protect the highlights in a white dress.

Why fix white balance for wedding video?

Auto white balance shifts as the camera moves between light sources, so colour can change in the middle of a clip, and different cameras make different choices. Set white balance by Kelvin or by preset instead. Around 5600K for daylight and 3200K for tungsten are the usual starting points. Match every camera as closely as you can so the shots sit together in the edit.

Should you shoot a log picture profile?

Log profiles keep more highlight and shadow detail, but the footage looks flat until you grade it, clip by clip, and it needs careful exposure. A standard picture profile looks right straight out of the camera and is the fastest to deliver. For hybrid coverage, where the edit is already the bottleneck, a standard profile is usually the practical choice.

Why shoot 4K for a vertical teaser?

When you shoot horizontally, a vertical teaser is cut from a slice of the frame. A 9:16 slice of a 3840×2160 frame is about 1215×2160 pixels, more than the 1080×1920 a teaser needs. The same slice of a 1920×1080 frame is about 608×1080, so it has to be enlarged and looks soft.

Shoot 4K, keep faces away from the very edges of the frame, and check whether your camera crops the sensor at the frame rate you choose. There’s more on this in framing wedding video for vertical.

Which autofocus settings work best for video?

Use continuous autofocus with face and eye detection. Slow the autofocus transition speed a little so focus moves smoothly between people, and lower the tracking sensitivity where your camera offers it, so focus doesn’t jump to a guest walking through the frame. For a locked-off ceremony camera, face detection or manual focus on the couple both work.

How do you keep handheld footage steady?

Turn on in-body or lens stabilisation for handheld shots, bearing in mind that electronic stabilisation crops the frame. Use a gimbal for walking shots and a tripod for long moments. Handheld, tuck your elbows in, hold the camera close and move slowly. The video kit guide covers gimbals and tripods that suit hybrid work.

How long should each clip be?

Hold each shot for ten seconds or more, and start recording a moment before the action. Short clips leave nothing to cut on the beat, as cutting a wedding film to the beat explains.

For long moments, keep rolling. Many cameras split a long recording into several files once it reaches a size limit. Nothing is lost, but keep every part together in its original folder, as the footage workflow describes.