If your big day is coming up, it’s understandable that you might be a little stressed. After all, every person would want their wedding day to be perfect; because who wouldn’t? However, despite the undeniable stress, it is important to keep a level head when it comes to making decisions about one of the most important ways that you will remember this day, forever: your videographer. A great wedding video will be an asset that you will always treasure, which is why it is so important to make sure you hire the right person for the job. After all, videos are everything nowadays (take a look at this article, for example). Here are some things to consider when hiring a wedding videographer…
Experience is often, but not always, better
When it comes to wedding videography, although there might be a schedule about how the day will go, so much of the true action happens in the moment. This is why an experienced wedding videographer can be such a huge asset, as they will often recognize these special moments before they happen, without asking you to repeat any of them. However, there can be a double edged sword with this, as an experienced wedding shooter will usually cost a pretty penny more. Along with that, they may have a very rigid process that they have developed over the years. Sometimes, a younger shooter will have a bit more creativity and spontaneity because they haven’t had the time to create a more cookie cutter technique.
Each videographer will have a distinct style
A wedding video should convey who you and your spouse are as people, and should capture the special idiosyncrasies that make your pairing so special. To do this, you’ll need to understand that each videographer will have their own style that may or may not pair with this. Some videographers will create more of a documentary style that will simply try to show the day as it is, others will opt for a more cinematic reach that injects even more personality into what was already a wonderful day. Speak with a potential videographer about their specific style, and see if it jams with your vision.
Get the technical specs
Let’s make one thing very clear. You should not hire a videographer based on the equipment that they have. A 4K, HDR camera will not make a wedding video that captures the exuberant joy of your special day. A videographer who genuinely cares about making a great wedding video and telling your story, specifically, will always be able to shoot a better video on an iPhone than a poor, uncreative videographer will be able to shoot with $50,000 worth of equipment. However, you should still know what you are getting with your purchase, and get to know the specs that your video will be delivered in. After all, we’d rather our wedding videos not look grainy.
Get professionals who work well together
Sometimes the best way to find a videographer is to ask other professionals that you’ve already hired for your wedding. Typically, a wedding photographer will have a shortlist of specific videographers that they respect and like to work with. This can be a great place to start looking for potential videographers. You don’t have to stop with the photographer, either. One of the benefits of hiring a DJ is that they will often have professionals whom they frequently see at weddings (here’s a list of some other benefits of hiring a DJ, if you’re thinking about one of those, as well)
Do you want to hear what is going on?
Although we call them wedding videos, it is just as important to think about what you want to be hearing in your wedding video this early in the process. Talk to any potential videographers about how they handle capturing audio during the wedding, and discuss if you want to hear what is going on as it is happening, or stick to visuals with a musical accompaniment. However, even if you decide to just go with music, it’s also important to discuss where this music comes from (will the videographer just take pre-existing music, or will music creation be part of the package), and what kind of music you’d like to hear in the final product.