Learning Video

How to create $1000 extra income per month with wedding videos

There are a lot of ways to make a few extra bucks and a lot of scams that “tell” you how to make millions of dollars but neither seem to ever work out. What if you could create $1000 of extra income per month doing what you love? That’s what I do by filming weddings. It’s great for someone who is just starting to get into the video field, or for someone that love to video and meet new people.

Imagine finding “feeders” that regularly give you referrals where you can film weddings without doing much work? You can even decide how many weddings per month you want to film. Maybe you want to get some extra income during the summer months and you can take 3 weddings per month. I know a lot of college students who love making videos and this is a great opportunity as well as “weekend warriors” who pick up wedding videos on the side to generate extra income doing what they love.

In this economy, people are looking for ways to create some new income. I’m glad I decided to pick up a video camera years ago and much of my success in the video field is due to the weddings I have filmed. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where I don’t do much advertising but have various people calling me when a wedding is taking place. I realize this may not be typical results for everyone but I’ve put in some time to learn “the biz” and have gotten great results.

Steps to take: Go ahead…make it happen!
-Go to the podcast section and listen to a few of the episodes of how to start your video business.
-Sign up for the newsletter, where I release news, products and information before it goes on the site.
-Let me know how I can help you create a wedding video business. I would love the feedback and enjoy sharing with people how they can create extra income by shooting wedding videos.

Podcast #1: Introduction to the wedding video podcast

An Introduction on topics important to improving your wedding video business or hobby. Tips and tricks from one of the pros in the industry. Stay tuned for more in depth podcasts…coming soon.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:41 — 1.9MB)

Color Correction

It’s easy when you first start out in the video production field to focus on the simple things like: hitting the record button when you want to start so you get the bride walking down the aisle and hitting the record button a second time when you want to stop so you don’t film your feet for ten minutes.  It’s also easy to think about how to show your client that you are knowledgeable and have experience (even if your only experience is filming Christmas morning for you family).

Once you get settled in to producing wedding videos, you’ll find the importance of color correction.  I always make sure the cameras are white balanced to the correct setting, but at times I notice that when I’m editing, they still need a hint of color correction.  Sometimes worse than others but you can still see a huge difference in the brides dress when you color correct and when you don’t.  It separates the amateurs from the pros.  Most editing programs have some type of color correcting.  Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Magix Movie Edit 10, Pinnacle Studio, and Ulead VideoStudio all support color correction in some form.

Original frame but white balanced in camera from a recent wedding

This is a view of the couple without color correction.  Notice how the bride’s dress appears dingy and not crisp and pure white?  If the entire wedding is like this, then you might be able to get away with it but I would never recommend that. The skin tones are also a bit off and appear dirty and not true to life.

Color Corrected frame from a recent wedding

AHHHH…much better.  Doesn’t that look a lot better?

The Bride’s dress look a lot more pure white and the skin tones seem more natural.  This process only took me a few seconds but makes a world of difference.  Most programs allow you to adjust the colors and even let’s you determine what is true white and then adjusts the footage accordingly.

So the next time you shoot a wedding video, make sure you white balance your camera (or you’ll have results worse than those above) and spend the extra time while editing to white balance.  The Product will look better and you will look more professional.

That’s how to Improve Your Video.

New Toolkit available

I have been working hard the last few weeks to produce a toolkit that will help from start to finish of getting a wedding video to filming the ceremony and reception.

These comprehensive topics will give details on each topic and how to film like a professional. You’ll learn things like:

1)  The Basics of Filming a Wedding
2)  7 Keys to Determine your Pricing
3)  Sample price sheet of how much to charge and what to include
4)  14 ways to market yourself for free
5)  Checklist on meeting with the couple
6)  16 things you should never leave at home when filming a wedding
7)  Checklist on filming the wedding day like a pro.

Find where to get this toolkit by clicking here

This product is great for anyone who wants to learn more, earn more and make the process of filming a wedding video a lot more smooth.  Spread the word.