While attempting to create phone videos for personal use or for social media business purposes, I often neglect to tap record. Here we go again. While I am not a video technician, photography and motion capture do go hand in hand. That's why several years ago, we invited video services to join the team. However, do not worry, I will not be the one making that happen.

Instead, we have some really stellar videographers on the team who make our clients ideas and events come to life again and again. And some of them are also great photographers. What clients have been asking for lately is one person to create both services. Although we did say yes once, a potential corporate client would have to do a lot of sweet talking for me to cave. It wasn't a total disaster but there was a audio error that took additional work before we could deliver the final reel. I believe this time-consuming and inconvenience for our client would have been avoided had our videographer been focused on video only.

I get it. Photography and video services in the Dallas Fort Worth area are not cheap. However saving a dollar on your corporate event budget is not worth the risk. Bouncing between still images and motion capture can be explained in a way that makes it sound easy, worry-free. But I have spent some time doing research to back up my common sense theory that it is not a good idea.

Let's dive into the mindset of someone capturing photography:

• With camera in hand at a convention or corporate event, my mind and eyes are always searching and scanning for facial expressions, reactions, body language. 
• I must be reactive, as these moments are over in, well, a moment
• Oftentimes it is imperative to interact with the participants and attendees. With nothing but a camera in hand, quick interactions come easy.
• At large events, taking clean and prestine images are imperative for press releases, picture-centered memorabilia.

What I've learned from my video team:

• Unlike a photographer, videographers must have sustained focused. They cannot easily react to surprise moments; they must think audio, flow and camera motion
• Tripods and gimbals, microphones and shutter speeds hinder jumping from one lens-based art to another. Even if the artist has two cameras, one for each capture, it's not so easy to switch mindsets.
• Overlooking what may seem like a minor details could make the difference between crisp and clean and content that is not usable. 

As a whole, the photography industry advises against using one person to capture both mediums. It's been documented that an error was made almost every time. And, believe me, after 23 years in the industry, a big part of our team's tasks is solving problems and that's capturing either still OR motion.

Most common errors:

• Missing THE Moments
   
• Compromised Audio - yep
   
• Incorrect Shutter Speed/ISO Mismatches

• Improper Framing and Focus
   
• Workflow Bottlenecks

Clients' interests are top of mind at Photography by Misty. And, after educating people on what we do and how we do it, if we can't help our potential clients we'll refer them to someone who can assist.