A Wedding Videographers Guide To.. (Part 2)

CHOOSING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER / VIDEOGRAPHER

Ok, so you now have your Wedding Venue booked, so what should you be looking for next? From personal experience (and of course our profession), ideally you should book a Photographer / Videographer next. But where do you begin to search for one? Search engines like Google, Bing, Recommendation, Wedding Fayres...?? 

Search engines

So, you type in 'wedding photographer / videographer in......(location)' for example. What comes up? Hundreds of pages with lists upon lists of websites.. If you have the time, go through them (maybe not all as it could take days!!) and get an idea of each companys style of work and their price guidlines which is quite important if you are budgeting for your wedding.  As photography / videography are 'visual',  websites are perfect to show galleries and demos and will give you an idea of what they can offer you. Style of work can vary from reportage, documentory, fashion shoot style etc so by looking at a few websites will give you an understanding of the kind of look you would be after for your own day. Pricing will also vary greatly.. Costs could start from £300 ranging to over £4000!

Recommendation

This would probably be the most ideal solution. Everyone knows someone that has had their wedding day captured. If you know them well enough you can have a look at their completed product and ask them questions which you may not ask otherwise, like, were they happy / friendly? did they do what you asked them to do? was you happy with your end result? would YOU recommend them?

Recommendation for videography could also come from your photographer if you have already booked one and vise versa.

Wedding Fayres

These usually happen twice a year around March & September time. This would be a perfect way to find out about suppliers in general when you are just starting out looking for ideas or even if you have a few more things to book. This can also be a nice way to maybe meet your supplier and see some of their work. Some wedding venues often have their own suppliers which they recommend and usually attend their wedding fayres. We are recommended by Friern Manor in Dunton, Essex.

Why have a professional capture my day? My friend has a good camera!

Indeed, why should you have a professional? Most consumer cameras give amazing images now....but who were they standing behind when they took the picture? or whose legs were they in the video!!????

So, your friend has very kindly offered to photo / film your day. Before you take them up on the offer, there are quite a few things to consider:

* What would happen if their camera got damaged? Would their be a back up? 

* Would they have extra batteries, memory cards, lighting equipement etc?

* Is their camera adequate to adapt to different lighting situations eg Brilliant sunshine, dark churches etc?

* Can they stand at the front to film the ceremony and will I be able to hear our vows?

* Would they be able to organise guests in a polite and friendly manor to obtain group shots?

* Will you expect them to relax and enjoy your day at some point?

* How long will it take them to deliver their masterpeice?

You only have this day once (well, mainly!) Months, maybe years of planning will end in a day that will go so fast and you will want to remember it in all its glory!!