HDR wedding video is a film graded and delivered with a high-dynamic-range transfer function (HLG or PQ), Rec. 2020 colour and at least 10-bit depth, so phones and TVs that support HDR show brighter highlights and deeper shadows than a standard Rec. 709 file. It is worth offering only when you also ship an SDR version and brief your editor on both.
Couples now film their own lives in HDR. Every flagship iPhone since the iPhone 12 records Dolby Vision HDR by default, so the clips in their camera roll glow on screen, and a carefully graded SDR wedding film can look strangely dim beside them. That gap is why "can you deliver it in HDR?" has started appearing in enquiries. This guide is for videographers who shoot the day and outsource the edit: what HDR actually is, when it is worth the extra work, which format to pick, how platforms handle it, and the exact lines to put in your editor's brief so nobody has to guess.
What does HDR actually mean for a wedding film?
HDR is a delivery format, not a camera look. A wedding film is HDR when the final file uses a Rec. 2100 transfer function (HLG or PQ), Rec. 2020 colour primaries, at least 10-bit depth and correct metadata tags. Shooting Log or raw does not make a film HDR; the grade and the export do.
The confusion is understandable, because three different things get called "HDR" on a wedding day:
- Wide dynamic range capture — Log profiles, raw and HLG recording keep more highlight and shadow detail than a standard picture profile. This is about what the camera records.
- HDR grading and mastering — the colourist places highlights above the old 100-nit SDR ceiling, watching an HDR-capable display. This is about what the editor builds.
- HDR delivery — the exported file is tagged so that YouTube, Vimeo, a TV or a phone knows to show it in HDR. This is about what the couple actually sees.
Only the third one changes the viewing experience, and it depends on the first two. You can shoot S-Log3 all day and still deliver a perfectly normal Rec. 709 SDR film, which is exactly what most wedding studios do. If you are still deciding how to record, our guide to Log vs Rec.709 for wedding video covers the capture side; this article picks up where the grade begins.
The technical definition matters because platforms are strict about it. YouTube's HDR upload requirements ask for 10- or 12-bit files with Rec. 2020 primaries, a Rec. 2020 non-constant-luminance matrix and a PQ or HLG transfer function, and they state that HDR videos must carry HDR metadata in the codec or container to play back properly. A file graded to look bright on the editor's monitor but exported as 8-bit Rec. 709 H.264 is not HDR anywhere else.
Should you offer HDR wedding video in 2026?
Offer HDR as an optional extra version, not as a replacement for SDR. HDR suits couples who will watch on recent iPhones, high-end Android phones and HDR TVs, and studios whose editor has an HDR-capable display. Keep the SDR Rec. 709 film as the master deliverable, because every screen plays it correctly.
The case for HDR is strongest for a wedding film because weddings are full of the scenes HDR handles best: backlit golden-hour portraits, candlelit receptions with bright practical lights, sparklers, sunlight through church windows, white dresses in hard sun. In SDR, the editor has to compress all of that into roughly a 100-nit range; in HDR, the sun flare and the sparkler can sit well above the dress without clipping it.
The case against is practical rather than aesthetic:
- Two grades, not one. A good HDR deliverable still needs a good SDR version. Automatic conversions exist, but they are a fallback, not a finish.
- Playback is uneven. Laptops without HDR panels, older TVs, many projectors and most messaging apps show the SDR fallback or a tone-mapped approximation.
- Hardware. Grading HDR without a display that can show it is guessing. An editor on a standard sRGB monitor cannot judge HDR highlights.
- Gallery hosts. Many client gallery and download platforms re-encode uploads. If a host does not document HDR support, assume the couple will receive SDR from it.
A quick way to decide, situation by situation:
- Couple watches mainly on recent iPhones or an HDR TV: offer an HDR version plus the SDR master. They will see the difference and expect it next to their own clips.
- Film is mostly shared through a gallery host or messaging apps: SDR only. Re-encoding usually strips or ignores HDR tags.
- Venue has dramatic backlight, candles or fireworks: HDR worth pitching. Bright practicals are where HDR visibly beats SDR.
- Editor has no HDR-capable display: SDR only. An HDR grade nobody could see during grading is a liability.
- Studio wants to stand out with a YouTube or Vimeo portfolio: HDR portfolio cut, SDR client master. Both platforms create an SDR fallback automatically for non-HDR viewers.
Price HDR as its own line item if you offer it: it is an extra grade pass, an extra export, and an extra round of checking on two kinds of screen. Do not fold it silently into a package and then discover it doubled the colour time.
HLG or PQ: which HDR format should a wedding film use?
For most wedding deliverables HLG is the safer HDR format: it needs no mastering metadata, it is what phones record, and Vimeo and YouTube both accept it. PQ (the base of HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision) gives the colourist more absolute control but needs correct metadata and a proper HDR mastering display.
Both transfer functions are defined in ITU-R BT.2100, and they solve the same problem differently:
- HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), also standardised as ARIB STD-B67, was developed by the BBC and NHK for broadcast. It is relative: the display scales the signal to its own peak brightness, and the lower part of the curve behaves much like a conventional gamma, which helps on displays that do not fully support HDR.
- PQ (Perceptual Quantizer), standardised as SMPTE ST 2084, is absolute: each code value means a specific brightness in nits. That precision is why HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are built on it, and why PQ files are expected to say what display they were mastered on.
The metadata point is not academic. YouTube's HDR page says PQ videos should include SMPTE ST 2086 mastering display information plus MaxFALL and MaxCLL brightness values, and that when this is missing YouTube assumes the values of a Sony BVM-X300 mastering display. Vimeo's HDR upload guide accepts both PQ (SMPTE 2084) and HLG (ARIB STD-B67) and, like YouTube, needs files tagged with the transfer characteristics at 10-bit or more.
| Question | HLG | PQ (HDR10 family) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ITU-R BT.2100, ARIB STD-B67 | ITU-R BT.2100, SMPTE ST 2084 |
| Brightness model | Relative to the display's peak | Absolute nit values |
| Static metadata required? | No | Expected (ST 2086, MaxCLL, MaxFALL) |
| Recorded natively by | iPhone Dolby Vision (HLG base), Sony and Panasonic HLG profiles | Some cameras offer PQ; usually created in the grade |
| Dynamic metadata options | Dolby Vision Profile 8.4 (iPhone-style) | HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
| Best wedding use | Client HDR version for phones and TVs | Portfolio masters for YouTube and Vimeo, graded by a colourist with a proper HDR display |
| Main risk | Looks flat if a player mis-reads the tag as SDR | Looks wrong if metadata is missing or the grade was not monitored in HDR |
A useful anchor for both is the HDR reference white in the ITU's operational report BT.2408: diffuse white, such as a white dress in even light, sits at 203 cd/m², which corresponds to 75% signal in HLG and 58% in PQ. The same report places light skin tones well below that, at roughly 65–110 cd/m². Highlights above that level are the "extra" that HDR adds. Telling your editor "keep the dress around reference white and let only practicals and sun go above it" is a far better brief than "make it pop".
Which cameras and settings capture HDR-ready wedding footage?
Any camera that records 10-bit Log, raw or HLG can feed an HDR wedding grade. 8-bit footage is the weak link: it bands in skies and skin when stretched to HDR. Choose one capture strategy for the whole crew, record 10-bit, and protect highlights, because HDR shows clipped whites more obviously than SDR.
There are three realistic routes for a wedding team:
- Log or raw everywhere. The most flexible: the editor grades one source into both HDR and SDR. It needs a colour-managed workflow, which is standard in DaVinci Resolve and available in Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro.
- HLG in camera. Sony's Alpha picture profile documentation describes PP10 as an example setting for HDR movies using the HLG2 gamma, and notes that HLG1, HLG2 and HLG3 share the same curve but trade dynamic range against noise, with HLG3 giving the widest range and potentially more noise. With an HLG gamma selected, Sony's colour mode is limited to BT.2020 or 709. Many wedding shooters already use HLG as a "lighter Log" for SDR delivery; it also happens to be a direct HDR route.
- iPhone and guest footage. iPhone HDR clips are Dolby Vision Profile 8.4, which Apple's developer documentation describes as an HLG-compatible format. They drop into an HLG timeline cleanly and look wrong in an unmanaged Rec. 709 one.
| Source | Bit depth to ask for | Fits HDR delivery? | Note for the brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sony S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine | 10-bit 4:2:2 | Yes | Name the gamma and gamut per camera |
| Sony HLG (PP10 or custom HLG1–3) | 10-bit | Yes, directly | State which HLG variant and BT.2020 vs 709 colour mode |
| Canon C-Log2/3, Panasonic V-Log, Nikon N-Log | 10-bit | Yes | Name the exact Log curve; they are not interchangeable |
| Raw (ProRes RAW, Blackmagic RAW, N-RAW) | 12-bit or more | Yes, most headroom | Check the editor's NLE decodes that raw format |
| Standard 709 picture profile | 8-bit or 10-bit | Weak | Highlights are already baked into SDR range |
| iPhone "HDR Video" (Dolby Vision) | 10-bit HEVC | Yes | Flag these clips so they are not treated as SDR |
| Drone in Log or HLG | 10-bit where available | Yes | Match exposure intent to the ground cameras |
On the day, the one habit that changes is exposure discipline for highlights. In SDR, a clipped window behind the vows becomes a white rectangle that the grade can soften into the 100-nit ceiling. In HDR, the same clipped window is displayed several times brighter than the faces, and the flat, detail-free edge of the clip is obvious. If HDR is on the table, expose to keep detail in the brightest thing you care about, and let your editor lift the shadows.
Where do HDR wedding films actually play back?
YouTube and Vimeo both play HDR uploads in HDR on compatible devices and automatically serve an SDR version to everyone else. Instagram Reels has supported HDR uploads from a phone's camera roll since 2023. Gallery hosts, USB copies and messaging apps vary, so check each delivery path before promising HDR.
Here is what the platforms themselves document:
- YouTube detects HDR metadata and creates HDR transcodes for HDR devices plus an SDR downconversion for other devices. You can supply a 3D LUT in .cube format to guide that SDR conversion, but YouTube warns that a LUT has no spatial or temporal control, so windows, keys and per-shot corrections cannot be reproduced through it. HDR videos also cannot be edited in YouTube's web editor.
- Vimeo detects HDR or Dolby Vision from the file's metadata. Dolby Vision files must be HEVC 10-bit HLG with Profile 8.4 metadata already embedded; HDR10+ uploads receive HDR10+ and SDR renditions, and other HDR uploads receive HDR10 and SDR. HDR is transcoded to a maximum of 4K, and Vimeo notes that Dolby Vision export for Vimeo is not supported on Windows PCs.
- Instagram and Facebook Reels: Meta's engineering team announced in July 2023 that people can upload HDR videos from their phone's camera roll to Reels, with Meta generating both HDR and SDR representations; devices that do not support HDR receive only the SDR version.
| Delivery path | HDR formats accepted | What non-HDR viewers get | Wedding use |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | HLG or PQ, Rec. 2020, 10/12-bit; HEVC, VP9 Profile 2, AV1 recommended | Automatic SDR downconversion (optional LUT) | Portfolio and public highlight films |
| Vimeo | HLG or PQ, 10-bit+; HDR10+; Dolby Vision Profile 8.4 | SDR rendition | Private client screening links, portfolio |
| Instagram / Facebook Reels | HDR uploads from phone camera roll | SDR representation | Teasers posted from a phone |
| Gallery / download host | Depends on host; often re-encodes | Usually SDR | Default to SDR unless HDR is documented |
| Direct file (download, USB) | Whatever you export | Depends on the player and screen | Ship both files with clear names |
The practical takeaway: an HDR file sent through a path that ignores HDR does not degrade gracefully everywhere. A PQ file played by software that ignores its tags looks dark and desaturated; an HLG file read as SDR looks flat and grey. That is why the SDR master stays the default, and why the HDR file needs a filename that says what it is. Our guide on how to deliver wedding videos to clients covers gallery and download choices in more depth.
What does your editor need to grade HDR properly?
An editor grading HDR needs three things: a display that can show HDR highlights, an NLE configured for an HDR colour space (Rec. 2100 HLG or PQ), and HDR scopes. Without an HDR-capable display, the grade is blind above SDR white, and the result cannot be judged honestly.
The display is the expensive part. Professional colourists use dedicated reference monitors, but many freelance wedding editors work on Apple laptops, and the current 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro Liquid Retina XDR display is specified at up to 1000 nits sustained full-screen and 1600 nits peak for HDR content. That is enough to see and place HDR highlights for web delivery, though it is not a calibrated reference monitor. An editor on a standard 300–400-nit desktop monitor is not equipped to grade HDR, whatever the software allows.
Software support is broad, with real differences in what each package can export:
| NLE | HDR working space | HDR exports | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve Studio | Colour-managed HLG and PQ timelines | HLG, HDR10, plus Dolby Vision and HDR10+ grading and rendering | Blackmagic lists Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HDR scopes as Studio features; check the free version's limits before relying on it |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Rec. 2100 HLG and PQ sequence colour spaces | HLG and PQ HDR exports | Lumetri scopes can be switched to HDR; HLG working space arrived in version 14.4 (2020) |
| Final Cut Pro | Wide Gamut HDR library and project (Rec. 2020 HLG or PQ) | HLG and HDR10 files in 10-bit codecs such as ProRes | Apple's Final Cut Pro guide requires the library to be set to Wide Gamut HDR before the project can be |
One detail catches editors who are new to HDR in Final Cut Pro: the project setting is greyed out until the library itself is switched to Wide Gamut HDR. If you send a Final Cut library to an outsourced editor, set it before you hand it over, or tell them to.
The scopes matter as much as the screen. An HDR waveform marked in nits (or in HLG/PQ percentages) is how an editor checks that whites sit near reference white, faces sit below it, and only true highlights exceed it. Without that, the most common HDR wedding mistake appears: the whole film is pushed bright because it "looks impressive", skin goes glaring, and the film is tiring to watch on exactly the screens HDR was meant for.
How should you deliver HDR and SDR versions to the couple?
Deliver the SDR Rec. 709 film as the main file and the HDR film as a clearly labelled second version. Grade the SDR version as a deliberate trim, not only an automatic conversion. Use 10-bit HEVC for the HDR viewing file and ProRes or another 10-bit mezzanine for any archive master.
A clean deliverable set for one highlight film looks like this:
| File | Colour | Codec and container | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlight_SDR_Rec709.mp4 | Rec. 709, gamma 2.4 or 2.2 as agreed | H.264 or HEVC, 8- or 10-bit | Every screen; gallery hosts; sharing |
| Highlight_HDR_HLG.mov or .mp4 | Rec. 2020, HLG | HEVC Main 10 | Recent phones, HDR TVs, Vimeo |
| Highlight_HDR_PQ_1000nit.mov (optional) | Rec. 2020, PQ, with MaxCLL/MaxFALL | HEVC Main 10 or ProRes 422 HQ | YouTube or Vimeo portfolio upload |
| Highlight_Master_ProRes422HQ.mov | HDR or SDR, labelled | ProRes 422 HQ (10-bit) | Your archive and future re-exports |
Three rules keep this from going wrong:
- 10-bit or nothing for HDR. YouTube's minimum is 10-bit; Vimeo requires at least 10-bit; Apple's guide to exporting HDR master files asks for a 10-bit or higher codec such as ProRes. An 8-bit HDR export bands visibly in skies and soft skin.
- Name the file after its colour space. "Final_v3.mp4" and "Final_v3_HDR.mp4" sent together is an invitation for the couple to post the wrong one. Put HDR, HLG or PQ in the filename and say in the delivery note which file to share where.
- Test on two screens before sending. Watch the HDR file on an HDR phone and the SDR file on an ordinary laptop. If the HDR version looks dim or grey on the phone, the tags were lost somewhere in export.
Why grade the SDR version deliberately? Automatic HDR-to-SDR conversion has to compress a wide range into a narrow one with a generic curve. YouTube's own documentation concedes that its LUT option cannot replicate shot-specific work. Wedding films are full of shot-specific work: a face lifted with a window during a dark first dance, a sky held back in a portrait. In practice the colourist duplicates the graded timeline with an SDR output transform and adjusts the shots that need it; in DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ workflows formalise this as trim passes. The SDR version is the one most guests will see; it deserves the colourist's eyes, not only an algorithm's.
How do you brief an outsourced editor on HDR?
Brief HDR in writing before the edit starts: whether HDR is required, which format (HLG or PQ), the peak brightness target, how the SDR version is made, the exact deliverable files, and the capture settings of every camera. An editor can only grade HDR well when these decisions are made before the timeline is built.
The reason to decide early is that the timeline colour space is chosen at the start of a project. Switching an SDR-managed timeline to HDR after the edit is cut forces every node, LUT and title to be checked again. If you already use a written colour brief, add an HDR block to it; our guide to briefing your colour grade when you outsource covers the rest of that document.
| Brief line | Example answer | Why the editor needs it |
|---|---|---|
| HDR required? | Yes — HLG version in addition to SDR master | Sets the timeline colour space from day one |
| Format | HLG for client; PQ 1000-nit for our YouTube cut | HLG and PQ are graded and exported differently |
| Brightness intent | White dress near reference white (75% HLG), faces below it; only sun, candles and sparklers above | Prevents an over-bright "demo" grade |
| SDR version | Graded trim pass, not auto-conversion | Determines whether colour time doubles |
| Camera list and profiles | A: Sony FX3 S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine; B: A7 IV HLG3, BT.2020; drone D-Log M; guest iPhone clips | Correct input transforms for every source |
| Deliverables | SDR H.264, HLG HEVC Main 10, ProRes 422 HQ master | Exact export presets and file names |
| Review method | We review HDR on an iPhone and SDR on a laptop | Editor knows how the film will be judged |
The most common HDR handoff mistake we see is not in the grade at all. It is a mixed set of guest iPhone clips in Dolby Vision, a B-camera in HLG and an A-camera in S-Log3, sent without saying which is which. The NLE interprets one of them incorrectly, the speeches look washed out, and the problem surfaces in the first review as "why is the toast so grey?" The fix takes minutes once someone names the profile; the revision round it caused does not. Put the profile of every camera and phone clip in the handoff notes, even if you are sure the metadata will tell the editor.
If you want someone else to handle this end to end, FrameFlow Edit is a white-label wedding video editing service for videographers and studios: it edits highlight films, full films, teasers and rough cuts in your own style, with colour grading and correction matched to your look and project files delivered for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro. HDR is not listed as a standard deliverable on the FrameFlow Edit services page, so state the HDR format and deliverables in your brief and agree them when you request a quote.
Frequently asked questions about HDR wedding video
These are the questions videographers ask most often when a couple first requests HDR. Each answer stands on its own, so you can send it straight to a client or paste it into your editor brief.
Do I need to shoot in HLG to deliver an HDR wedding film?
No. Any 10-bit Log or raw footage can be graded into HDR, and Log usually gives the colourist more flexibility. Shooting HLG is simply the most direct route, because the camera is already recording an HDR transfer function. What you cannot easily do is turn 8-bit standard-profile footage into convincing HDR.
Will an HDR wedding video look bad on a normal TV or laptop?
It can, if the player ignores the HDR tags: PQ files tend to look dark and dull, HLG files tend to look flat. Platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo avoid this by serving an SDR version to non-HDR screens automatically. For direct downloads, always deliver a separate SDR file alongside the HDR one.
Is Dolby Vision better than HLG for wedding films?
Dolby Vision adds dynamic metadata that helps each screen map the image to its own capabilities, but it requires specific tools, such as DaVinci Resolve Studio, and Vimeo accepts only Profile 8.4. For most client deliverables, a well-graded HLG file plus an SDR master is simpler and more widely compatible. Dolby Vision is worth it mainly for portfolio pieces with a dedicated colourist.
Can my editor grade HDR on a MacBook Pro?
A recent 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro has an XDR display rated at 1000 nits sustained and 1600 nits peak for HDR, which is enough to see and place HDR highlights for web and phone delivery. It is not a calibrated reference monitor, so treat it as a capable viewing and grading display rather than a broadcast mastering tool. A standard SDR monitor is not suitable for HDR grading.
Should I charge extra for HDR wedding video?
Yes, if it involves a separate grade pass and an extra deliverable. HDR adds colour time, export time and checking on two kinds of screens, and it often needs an SDR trim as well. List it as an optional add-on so couples who will only watch on a laptop are not paying for something they cannot see.
Why does my HDR wedding film look washed out after uploading?
Usually because the file lost or never had its HDR tags, or was exported at 8-bit. Check that the export uses Rec. 2020 primaries, HLG or PQ transfer and a 10-bit codec, and that PQ files carry mastering metadata. Uploading the HDR version to a host that does not support HDR produces the same result.