Confession: My First Video

A few weeks ago, I shared with you all one of my biggest accomplishments -- my first fashion video. That was a big deal for me. But.... buuuut... there was a little video before that I had mentioned but never actually showed you. My very FIRST video.

Before you get to the video at the end of this post, you have to understand the story behind this. I'm in a dance group called Esencia Tropical, taught and choreographed amazingly by Cory Gutierrez. You know I'm a fan of feminine styling -- whether it's in photography, dance, or clothing. What I absolutely love most about Cory's choreography is her styling. She creates these amazing lines, curves, and body isolation that make the dance come alive.

I kept imagining a video of this dance, highlighting the dancer's movements and Cory's styling. Until one day, I decided to do it.




But remember -- back in December I didn't own a 5D Mark II yet. I asked another photographer from my church, who did own a 5D, if she would be interested in working on this with me.




Tammy was all for it! In fact, she opened up her home to us and converted it into a mini studio for the dancers.




These girls were troopers! We had a huuuuge Christmas event the night before and got to bed really late (Cory even later!), only to wake up the next morning to shoot this.




So why am I finally posting this? Well, it took a while for me to edit this one. I was in over my head, learning Final Cut Pro on my own and synchronizing twenty clips to match one song perfectly. This was so new to me.

When I finished the video in January, I was so relieved and excited -- ready to share. And right as I tried uploading it to Vimeo to share with y'all -- the file was too big. Jose and I tried to compress it but nothing would work without reducing the quality. So... I just showed it to Cory and the other dancers in person and left it at that.



Until I made the fashion video. I knew that I HAD to absolutely figure out a way. Three hours into just researching online, my lovely techie (aka hubs) figured it out! I was thrilled!!

So I know this is kind of backwards and I considered not posting it -- but hey, why not. I can always look back on my journey in videography to see where I started and how I've developed. Ready to see the video?

Okay :)



What do you think?! Isn't Cory an excellent choreographer with great dancers?! Oh, and how about those photos? Yeah, that's Jose killing it more and more with his second shooting ;)

p.s. Thanks for going on this journey with me!