I am going to tell you a quick horror story about a bride and her photographer.

The wedding was at the Beverly Hills Ritz Carlton. It was a beautiful wedding. They spared no expense. We were there to provide videography for the couple’s wedding. The day was going very smoothly until…

We were taking pictures at the reception. The pre-ceremony and ceremony had passed with ease. All of a sudden the photographer runs up to us frantically saying, “Have you seen my bag? Have you seen my bag?” It seems someone had slipped into the Ritz Carlton, swiped the photographers equipment bag and made off without being noticed.

But wait, it gets worse. Not only were the lenses and camera gone, so were all of the photos of the couples wedding day! The bride and her mom getting ready, pre-ceremony of the bride and her bridesmaids, the ceremony and family picture session afterwards, everything gone.

Thank goodness they hired a videographer and have the live footage and their wedding DVD to remember their wedding day.

I share this story not to pass along wedding horrors but to help couple’s find the right people for their wedding day. There are simple ways to end up with the right people to film your wedding and to avoid these catastrophes.

How would this have been avoided: Experience. For example, our videographers ALWAYS keep their camera in hand and the tapes from the wedding on their person until the night is over. They are logged into the computer for backup within 48 hours. No Company is perfect and when starting out most videographers make at least one of the mistakes discussed below. The difference is you learn.

I will say it again EXPERIENCE!

Here are a couple things to look for when hiring a videographer for your wedding:

1 – Meet the people

Nothing beats the feeling you get from meeting people. On your wedding day you need to be comfortable with the people who are around you. Not to mention, how people conduct themselves in life is usually an insight into how they will conduct their work.

2 – See their work

Ask to see finished videos and final DVD’s. Make sure the work is quality and you like their style. Make sure they have completed weddings to show you.

Some companies may have sample DVD’s and a few will have samples to view online like at www.cinemaweddings.com.

You definitely do not want to be the first customer to a new guy starting a business. Let him find someone else to be the guinea pig. You want someone with experience. Weddings are a live event. Filming a wedding is more difficult than a stage shoot. There are no retakes on the vows. You need to get it right the first time, because there is only one shot. This means you need people with experience.

An amateur will have the following problems with the footage:

- Framing. Do they cut off heads? Do they have artistic shots or is it lifeless filming? A creative experienced videographer will have creative shots and entertain the audience.

- Focus. If they are inexperienced they will loose focus on a shot and not be able to get the focus back quickly.

- Camera movements. The shots should be steady and fluid. You should have no attention on camera shakes if you are watching a good video. You will notice the inexperienced videographers because of the shaky camera work or quick zoom in, zoom out shots.

- Lighting. A good videographer will adapt his equipment to handle low light or extreme light. The footage will not be too dark or blown out. The opposite is of course true of the bad videographers.

Some of the “rules” are broken intentionally from time to time to create certain effects. But you will be able to notice the difference.

3 – Ask good questions

There are some things you should find out about the videographers you are interviewing:

- What equipment do you work with?

- How many weddings have you done?

- What will my final DVD look like? Do you have a demo reel or sample wedding to show me?

- Do you have good microphones and wireless mics for the sound, especially during the ceremony?

The answers to these questions will give you a better idea about the company you are dealing with.

4 – Don’t skimp on the important things

There are some things you can cut corners photography, videography and the wedding ring are not the things to skimp on. Why? Because these are the things you take with you FOREVER!

You will get what you pay for in videography. If you have a company willing to offer you unlimited hours and a full edited wedding DVD for $1500 – RUN! I’ll tell you why. Anyone with skills in video filming and editing can make much more than that doing anything in the video world.

The average video is 2-3 hours preparation (meeting with the client, planning, etc.) 8-10 hours of filming plus travel time and 30-40 hours editing, burning, etc. If you have more than one videographer, they are paying a few hundred at least to the second videographer, equipment upkeep, etc. You get my point. A person who will do all this for what ends up being $15-20 per hour is probably not who you want.

You will get what you pay for.

Armed with this information you can make good decisions and ensure you do not have wedding day catastrophes!

Congratulations on your pending wedding day!

About the Author
Tom Wozny owns and operates Cinema Weddings Inc. Cinema Weddings produces the highest quality videos and has many samples for viewing on their website www.cinemaweddings.com. Check out the samples or call for an appointment to discuss your wedding day needs at 949-525-5666. Wedding videography services offered in LA, OC & SD.