So you're probably heard the term Hybrid shooting by now. Before I knew about it, I was also wondering "what the h*ll they are talking about"... So, what exactly does it mean? For clients and photographers?

What Does Hybrid Shooting Actually Mean?

Hybrid shooting means you show up to a session as both photographer and videographer. You capture photos and you capture videos. You do it all in one shoot instead of booking two separate creatives for two separate jobs.

But that's not the only thing actually...

Because being a hybrid shooter is not just about pointing your camera and switch in between 2 different settings. It is about becoming someone your client can actually count on. Someone who understands their brand, their goals, and their content needs better than anyone else and to think alongside them, not just deliver the content and saying "Hey that's it, bye!!" and then disappear. You go from "the person I hire once a year for photos" to a genuine partner your client keeps coming back to.

Why This Matters Right Now

Ok, a few things are happening at once, and together they make hybrid shooting less of a hype and more of necessity in business as entrepreneur or company.

.01 First

:et's talk gear. Modern mirrorless cameras (think the Sony A7 IV, Canon R6 II & III (which I have myself), Nikon Z6 III, Fujifilm X series) genuinely shoot beautiful photo and video from the same body. You do not need two separate camera systems anymore to do both well. That alone removes the biggest barrier that used to keep photography and videography as two separate worlds.

.02 Second

The market is asking for it, and every time more and more. Clients, those who are especially entrepreneurs and personal brands, do not just want a photo gallery once a year. They want actual content. Ongoing, varied, ready for social media, their website, their launches. A client who only gets stills has to hire someone else for video, brief a whole new person on their brand, and coordinate two schedules instead of one. A hybrid shooter removes that challenge entirely.

.03 Third

If you can already tell a story with a camera, you already have half the skills for shooting videos. The other half is defenitly learnable. Which brings me to the part people do not always want to hear.

It is a skill, not a simple "switching the button" on the camera

I do want to be honest with you, because a lot of hybrid content out there makes it sound as easy as switching a button and some settings on your camera and then just hit record, right?

Well... Not quite.

Photo and video ask for different things from you and your camera. For stills you want a fast shutter speed to freeze motion. (Nowadays we do also shoot different style on tripods, where the shutter speed is low so we have a motion shot) And for video you want it slower, usually around double your frame rate, to keep motion looking natural rather than jittery/ choppy. You will be adjusting this every time you switch modes, which is exactly why so many hybrid shooters set up custom camera modes (a "photo" preset and a "video" preset) so one twist of the dial gets them there instantly.

For instance, shooting at 50fps? With the idea to slow down the footage by 50%? Then your shutter speed has to be 1/100. If you want cinematic content, you shoot at 24fps, and then you need 1/50 shutter speed.

On my Canon R6 Mark II & III, I've got my presets on C1, C2 and C3 set to different scenarios. For instance C1 photo is F4, 1/250, and ISO I'll adjust manually. For C1 video, I have 24fps, 1/50 and F4 for cinematic/ talking head videos. For C2 video, I have 50fps, with 1/100 & F4. For C3 photo settings, I've turned on the HDR brackets for real estate photography. You can be as creative as you want to be with the settings you will use the most.

Then there is audio, the part photographers love to forget about. Video is half sound (unless shooting in slo-mo). A simple mic Hollyland Lark 2 or Smallrig S70 on your hot shoe changes everything, and if people are talking on camera, a wireless mic is worth the investment.

And if you are filming outdoors on a bright day, you will likely need an ND filter - I've got this one from K&F, since the slower shutter speed video wants will overexpose almost instantly in daylight without one.

Now you might think, "What the f*ck this is way too complicated" - well, guess what, that's what I thought as well. But the thing is you just have to try IF your interest is learning the way you did with photography ofcourse. I have had many shoots where I came home to edit the video content and found out I had to use other settings while filming. Shit happens but it's not the worst thing of the world.

Last thing on gear, most cameras have built-in stabilization or stabilization in the lenses so you can 100% try hand held shots, but if you want to take it a bit further, I really recommend using a gimbal. If you wanna go all in, I recommend the new DJI RS5. I always use a gimbal for property videography and also branded content for clients as it's much easier to post edit in Premiere Pro.

Not Everyone Needs to Do This, and That Is Fine

Alright so just because hybrid shooting is having a "hype vibe" moment does not mean you HAVE to go with the hype, and it definitely does not mean you are falling behind if video is not for you.

Plenty of incredible photographers choose to stay fully focused on stills, and their work is better for that focus. If filming makes you split your attention during a shoot and you start missing the moments you are actually there to capture, that is a real cost. There is nothing wrong with partnering with a videographer instead of becoming one yourself. You can still offer your client a complete package, you just build it through collaboration rather than doing it all solo.

What I do see online, on socials, websites, that branded content such as video and branded stock videos are seen more and more every day. If a single photo already can tell 1000 stories, what can a video tell to your ideal client?

The Opportunity, If You Want It

Right now, being a photographer who can also film is still a little bit special. It gets you noticed. It gets you referred. But I think in a year or two or so, it will likely just be the standard, the same way most photographers now offer some kind of video add on without a second thought.

Which means the photographers who lean into it now, are the ones who get to be ahead of that curve instead of catching up to it later.

So if this is calling to you, start small. Add ten seconds of video to your next session just to get comfortable with the switch. Invest in a decent microphone and gimbal (as in my opinion, when you invest in something, do it correctly right away). And remember that becoming a great hybrid shooter takes the same patience it took to become a great photographer in the first place.

Ready to get started?