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Shoot: The Dress

Lesson 20 from: The Art of Wedding Filmmaking

Alfio Stuto

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Lesson Info

20. Shoot: The Dress

Lesson Info

Shoot: The Dress

So generally day, we want to be alone so she's decent. So what happens is I would just let them know in the photography if they're especially, you know, if the photographers are a fema photographer and she's going to be ok to be there, I will communicate with the bridesmaids also say, hey, gills, when she's like decent and okay, like for me to come, come in and take the shots, can you just let me know just before you brought her up? Is that okay? Cool. Cool. I'll just be about it'll just give me a yeah. So I do that, then there where? That I need to be there to capture, you know, hope putting up the dress. So doing the buttons or doing the zipper and adjusting anything. So they're doing that. And then in the meantime, you know, if it takes if they say to me are look, wait, there's been a malfunction? We just need to pick something and so something can use come back in five minutes, then in that five minutes, then I would maybe just chill. Or if there's some other detail that I can get ...

with a slider, then I'll do that, so utilize my time. And so are you thinking I need the following shots I guess you know people keep asking in your mind like trying to get into your mind you think you are you thinking okay I need the mother buttoning up the shots are the dress I need the bride's expression when she looks in the mirror for the first time like are you thinking these things are you just gonna capture what happened? I'm looking for them but I try not to um sometimes I will kind of if for some reason it happens I don't get it and I think it's a really good thing to capture what I would do it's kind of sneaky but it's just a way to get the moment I say hey do you want to just just kind of notice the bottom's like all good but just know this just to be sure they want to be I know it's kind of cheeky but very really I do that I just kind of like prompt them that could just be them just doing a little fiddle and by that's like bank I'm going to get it I missed the cheeky part how are you being cheeky? Well, I'm just saying on do you want to just check the buttons? I think they're not right I think that this doesn't be sure I noticed something sticking out you want to just I just thought I'd let you know I only know that sometimes if if the sun rays and I missed ah shot that kind of completes the sequence and then I was gonna go in there and get it and we're all happy and it's like there's nothing ground what do you mean? I don't know I just saw something now is really revealed my secret I know what you're doing you're ready so before that actually happens just to let you know I would this we usually what happens with the photographer they they assess you know the space that they want to do the dress right um and sometimes you need to move the furniture it's cool to do that so let's let's do that and I'll show you how we do that so we get our photographer so just get you just to hold that. So um this is even like in the beginning when we like talking about things you say, do you have any page every preference I'm thinking like maybe we should we so think about the language we I think we should dump I think will be great for us to get her an address in here but probably need to like later on we could both do it together we could just move we'll check with them she should be fine for sure yes on but there will be fine because they want their hide you if I'd you to capture the moment so they'll trust you what you need to do. So in this in this example here, I would definitely move the coffee table, right? And I'll just leave the couch, but the sofa, but I'll just kind of spread out a little bit because you want to capture the reactions you want to get close up off the button. Do you want to get mum getting teary? It's gonna have to say sorry, I'm not making flying just tryingto I just did that animated it's kind of that he's got kind of used to it. We're having lunch and I'm this breaking into character it's all good, so yeah, so let we'll do that now and mind you, we we've done this. This is actually a good time. Good time to do this is when she's getting and if it's not if it's ah if it's a female photographer and she's already like inside because she's getting things that she can get because she's there I'll just get um I think this is going to be different there's gonna be lots of people, you know, they could be maybe another there could be a friend that's you know, our brother or something, so this hey mackey, give me a hand, and then I'll just make some room so I'll just check with them beforehand this is before they get into dress hey you know when we get into the way film the putting on the dress you you're okay if we just move that so far later on we we do that with polite just shifted a bit make some room lindsay's already gone home you know and she's she's done her hair so she's not really dead but I will say hi how you doing good yeah all right he's like this guys so weird it's like different from ok cool so you wanna have some space it was nice like coming in here and they're coming right so I'll get them on apart they're not going away few because they're just this is what happens right is my experience that is going there and you go for it and we just get a couple of get the right couple the bride's might just come in and just pretend that you're getting ready for the helping has to come in you probably just fluffing around here that's what generally what happens so I get my camera on and I'm just going away I'm just gonna shoot and die for it okay so I'm just okay I got that shot and then I look around what's happening here catches you doing that there yes if you stop doing that I'm gonna worry about that okay recording that and then okay and as you're shooting alfio can you talk about what's going on in your mind as far as how you yeah I'm just getting different different angles in different features off the whole process so I'm just looking for hands you know fluffing about these girls are just you know, adjusting here so I got here and I got all right probably go this good shot I want to get a bit of a face I just uh come on he's just come through here you can do it you're doing it seems like probably fucking away um let's get back here I'm just constant like just looking for like, points where the shots are interesting my guess is they're doing having a funny moment there so there and then um you know, there'll be times when you know um just trying to think so that like if it's got a zipper then obviously that would happen very quickly but obviously if there's like a button thing then there will be um so just demonstrate visit busing just do that so just pretend it's a button me obviously wouldn't do you wanna go? Ok, you pretend there's a button to pretend this button's a like damn it only to get the shot but let's assume there are buttons because there are dresses that have zippers like this one then have buttons so you know, I like to kind of and usually like it's if the buttons like they should there will be another bridesmaid coming in and helping and you know what like this is not a super critical critical moment it's just that doing it upside would say hey mom has you doing that can you just shift a little bit that way see straight on cool okay so just continue on fixing other schools all right there's nothing wrong with just very subtle quick direction you know but when it comes to a point where you say all just stop what you're doing can you just like kind of like put your hand there and yeah I want to get it like a shot of details show off the dress so you know and then like okay there's like she's like looking there bang okay then I can pull focus front and I'll feel I know I asked this already but I'm trying to understand as you're shooting thinking about the edit are you thinking about that? I think about what you're thinking well, what I'm thinking is okay so I want to get some faces write the show emotion I want to get close ups off the actual button obviously getting video exposure I want to get a bit of a sense off the scene all right so nice framing I'm not necessarily shooting through things but that's you know that's a nice frame and that's e I got you yeah fine I might I might that boring fine you know what I'm thinking so you know like you want to you want to basically establish the scene a little bit so that it's nothing wrong with having a simple wide shot just frame it nicely that's because they'll probably just so like getting all teary and stuff like that and then I'll come in come in and I can go like this she's talking with her right think of the way we go right bang very very nice academy award nominee goes to oh my gosh it is the bridesmaids so you know like the sense you question I'm constantly looking at the moment but think about the edit and varying the the frame okay so establish the frame show the view what's happening so they get a sense of the space yeah that they're in there they're in the house right there in the house so show that and then cut in that's why I love the fifty you know it's one of the lenses I could cut in bang get that that look that those those emotions there so it sounds to me like you have this vision in your head of how you would edit this but you have somebody else do the editing correct you some editing you but not a lot this so how do you convey that message of what you envision to an editor that's not you it's something that's between overall for the whole edit or I would give information about what I found quite profound during the day in terms of speeches given a bit of an insight on the many stories that I captured man like I was able to capture, like some really cool many stories here, the location, they when they're walking down the field, they were talking about this it's a sound by look out for our magnets and us, and I'll give that to my editor so that's really critical because your editor, if you're getting someone else to edit your films, even if it's your dedicated editor there, not there on the field, they're not there at the wedding so it's important that you make that mental checklist not mental like note and then write that down or put in a digital format and email that and that a system so on and she's about to put the shoes on and then I'm like, okay, so I get down, come around and I go another chance and then it's alive on about mr thank you know and then you know, if I if I managed to get that first one, I get a signal on, so this is good, this is pretend that I got that's the first one and do that is the second one again sometimes I don't get it sometimes the first one I miss it it happens I'm human right? But I know the second I get it you don't get it man, I don't have to leave myself so if you know fifty, fifty sometimes I get the first one in the second one come over top and go bank great for the and if I'm really quick quick enough that I could do I wasn't so too bad but generally like these things pick your moments thes putting on the shoes they happen very fast so you just need to pick your moments and go right? So I go for the epic reveal shot or do I just get a nice frame? Good exposure you know everything and capture it you better off going with the ladder just get what you need but things when things like that so they okay so they're happening till happening, so establish nice frame, right? Come around ditto come back around and get her reaction be crying by now like thi's every way so I'll get it nice and tight. I saw what you short she's having a moment here. All right? Remember rick is laughing date down he's getting really emotional because she's thinking about him and she got when she got married and feel sad and and I'm getting the shot so yeah faces reactions details like the detail like, you know, like she handed her flowers so I want to show that that's why she was crying she handed her flowers so she's like okay, this is really you know, it's signifying at that point she got the bo o k all right? This is really happening, so capture the whole sequence, right? The reaction what there exchanging could be maybe the ring the sec what happens when they give the ringle put the jewelry on at that point they like okay, well, it's really happening so you just need to establish the min the mini story bring get a nice close up and then something I sometimes michael, I'll take out the macro the macro like using it for them we're doing the makeup you seen some of the shots before, but you can also use it for they scenes because the macro one hundred mil macro can be used as just a standard hundred mil as well. It's a great lens that you can stand back. And you know if you feel that you know about moving in to close, you might get a reaction like a distraction that you don't want to do that and use a a macro under meal because the funnel night I'll make it's about observing, making the set wept for you so you can control the lightning be polite. So then, you know, if you have to get in positions, that might freak out and they feel good and you want them to feel good. And then you get your shots and everyone's happy.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

4 aspects to killer shots.pdf
Bon Journo_pricing guide.pdf
Ceremony floor plan-one cam op.pdf
Ceremony floor plan_2 cam.pdf
Couple Questionnaire.pdf
Interview shoot-floor plan.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

user 62b97f
 

Excellent workshop! Worth every penny! Alfio really knows his stuff and is very inspiring. This class made my work look MUCH better. I would recommend this class to all my freinds. Cheers!

Trish Lloyd
 

This "class" is AMAZING. So much information packed into the hours! Alfio is a relaxed and fun "instructor" that you can tell has a lot of passion for what he does. Worth watching for sure!

Student Work

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