Meet Marlena Maidhof of Reeh TV in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlena Maidhof.

Marlena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Reeh TV officially started about a year ago. However, my love of imagery started in a High School photography class. I really focused on capturing people in beautiful situations. It wasn’t until College that I really learned about the technical side of it all. So there’s about thirteen years of a photography background before I fell into video. Which brings us to about a year and a half ago when I went on a trip to Japan with my sister. It felt like photos couldn’t quite capture the essence or feeling of Tokyo and that’s when I decided to film the trip. I ended up with this amazing video of Japan and we still love watching it and reliving all of the moments!

I took a video class in college so I had some knowledge of how to edit using Final Cut Pro. Which made the switch to Premiere Pro a little easier. There was a lot of YouTube tutorial watching going on when I needed to learn how to color correct or add grain to some footage. Best thing I ever did was fly to Denver and take the Story and The Technician workshop. I think I learned more there than anywhere else in two days!

I remember booking my first wedding and being so ecstatic that someone wanted to pay me to do what I love! I called everyone in my family immediately to celebrate! On the flip side I was completely terrified I might mess it up somehow. It felt like such a huge responsibility. I care so much about the films that I create and I want people to love them the way that I do. Now I am booking weddings and getting into some commercial work and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think you should go into something knowing it’s never ever going to be a smooth road! There have been many bumps and learning curves! I have had camera gear die during the kiss, memory cards go corrupt, hours spent attempting to stabilize footage and audio equipment fail at the worst possible times!

In the moment when things are going wrong it seems like the end of the world. But when you look back on them they’re great lessons learned and the best stories to tell. Without all of these mistakes I wouldn’t have learned to have a backup cam filming the entire ceremony, spent 48 hours figuring out how to recover memory cards, learn to stabilize my footage or know I need to mic the officiant and groom so that I have backup audio! There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and honestly you will learn a lot from all the struggles along the road.

Please tell us about Reeh TV.
Reeh TV is a videography company that specializes in creating unique wedding films. I am known for slow motion, romantic highlight films set to beautiful music. I film in a documentary style where I like to blend in and capture the moments that are real between a couple. When you slow something down you get a real sense for who people are and how they interact with one another and it’s always beautiful. It allows me to capture the small intimate everyday moments and make them stand out. I like to blend in and be quiet while I’m filming because I really want the couple’s authentic moments between one another to shine, and if I over direct I lose those moments that have the biggest impact. I care so much about the films I create and the people in them. I am the story teller who will shape the way you remember one of the happiest days of your life.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
In high school I took photography class and my poor sister was always forced to be my model! I made her do some crazy things. Dressed her up in fancy dresses with makeup then made her jump into a pool, had her stand with her face in leaves (and probably spiders!), dressed her up like a mermaid and made her sit with waves crashing on her, made her do crazy stunts in heels! She was the best, always willing to do anything to make the photos amazing. Those are the greatest memories because they’re with my sister and she’s always willing to go the extra mile.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reeh.tv
• Phone: 858.344.3980
• Email: info@reeh.tv
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/reehtv
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/reehtv
• Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/reeh-tv-los-angeles/f4032b4d4ef04f0e.html

Image Credit:
Ryanne Bee
Marlena Maidhof

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