WPPI Sneak Peek: Wedding Shooters Carmen and Ingo Leitner Talk Adding Fusion Video To Your Repertoire

Carmen and Ingo Leitner are destination wedding photographers based in Munich, Germany. The couple has traveled the globe teaching workshops and seminars for the last eight years. They will be teaching the master class “Filling a Niche: Add Fusion Video To Your Photography” on March 6 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Photos © Carmen and Ingo Leitner

Can you tell us what WPPI members can expect to learn from your presentation this year?

Carmen and Ingo Leitner: When the first DSLR camera came out back around 2008 and offered the capability of recording HD video, we immediately started playing with the new features and found out that it wasn’t too difficult to capture both video and photos during a shoot. During the 2-hour master class at WPPI, we will be showing you what’s important to know about fusion video, how anyone can make it work for either weddings, family or portrait sessions without even buying new expensive gear! We will provide a technical “how to” as well as talk about business aspects.

Why do you think combining still and video is a growing trend?

C+IL: Video is definitely an ongoing trend—your Facebook timeline proves that everyday. People do it because they can do it with tools they already have. Being a creative in the first place doesn’t stop when you do video. Once they get into it and learn how to incorporate fusion video into their portfolio, it’s a great way to increase the turnover and make your clients double happy.  

What new technologies are you incorporating into your presentation this year?

C+IL: Rather the opposite. We’re talking about the tools that are right in everyone’s hands. People think they need to invest tons of money to get started with the audio/video topic in the first place, but that is not the case. The sweet thing about this is that there are different levels of fusion video. It’s not about gear or the newest and best tools; it’s about storytelling and how to create more value for your clients. 

What gets you excited about this topic? 

C+IL: What excites us the most about this add-on to photos is that the value of the product increases over the years. Who wouldn’t love to have short clips from their childhood playing with your favorite toy or seeing (and hearing) your parents when they were young? It’s priceless.

Are there any other photographers or film/photo mediums that you are hoping to see at WPPI?

C+IL: We are hoping to see and learn from others as much as we can! We’ll probably walk in to classes spontaneously, but for sure Joe McNally is always a big inspiration outside the wedding box.

Don’t forget to check out these other speakers at WPPI:

• Portrait photographer and WPPI keynote Sue Bryce
• Sports photographer Richard Sturdevant
• Filmmaker Joe Switzer
• Newborn portrait photographer Ana Brandt
• Wedding photography duo Marc Anthony and Tony Ryan

Related:

Playing Around with Video Production? Try Out Fusion 7 For Free [Tech Tuesday]

Demystifying Video: A Guide to the Often-Perplexing World of Filmmaking Processes