c/freelance-videographers

Just hit 37 straight days of filming and my brain feels like mush

I was looking at my calendar last night and realized I haven't had a single day off from shooting since the start of April. It all started with a big corporate job in Austin that ran long, then a friend needed a last minute favor for a music video, and it just snowballed. I'm not even mad, just amazed I haven't forgotten a memory card or shown up to the wrong address yet. The weirdest part was filming a talking head interview for a local bakery and almost asking the owner if they wanted their 'b roll to be extra crispy'. I was so tired I mixed up video terms with cooking. Has anyone else pushed through a marathon shoot schedule and started to completely lose it like that?

Vent: I shot a wedding with a 50mm lens only and the couple loved it

A bride's mom in Austin said my wedding highlight felt like a 'real movie', not just a video, which got me thinking about how we frame our work.

Honestly, I always just called them 'wedding videos', but after she said that, I'm wondering if changing my whole service language to 'documentary storytelling' would actually help clients see the value more and maybe justify charging 15% more.

I finally counted how many times I've said 'let's do one more for safety' this year

I was looking through my project notes from the last 12 months and decided to add it up. The number was 247. Two hundred and forty-seven times I asked a client or a subject for one more take, just to be sure. It started as a nervous habit on my first few solo gigs, but now it's a reflex. I realized it matters because those extra takes have saved me from so many small disasters, like a battery dying mid-interview or a plane flying overhead. They're the difference between a good cut and having to use a clip with bad audio. It's not about being unsure, it's about building in a tiny bit of extra security for free. Has anyone else tracked a weird little habit that ended up being a huge help?

My drone decided to land in a pond during a real estate shoot last Thursday

It was a DJI Mini 3 Pro, just hovering for a final shot, and the battery gave a low warning and dropped faster than I've ever seen. The thing went straight into the client's backyard koi pond. I fished it out with a net, but it's completely fried. Now I'm stuck between just buying a new one or trying to claim it on my business insurance, which feels like a hassle. Has anyone had to file an insurance claim for a total gear loss like this?

Rant: My client work went from local ads to full documentaries in under two years

Back in 2022, most of my gigs were 30-second spots for small businesses in my city. Now, I just finished a 20-minute documentary for a non-profit. The shift happened after I posted three detailed case studies on my website showing my process from start to finish. Suddenly, the inquiries changed completely. Is it better to chase the bigger, longer projects or stick with the quicker, simpler jobs that pay the bills faster?

Had a drone battery fail mid-flight over the Santa Monica Pier

I was filming a client's brand launch video, about 200 feet up, when my main drone just dropped. It was a brand new battery, but it went from 60% to zero in seconds. I managed to crash-land it in the sand, missing the crowd by maybe 30 feet. Has anyone else had a battery fail like that, and what brand do you trust now?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to shoot a wedding with two cheap cameras

I did a friend's wedding in Denver last month and only brought my main camera and a backup I got for $300. The main one died right before the first dance! I had to use the cheap one for the whole thing, and you know what? The client loved the video. It made me see that having a solid backup plan is way more important than having the best gear. Has anyone else had a shoot saved by their backup camera?

My uncle, a retired news cameraman, told me to never take a job for less than $500 a day. I did one for $300 last month and it was a total nightmare.

I started using a simple audio checklist before every shoot and my client feedback went from 'good' to 'great' in about two months.

Shoutout to the wedding planner in Austin who changed my whole approach

I was filming a backyard wedding there about five years ago, and the planner pulled me aside during the cake cutting. She said, 'Stop chasing the couple and film the guests' faces.' I turned my camera around and caught the bride's grandma crying happy tears, her hands over her mouth. That one shot got more reaction from the client than all my steady ceremony footage. Now I always make sure to get those guest reaction shots early in the day. What's a simple tip someone gave you that stuck?

Filming a festival in Austin made me rethink my whole gear setup

Everyone says you need a big rig for live events, but I shot a full day at the Pecan Street Festival with just a mirrorless camera and a single lens. The small size let me move through the crowd and get shots a bigger camera would have missed. Has anyone else found that less gear can actually mean better footage?

My client in Phoenix insisted on a drone shot I knew would look terrible

I did it anyway to keep the peace, and now they're upset the final video looks 'cheap'. Has anyone else had to push back on a bad creative request, and how do you do it without losing the gig?

I shot a wedding in Denver with two different audio setups and the difference was huge

For the ceremony, I used my old Rode VideoMic Pro on the camera, but for the speeches I put a Zoom H1n on the podium. The H1n audio was so much cleaner (no wind noise, no room echo) that I had to re-record the ceremony audio from the videographer's feed. Has anyone else had to fix ceremony audio after the fact, and what's your go-to backup plan?

Remember when everyone shot weddings at 60fps for that 'cinematic' look?

I just saw a new videographer's highlight reel from a Boston wedding, and the whole thing was in slow motion. It felt like a dream, sure, but you couldn't feel the energy of the day. I learned the hard way after my first three gigs that mixing in 24fps for the real-time moments gives the edit a heartbeat. Does anyone else get tired of the everything-in-slo-mo trend?

PSA: My buddy told me to stop giving clients unlimited revisions...

He said it just invites endless tweaks and kills your profit. I finally tried capping it at three rounds on a recent wedding job, and the couple actually made better choices faster. Anyone else find a sweet spot for revision limits?

Looking back, that $400 gimbal I bought in 2018 felt like a huge risk but it basically paid my rent for a whole season.

I was shooting a lot of run-and-gun event work in Chicago and the smooth shots it gave me, compared to my old shaky handheld stuff, is what made clients start calling me back specifically for more polished jobs.

I finally gave up on my old audio recorder after a wedding last weekend

I was filming a ceremony in Chicago and my Zoom H4n just stopped recording halfway through the vows. I had to use my camera's built-in mic for the rest, which sounded awful. I checked the SD card and it was fine, but the recorder just froze up completely. Has anyone else had gear fail at the worst possible time and what's your backup plan?

My uncle told me to never take a job for under $500 a day

I ignored him for a $350 gig in Phoenix last month and the client demanded 12 revisions, basically working for free. Anyone else have a hard price floor they won't go below?

Spent 3 hours trying to get a drone out of a tree in Boise

Client wanted a low shot through some branches. Drone clipped a limb and got stuck 30 feet up. Took me, a ladder, and a borrowed pool skimmer to finally get it down. Anyone have a better method for this kind of recovery?

I was editing a wedding video from 2015 and cringed at my own color grade...

Found the old project file and saw I'd pushed the teal and orange slider to the max on every single shot, thinking it looked 'cinematic'. A bride from that job actually reached out last week for a quick highlight reel and asked if I could make it look 'more natural this time'. How do you guys deal with clients wanting updates on work you did a long time ago, when your style has totally changed?

My uncle told me to always charge a day rate for travel, not just mileage.

He said this after I drove four hours to a shoot in Asheville and only billed for gas. The next job had a two day shoot with a hotel stay, so I tried his advice and charged a full day for travel each way. The client agreed without question, and it added $800 to my invoice. Has anyone else found a better way to price long distance jobs?

Pro tip: stop using the same boring shot for every talking head clip

I was editing a corporate job from a month ago and realized every single interview looked flat because the camera was always at eye level. I switched it up on my next shoot in Phoenix, putting one camera low and framing the subject against a window. The client said it looked 'expensive' and paid me an extra $500. Anyone else found a simple framing trick that clients love?

Bought a $1200 gimbal for a single wedding gig and it's been sitting in my closet for 8 months.

Pro tip: a client in Denver said to never send raw footage, but I did once and it landed me a 2-year contract.

They needed it fast for a legal case, and being the only one who could deliver in 24 hours made me their go-to. Anyone else had a 'bad' rule work out in their favor?