This is not a wedding video in its traditional sense but rather a short movie, I tried to have stories within the stories, to give a portrait of Bernadette and Jamie, of their love, of their family and friends, of their lives.
Hope you like it !
Apr 28, 2013
First wedding video edit
Right so here it is...the video that made me switch from FCP 7 to FCP X...half way through (if anyone out there is thinking of doing that, just start from scratch, it's way simpler !)
This is not a wedding video in its traditional sense but rather a short movie, I tried to have stories within the stories, to give a portrait of Bernadette and Jamie, of their love, of their family and friends, of their lives.
Hope you like it !
This is not a wedding video in its traditional sense but rather a short movie, I tried to have stories within the stories, to give a portrait of Bernadette and Jamie, of their love, of their family and friends, of their lives.
Hope you like it !
Apr 26, 2013
Coming soon !! first wedding video - full edit
For my first first experience of an expected equally stressful, exciting and challenging videographing of a wedding, I made a promise to myself : I shall be enjoying this thoroughly and I shall learn loads and be thrilled about/with the outcome, alongside the bride and groom...phew ! it happened !
Pic Andres Poveda
I got the video and DVD ready earlier than anticipated (though, for the editors out there, I managed to finally convince myself to do the jump between FCP7 to X...after...how many years ??? anyway, that only happened half way through, should have started from scratch it might have been just as quick !0
but since I have this nice release poster stating the release is tomorrow, I ll hold off until tomorrow (only lucky VIPs are my amazing bride and groom).
I decided to take a fresh (read : partially informed of industry standard) take on wedding videography : how about we do a short movie of 2 people's best day ever, 2 people's love, 2 people's life in a nutshell, and make something interesting for anyone from the very first second right to the end, and be able to shed a tear or two ? So I put the emphasis on editing the footage into a short movie format, with a storyline written down beforehand, with stories within the story, while keeping a clear record of the day, in its entirety. Hope you like it {tomorrow}
oh, talking about tomorrow, I am starting a fantastic project this weekend with a good friend of mine, Monika Pawlak, I ll tell more about her cool idea later on.
Portrait of Michael & Elijah
Oh yeah I am into actor's headshots, I love them guys !
There's an interesting energy between an actor, trained to perform in front of a camera / audience, and a photographer, it's very interesting, 2 types of creativity, 2 angles, same eagerness to challenge each other !
Best of luck to Michael O'Driscoll in finding the right agent for himself, he's a very interesting chap.
And what about Elijah ? Well, he signed up with Fraser's now :-D
Mar 30, 2013
Why we take pictures, why we make videos
I came across this wonderful story and this amazing video here, made by the brilliant Hailey Bartholomew.
Such a journey we're brought into, like real deep. I've never heard anyone telling this story in its thorough entirety, from the low to the high...ending with such a positive & hopeful outlook.
I really felt compelled to share this video because it summarises why I do what I do : it not only captures beauty and a story of mankind, it enhances it, it's about allowing someone's story to be told, and delivering it in a clear way, and sharing.
Recently I video'ed a wedding with a 5dMkII (and just a camcorder on a tripod) and the brilliant photographer who was on duty too said I was making my life harder by not using pro cams. The thing is I dont see the point in shooting a wedding if it's not with the camera that I love working with, with the lenses I love working with. But still, I thought a lot about this, until I saw this video. Yeap, I might miss a few crucial seconds because I'm manual focusing, and a decent amount of time synchronising sounds, but hey, that's so worth it, isn't it ?
Such a journey we're brought into, like real deep. I've never heard anyone telling this story in its thorough entirety, from the low to the high...ending with such a positive & hopeful outlook.
I really felt compelled to share this video because it summarises why I do what I do : it not only captures beauty and a story of mankind, it enhances it, it's about allowing someone's story to be told, and delivering it in a clear way, and sharing.
Recently I video'ed a wedding with a 5dMkII (and just a camcorder on a tripod) and the brilliant photographer who was on duty too said I was making my life harder by not using pro cams. The thing is I dont see the point in shooting a wedding if it's not with the camera that I love working with, with the lenses I love working with. But still, I thought a lot about this, until I saw this video. Yeap, I might miss a few crucial seconds because I'm manual focusing, and a decent amount of time synchronising sounds, but hey, that's so worth it, isn't it ?
Feb 26, 2013
A handmade slider by Rob, the retired engineer
A few weeks ago, I got to test a Varavon 80cm camera slider. Quite unimpressed by the track which didn't allow smooth movement and footage at all. I guess it needed to be oiled big time. I only needed to see how it looked on screen to know it was pointless to bother recording it since we didn't have time to oil it or figure how to make it work. There are some instances where you could get away with a bumpy footage, but that's not often the case and that's a ridiculous amount of work in post for cheap gear.
That's the kind of stuff you really need quality material to be worth using.
I don't really felt a great need for a slider but this experience challenged me to find something better and still at a low price, considering I wouldn't use it often anyway but would appreciate to have one every now and then.
And I found this really helpful chap, Rob, with his own version of the slider (turns out there's also an angry fella selling a similar version but I'm not going to entertain any discussion around who's the original designer). Rob's slider is much wider and with quite a different design from the vast majority of entry level sliders out there.
I've done my first tests using the first tripod I could find (Slik with a Velbon vid head, which turned out to be not the best suited for the job since it's a bit wobbly), put the slider onto the Velbon quick release, and then I used the 3/8" screw to mount the camera. A note here to say how I wished we could all stick to the metric system as these quarters and three eights don't mean shit to me :-D
Anywho, I then figured I could just mount another tripod head so it's always on and mount the camera on it, as otherwise it is time consuming to try and screw the thing onto the camera with the narrow space you have under the plate. But this will be for the next time.
The tests I did today were done fixing the camera straight onto the plate.
For a first tests, and the first proper times I got to use a slider, I'm pretty happy about it. It tends to bend a bit on both ends, which is noticeable on the footage but I expected to be worst. I was using a 5D MkII with a 24-105 L lens, so, 'bit of weight. (1.5Kg according to dpreview...). I think 2 tripods on each ends (or a tripod with a better head) and a bit more pressure on the camera and I slide (along with a better rhythm on my end) would be ideal in my opinion.
I think its main strength are the wheels and how they roll.
Have a look at the 3 tests that I made. Like I said, I barely had practiced this before so my "technique" doesn't compliment the slider at all, and neither does the use of just one tripod at its centre with a lousy video head, please bare that in mind. Also I've used most of the length, I'd say 3/4 of it on each scenario. I haven't tried vertical slider. I'd need to get my hands onto another tripod head that would allow me to rotate it 90 degrees. I'd be interesting to see how it does with downwards shooting in the semi vertical position.
Hope that's helpful !
That's the kind of stuff you really need quality material to be worth using.
I don't really felt a great need for a slider but this experience challenged me to find something better and still at a low price, considering I wouldn't use it often anyway but would appreciate to have one every now and then.
And I found this really helpful chap, Rob, with his own version of the slider (turns out there's also an angry fella selling a similar version but I'm not going to entertain any discussion around who's the original designer). Rob's slider is much wider and with quite a different design from the vast majority of entry level sliders out there.
I've done my first tests using the first tripod I could find (Slik with a Velbon vid head, which turned out to be not the best suited for the job since it's a bit wobbly), put the slider onto the Velbon quick release, and then I used the 3/8" screw to mount the camera. A note here to say how I wished we could all stick to the metric system as these quarters and three eights don't mean shit to me :-DAnywho, I then figured I could just mount another tripod head so it's always on and mount the camera on it, as otherwise it is time consuming to try and screw the thing onto the camera with the narrow space you have under the plate. But this will be for the next time.
The tests I did today were done fixing the camera straight onto the plate.
For a first tests, and the first proper times I got to use a slider, I'm pretty happy about it. It tends to bend a bit on both ends, which is noticeable on the footage but I expected to be worst. I was using a 5D MkII with a 24-105 L lens, so, 'bit of weight. (1.5Kg according to dpreview...). I think 2 tripods on each ends (or a tripod with a better head) and a bit more pressure on the camera and I slide (along with a better rhythm on my end) would be ideal in my opinion.
Have a look at the 3 tests that I made. Like I said, I barely had practiced this before so my "technique" doesn't compliment the slider at all, and neither does the use of just one tripod at its centre with a lousy video head, please bare that in mind. Also I've used most of the length, I'd say 3/4 of it on each scenario. I haven't tried vertical slider. I'd need to get my hands onto another tripod head that would allow me to rotate it 90 degrees. I'd be interesting to see how it does with downwards shooting in the semi vertical position.
Hope that's helpful !
Feb 22, 2013
Fx Amps Bad Train review video
Nearly 2 years since we did the first review video (over 2,000 views woohoo)
We decided to do a 3rd one for Pascal's new amp, the Bad Train. I had a lot of other shoots to edit so it's only now that I get to finish its edit.
Jan 27, 2013
Recent fashion photoshoots in Dublin with Style Skin
New fun photoshoots in studio, in a gorgeous penthouse and in the freezing cold of Dublin streets with Style Skin who challenged me to match her high fashion sense with as varied moods as I could. love a bit of challenge !
Jan 12, 2013
Festive times in West Cork
Hope you all feel refreshed (reborn even?) after the end of the year break. Well, it either refreshes you or it kills you really.
We had the simplest but loveliest Christmas time we could hope for in West Cork, in the Sheep's head Peninsula.
Here's what my "50mm only" homework brought back. I really enjoyed working with this lens, it was an interesting exercise to work with a prime lens only. However I heard myself saying "damm you, I can't step back anymore and this is clearly a wide shot" etc... I dont like how a lens dictastes me what my composition should be, but then again it makes you more committed to a shot as it is harder to find the right composition.
We had the simplest but loveliest Christmas time we could hope for in West Cork, in the Sheep's head Peninsula.
Here's what my "50mm only" homework brought back. I really enjoyed working with this lens, it was an interesting exercise to work with a prime lens only. However I heard myself saying "damm you, I can't step back anymore and this is clearly a wide shot" etc... I dont like how a lens dictastes me what my composition should be, but then again it makes you more committed to a shot as it is harder to find the right composition.
And here's to the January blues ! Blue is beautiful, what's depressing about it ?
It was shot with the 50mm 2.5 macro lens. That's right, a little gift from Santa Sylvie.
Dec 21, 2012
Let's clock out of blogger for the festive season
I'm going somewhere with no internet access, that's right, OFFLINE for 1 week (can't wait !)
Planning to simplify my gear while there too : just my 5DmkII and a 50mm which I keep forgetting about and it creeps back into my eyesight every so often. Im not a prime lens girl, I just love being overwhelmed by the speed and all the possibilities of a brilliant zoom lens like the 24-70. But it's also lovely to slow down when you can afford, and step back or forward until you got the frame right. These portraits of my cats were taken by the 50mm 1.8. It does make the mess in the kitchen neater, doesn't it :-D
Anyway, I ll have hours of fun with this lens, hope you get to shoot lots too and have fun with photography.
Style Skin fashion editorial shoot in Cafe en Seine, Dublin
A good few years ago, the super duper guys from Cafe En Seine allowed me to shoot on their 1st floor (magnificently decorated in art deco) for 2 exciting 1920s looking shoot for jeweler Celine C.
I am really really happy and grateful that they allowed us in again so close to Christmas for Style Skin's last shoot of the year.
I am really really happy and grateful that they allowed us in again so close to Christmas for Style Skin's last shoot of the year.
We'd be lying our teeth if we said that it was boring and we enjoyed no minute of it. It was actually very interesting to find ways to blend Justyna's ultra modern style with the art deco. And have fun with it.
Dec 20, 2012
Awesome rotating table in use : product shot
I finally found a proper use for the rotating table (well, technically called a turntable and mostly used for display!) : Potter Colm De Ris had lent me a stunning teapot along with the bowl that features in the video that I posted a few weeks ago, what better subjects for a first spin !
The table turns 2 1/2 times per minute which is a perfect pace for video : not too quick so we get the details out but not too slow so I don't need to shoot ages to get what I need.
http://www.sylviephotography.com
The table turns 2 1/2 times per minute which is a perfect pace for video : not too quick so we get the details out but not too slow so I don't need to shoot ages to get what I need.
http://www.sylviephotography.com
Dec 17, 2012
Flavors.me
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| pdn jan2013 |
January 2013 pdn issue is PACKED with interesting information for self promotion (website advice, photo promo ideas, social media tools...)
One article about 10 tools for social media mentioned flavors.me. I confess I've never heard of this website before but I love the idea so I gave it a go right here.
It's handy to combine all online presence into 1 page. So far I've tried the free version to give it a trial, but the upgrade has lots of extra tools and options... worth checking out !
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| Sylvie photography flavors.me screengrab |
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