I'm trying to get video to work on my technique. There's a local guy trying to get photo/vid career going that said he could film, see him out filming his wife with nice SLR/telephoto setup on gimbal. Any idea what a fair price would be? Not trying to start debate about fair wages just have no clue what to offer or expect, this in West USA. Thanks!

Cartoon of XXXX should do the trick

Hi mate a video of yourself, hmm I just think I surf like Keahi de Aboitiz

I will film you for free, well a first class plane ticket from OZ and a nice hotel that's all.

Seriously though if the guy is trying to start a business, maybe you could come to an agreement whereby he films you and uses the footage as a marketing tool.

Not sure of the going rate in the US, but here in OZ when I use to photograph weddings, the prices charged by various "professionals photographers" was all over the place. So maybe call a few local video shooters and see what is on offer. If the prices are too crazy you could always pickup a cheap camera setup and have a friend shoot for you. Basic video shooting and video editing are not to hard these days.

Cheers


Steve.

P.S my wife will probably want to be my assistant, so make it two tickets

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drivethebus said..
Seriously though if the guy is trying to start a business, maybe you could come to an agreement whereby he films you and uses the footage as a marketing tool.

Seriously, don't do this!

There is nothing artists / designers / photographers hate more than people trying to get free work this way.
This has become a kind of recurring joke, even a meme, among them.

This does not mean some photographers can propose it, but the customer asking first will raise the guy's danger sense and make him avoid the deal or even... raise his prices :-)

Realizing my question was probably dumb - I'll just ask the fella what he wants for a 2h session and see if I can swing it. Thanks for all input. Hahaha need see if he can do some deep fake editing so I look better:)

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colas said..

drivethebus said..
Seriously though if the guy is trying to start a business, maybe you could come to an agreement whereby he films you and uses the footage as a marketing tool.

Seriously, don't do this!

There is nothing artists / designers / photographers hate more than people trying to get free work this way.
This has become a kind of recurring joke, even a meme, among them.

This does not mean some photographers can propose it, but the customer asking first will raise the guy's danger sense and make him avoid the deal or even... raise his prices :-)

Yes I should have written that you have a reduced price, not free, I walked away from plenty of wedding photography jobs when someone offer to pay me a low of nothing fee.

Cheers.

Stephen.

Anther thought would be to out the funds towards a Soloshot camera. If you get into video analysis (perhaps one of the best ways to advance your technique) may be a reasonable option. I would video multiple sessions, edit down to 20 minutes and send to our local surf guru Catherine Bruhwiler for analysis. It would take me months to work on all the suggestions but it helped a lot.
cheers

Bob

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FRP said..
Anther thought would be to out the funds towards a Soloshot camera. If you get into video analysis (perhaps one of the best ways to advance your technique) may be a reasonable option. I would video multiple sessions, edit down to 20 minutes and send to our local surf guru Catherine Bruhwiler for analysis. It would take me months to work on all the suggestions but it helped a lot.
cheers

Bob

I was super interested in solo shot but does it actually work for anyone? Thanks

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Kisutch said..

FRP said..
Anther thought would be to out the funds towards a Soloshot camera. If you get into video analysis (perhaps one of the best ways to advance your technique) may be a reasonable option. I would video multiple sessions, edit down to 20 minutes and send to our local surf guru Catherine Bruhwiler for analysis. It would take me months to work on all the suggestions but it helped a lot.
cheers

Bob

I was super interested in solo shot but does it actually work for anyone? Thanks

Hi mate, I am pretty sure that Mr Creek films all his videos with a Soloshot, so it might be worth a look.

The other option I am considering more and more is an autonomous drone.

An example is the Skydio 2+: launch the drone and it will follow you for 20 minutes and land back on the beach.

Kind of a soloshot++

You can even have a small remote-control with you, shop.skydio.com/products/skydio-2-plus-beacon as on this video:



But the price of these toys may help considering hiring a real photographer a bargain in comparison :-)

That drone is such a cool idea. For me the 20 minutes wont work though as the time frame in a surf session to get a wave eats up the clock.
The video you would get Kisutch would be well worth it if the waves and crowd cooperate.

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colas said..
The other option I am considering more and more is an autonomous drone.

An example is the Skydio 2+: launch the drone and it will follow you for 20 minutes and land back on the beach.

Kind of a soloshot++

You can even have a small remote-control with you, shop.skydio.com/products/skydio-2-plus-beacon as on this video:

But the price of these toys may help considering hiring a real photographer a bargain in comparison :-)

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surfinJ said..
That drone is such a cool idea. For me the 20 minutes wont work though as the time frame in a surf session to get a wave eats up the clock.
The video you would get Kisutch would be well worth it if the waves and crowd cooperate.

As the guy who has most put the Skydio to the test over water more than likely anyone else I would say for eFoil yes! wing ding yes! kite maybe if it's a low key spot with no other riders really out

But for surf / SUP etc it's logistically quite difficult for solo shooting so it's hard to recommend, particularly because you'd be dunking the Beacon and having sporadic connection issues when submerged

The drone is very easy to fly and tracks pretty much by itself so alternatively if you have your Mrs on the beach or a mate then it could be an option, and now they have finally (after a lot of people complaining!) implemented Auto % RTH

Particularly if you are in the US, as there are a few hoops to jump through to get it internationally with Aus / NZ being the exception

From what I know about Solo Shot - the product has just been updated, but it's a pretty woeful company with support in the past, could have changed now though

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surfinJ said..
That drone is such a cool idea. For me the 20 minutes wont work though as the time frame in a surf session to get a wave eats up the clock.
The video you would get Kisutch would be well worth it if the waves and crowd cooperate.

Yeah I'd like to get a couple hours so can get the best waves of the session and hopefully some good turns to contrast with the bad ones. Trying to figure out the best kind of day for this, prob wait til sunrise gets earlier so I can get like an hour to surf without company (not as empty when first light is 7am). Small day would get more waves but prob not learn as much.

If you want an vid to work on your technique, why don,t you go straight for an proper clinic? Then you have straightaway the feedback what and how to change.

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Jeroensurf said..
If you want an vid to work on your technique, why don,t you go straight for an proper clinic? Then you have straightaway the feedback what and how to change.

I think there's a lot of value in seeing what you are doing, linking what it feels like with what it looks like. I'd love to get quality coaching, but kids/job make it tricky to go on a solo international trip to a surf camp -- we don't have anything locally.

My friend got out early the other day and filmed me on a few waves - it was really helpful for realizing basic things like what the wave was doing and what it looks like when I'm compressing/extending to generate speed.

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Drive the Bus said:

Hi mate, I am pretty sure that Mr Creek films all his videos with a Soloshot, so it might be worth a look.

Yep.. given the momentary nature of surf and personal schedule make even arranging at session with a videographer and very hard thing to pull off... it's not like portrait photography, timing must be matched to conditions.

Even if you have a friend or spouse that is willing, they get distracted just when the best set arrives, or even more often, they lose track of which black dot you are, until the ride is almost over.

When I video others, I lock my arms in position, never take my eyes off the camera screen... if I watch the subject instead of the camera, then raising the camera, finding them, focusing on them while they zoom across a wave is very difficult... especially for an amateur.
There is a reason famous surf photographers are famous.... they are the few that can actually do this well!

Me, shooting a buddy during a big swell from Hurricane Maria... I stood or sat like that for over an hour to keep track of him and film his waves.... eyes never leaving the screen, or I would lose him in the crowd.

So.... SoloShot and learning how to master it is the most reliable way to record the exact session that you want, and it is always ready!
SoloShot is also a dedication... but it serves up some mighty good footage once you master it!

and... by the way, I HAVE figured out the secret to SoloShot set-up that works EVERY time!
I think my method should be worth some money, to unlock the mystery of these cameras.

Why video can help you:
Around the time I turned 70, I started to see issues with my surfing when I was reviewing footage during my trip to Portugal... and I didn't like what I saw.
I could not put my finger on what was wrong, but something was.
About a year later, I looked at new footage and said "holy crap... I like the way I am surfing again!

It took a while to figure out what it was.
Being able to watch myself on video was the only way I worked this out... and I started to see things on certain boards that were becoming more of a challenge as I aged.

I worked out ways to mitigate the problems, with stance modification, but mostly fin changes to help overcome my aging weaknesses.
Quobba fins are amazing at smoothing out my glitches and allowing me to surf much better.

I have used what I learned to change my game going forward.
Slight leak here, but I have found a more permanent way to smooth the pathway to 75..... yep, 75 in April!
I'll be posting about my very cool solution at some point

74 has been very good to me.... I am super stoked for something new as I turn 75!!!

Thanks for the info STC, glad to hear video has been helpful for ya and that you figured out the Soloshoot, I was intrigued by it but googling around it seemed like everyone who wrote about success would later report issues. Cheers