How to get the best of both worlds!
When it comes to recording the fun and exciting moments of your wedding there are many reasons why couples choose to hire both photography AND videography.
Video is great for recording action as it happens and as a complimentary service to wedding photography, videography can bring your wedding to life with sound and amazing cinematic editing. Photographs on the other hand, are priceless and timeless mementos that inspire you to relive the entire experience from a more personal perspective. They are also easier to share with friends and family and look great displayed on a wall or in an album.
I had a video done for my own wedding (it was recorded by a family member) and even though it isn’t very professional I still absolutely love it. It gets carted out every year on our anniversary, even though it looks like it was largely filmed during an earthquake. So I totally understand how fantastic video can be.
When our clients are thinking about hiring in professional videography, they often come to us with questions about how they can best fit video into their day. So here are some quick tips for our couples thinking about adding video services:
Match It Up
Always choose a videographer who compliments the style of your wedding photography. Things will never work well if you hire two professionals who work in opposing ways. We work in a very relaxed, informal fashion so we recommend our clients hire a documentary specific videographer, who allows the day to unfold naturally, rather than directing it.
Rich and Will from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
Size Matters
Consider the venue size and number of guests when choosing a videographer. If you’re planning an intimate affair in a small venue you won’t need a team of videographers to film your wedding – a single videographer will do. Guests can also feel overwhelmed if they’re being photographed and filmed from all directions at once.
Daisy & Leigh’s wedding by Adam Nicolas Films
Consider Layout
The wedding breakfast room layout may pose a problem if you have multiple vendors vying for the best position. Long top tables provide better positioning for video and wedding photography opportunities, without blocking your guests’ view of the speeches.
Styled Shoot at Danby Castle: Featuring Tux & Tales Photography & Friends from Mulhern Media on Vimeo.
Positional Priority
If you’re hiring two vendors to work in the same space it’s essential that you establish positional priority to ensure that you get the best shots, in different formats. One vendor will need to be in the ‘best’ position and the other will be in the ‘second best’. It’s important for you to let the vendors know who has positional priority during each part of the day, rather than letting them guess your preferences on the day when timings are tight and communication is rushed.
We promise our feelings won’t be hurt if you give positional priority to the videographer. However, it’s important to understand that being in a less than ideal position may potentially impact our photos.
As an important side note – videographers must also be informed that your contract with us does not allow any other professional to take still images on the day (except to make a cover for the DVD). This is part of the contract you agreed to when you hired us and is standard practice amongst wedding photographers.
Tom and Andrea from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
Highly Recommended
Consider using one of our recommended videographers. As we have worked together before, we already know that stylistically we’re a good match.
If you have a guest who will be acting as ‘unofficial’ videographer, please make sure they know to coordinate with us. They will have little/no experience of the routine of a wedding, and poor communication means there is a high probability that your photos could be compromised.
As York wedding photographers we often work alongside professional videographers to ensure that we both get a fantastic result for the happy couple. If you are considering video for your wedding here are our recommendations…