Wedding Photography and Videography Forum

HELP! - FH is a video know it all

So, my fiance is going to law school in the fall, but before deciding to change careers, he worked in film and television in NYC. I've been giving him pricing quotes for videographers out here in the bay area, and he's appalled. He would rather just pay to fly some of the crew members he knows to shoot our wedding, and it would be cheaper. 

While I know these guys would be professional, I also know there are differences in camera styles based on what you're familiar with. I don't need our wedding to look like reality TV or the news. Additionally, if they've never shot a wedding before, they've certainly never edited a wedding video before, so there's no previous work for me to look at. It might be half the price, but we might not get anywhere near what we need/want.

The photos and video are VERY important to me. Does anyone have any arguments for going the professional wedding videographer route from personal or anecdotal experience? Or should I just trust my fiance to handle it?


(and for anyone who likes wedding videos, this one is my favorite - it's of a couple in Australia: http://ruffledblog.com/kangaroo-valley-vintage-wedding/)
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Re: HELP! - FH is a video know it all

  • aeliza06aeliza06 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited July 2012
    Television/Production cameras are way different than the style of most wedding films. Most wedding films are crisp/clear or vintage. While production cameras (I am thinking JVC/90's/Mount on your shoulder types) are effective, as you said, it isn't the usual wedding style. Also, the bigger the cameras (and the more crew), the more chance that they will be in the background of your photos. If your video doesn't turn out well (as you mention, it is a gamble), and pictures are all you have to remember it by, do you really want 3 people in your photo at all times? 

    Speaking from precedence, go with the professional wedding videographer. As you said, there are certain things that shooting/editing wise, your FI's colleauges won't know. It is why you wouldn't ask a sports journalist to come photograph a wedding. It is a beast. You have to know what will be the best angle, you have to be able to anticipate the best shot, and you have to really understand the flow of the wedding. Experienced wedding professionals will know these things and understand. In a production, you get take twos, but in real life, there are no additional takes and you have to get everything right the first time. 

    My experience: DH works in film (has for 4 years) and decided to give shooters from another production company our gear to save on costs. We ended up with maybe 15 minutes of USABLE footage. Is that capturing the whole day? No. Were there variations of shots, details, and things I wanted to remember my wedding by? No. To save yourself from disappointment, I would go with the professionals. :) 

    HTH! Good luck! (P.S. have you tried looking for a low-budget videographer outside of your region and paying for their travel costs? SLC and Oregon have some pretty low budget but stylistic videographers). 
  • No I hadn't thought of that! I might try that with photos, though, because we actually finally got a videographer to email us back who is willing to work on price and is open about his costs. Thank God he basically explained what you did so my fiance is on board with it now. Now I just need to figure out where to get the money from! Ha.
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