The ceiling light is working against you
A shoot day inside a dental practice with no room to stand. Two lights, one reflection I had to hide, and the feedback that fixed the shot.
The ceiling light in most rooms is working against you. It comes straight down and drops shadows under the eyes. Nobody wants that, least of all the person you just asked to sit in front of a camera.
So the first move on this shoot was turning the overhead off and watching what the monitor did. Then a softbox as the main light, and one more as a hair light from the top.
2:28
Her face in the last shoot was my fault
She told me she didn't like how her face looked the last time we shot. That is easy to hear as her problem. It was mine. I was talking to her while the camera rolled, so she was looking at me instead of the lens.
The fix was not a better light. It was giving her the exact line and the exact place to look. Say it to the camera. Then say it again and use your hands. Two takes and it was done.
She didn't like the last shoot. That was me, not her.
3:43
Ask your client what they didn't like about the last shoot. Then change your directing instead of asking them to perform better.
The room is never the room you wanted
Little space in there. With more room I would have put six lights up. We got two. And once the main light was in, there was a reflection of the softbox sitting in the background, right behind her head.
So I asked her to move back and lowered the camera until the light was out of frame. That is most of the job. You work with what is in the room.
You are never going to have the space you want.
The versions of this work that get posted have beautiful backgrounds and beautiful places. Not as it is, promise you that.
8:26
Before you fall in love with the shot, look at what is behind the subject. Move the chair and drop the camera until the lights stop showing up in frame.
Most of a client's day is not worth posting
For a dental practice, most of what comes through the door is cleanings and regular checkups. That is the business, and it is not the content. The real cases, where there is a literal transformation, are the ones you want to post.
Which means you have to talk to your client about what is coming up, and shoot as much of it as you can while you are there.
10:23
Split the footage before you post it. Routine work in one pile, transformations in the other. Only one of those piles is worth a client's feed.
Month two looks different from month one
This was the second month working with this client. The more I understand the space and the practice, the better the shoots get. That is the whole reason to not panic after one of them.
Month two is better because you know the room now.
10:58
The gear list is a start, not a shopping list
Everything I used is listed out so nobody has to guess. That is the gear I use. It does not mean it is the gear you need. Do not spend a ton of money on this. You do not need to. A camera and a DJI Osmo covers the vlogging side fine.
Turn the overhead light off and check the monitor before you set a single stand.
Ask your client what they didn't like about the last shoot, then change how you direct.
Airdrop reference clips instead of texting them, so they don't come through compressed.
Ask what real transformation cases are coming up and plan the shoot around those.
01
Lighting first. Overhead off, soft main light in, hair light on top, then check the background for reflections.
02
Client feedback is the fastest fix for your directing. Ask what they did not like and adjust what you do.
03
Routine work does not get posted. Real transformations do. And do not get impatient after one shoot.
Tell me what is capping your shoots
If you are setting up in rooms with no space and the footage keeps coming back flat, text me what you are shooting and I will tell you what I would change.
Send me a text