Choosing a Wedding Videographer

In this day and age, with technology available at your fingertips, iphones with video recording capabilities, and movie making software on every computer, you may not think it's necessary to hire a videographer. "Maybe I could get uncle Bob to bring his tripod and set him up in the corner? He wouldn't charge me a dime!" I remember thinking similar things when my husband and I got married. I thought, "Photos are good enough, why would I need anything else?"

Now after been married several years I regret not hiring a professional. There are moments that I would love to relive, like the speech my bridesmaids gave, my first dance, the look on my face when the minister pronouced us husband and wife. Unfortunately I can't do it over. We always remind couples that there are only a few things you get to take away from your wedding day, and so the investment in capturing those moments is money well spent.

But back to "uncle Bob". Why can't you rely on having a family member or friend record the wedding? "Uncle Bob" might have a brand new professional quality camera he is itching to test out! The problem is simple: Uncle Bob is not a professional wedding videographer. A professional wedding videographer has years of experience in filming weddings.

Weddings are much more difficult than capturing a home video. The key moments of the wedding day only happen once, and they can't be redone if the camera wasn't recording or wasn't set up properly. Wedding Videographers know this, and they anticipate every crucial moment of the day. They know when it's time for the vows, the rings, the kiss, and they are prepared to capture each of these irreplaceable moments.

Professional videographers also know how to handle challenges imposed by various locations. If the wedding is outdoors, a professional wedding videographer can adjust for changing levels of light or windy weather. If the wedding is indoors, the videographer has the equipment and expertise to handle a dark church or dimly lit banquet hall.

Wedding videographers have lapel microphones and other pro audio equipment necessary for capturing the audio from your day. Intimate moments, like your wedding vows, may very well be inaudible if recorded only with the microphone on "uncle Bob's" camera.

Professional wedding videographers also possess the knowledge and editing software necessary to make your wedding day look and sound its best. Unlike "uncle Bob", pro videographers spend dozens of hours after the wedding reviewing and improving the color, contrast, and volume of each clip in order to ensure that the finished product is consistently of a high standard.

If you are investing in your wedding day, take some time to consider (or perhaps reconsider) wedding videography. Modern wedding videographers are continuing to raise the bar in terms of techniques and creativity, which means couples have more choices and higher quality wedding videos than ever before!

Although each individual wedding videographer has his or her own unique style, wedding videographers generally fall into one of two main camps. There are those who offer long videos of almost the entire wedding day (or at least the main events), and there are those who offer shorter, usually more artistic videos that summarize the day.

In this article we will refer to the first approach as the "documentary" approach, since it produces videos that are comprehensive though sometimes a little plain. We will call the second approach the "cinematic" approach because it leads to videos that are shorter but usually a little more engaging.

Before contacting any videographers, it's important for you and your fiancé to decide on the wedding video style that matches your expectations. The short 10 question survey below will help you determine the most suitable video style and specifications for your wedding.

Rate each statement from 1 to 3 according to how strongly you agree with it.
(1 = Do not agree / Feel neutral towards it, 2 = Somewhat agree, 3 = Strongly agree)
Write down your answers. In the next section we will use them to identify the video style and specifics that best suit you.

A. My primary concern is with having the day documented for people who can't attend the wedding (such as aging relatives, family members in other countries, or even future children).

B. It is very important to me for the wedding ceremony, wedding speeches, and other main wedding events to be represented in their entirety in the finished videos. (For example, if the wedding ceremony is 45 minutes long, the video of the wedding ceremony should be almost 45 minutes in length.)

C. I expect my finished wedding video to be at least 1.5 hours long.

D. The videos should cut back and forth between multiple camera angles, showcasing the best angles available.

E. The videos should contain footage of both the bride and groom's pre-wedding preparations.

F. The wedding videos should include portions of the spoken audio from the ceremony, speeches, and other wedding events.

G. The wedding video must be entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

H. The wedding video should be artistic and have a modern, engaging style.

I. I would prefer a more engaging and polished video than a more comprehensive but less engaging and less polished video.

J. I own a HD TV and Blu-ray player or expect to own one in the future.

Your answers to the Wedding Video Style Questionnaire contain valuable insight into the style that's right for you.

Begin by adding up your rating for statements A, B, and C together, and then write down this new score. Proceed by doing the same for statements D, E, and F, and then for statements G, H, and I.

Second, compare your scores for statements A, B, and C with statements G, H, and I. Which scored higher? If you agreed more strongly with statements A, B, and C than with statements G, H, and I, then the Documentary style is likely the best approach for you. As we observed, the Documentary approach places great emphasis upon comprehensiveness, which is clearly an important quality to you. If you agreed more strongly with statements G, H, and I, then the Cinematic style, with it's focus on quality and artistry, is likely a better match.

Next, look at the combined score you gave to statements D, E, and F. If your score is five or below, you may be able to get by with hiring a wedding videographer comprised of only one shooter or camera person. Single-shooter wedding videographers are generally less expensive than videography teams with multiple camera people, but they of course cannot capture events from as many angles nor be at multiple locations at once.

If your score is 6 or above, you will likely be best served by a videography team comprised of at least two shooters. By having at least two camera people, these videographers are usually able to film both the bride and groom's preparations, and they generally capture the wedding events in more detail and from more angles than a single shooter.

Finally, if your answer to question J is 2 or above, you should seriously consider hiring a wedding videographer who shoots with HD cameras and offers the finished videos on Blu-ray in addition to DVD. If your answer to question J is 1, you may be able to get by with a videographer who does not shoot with HD cameras, though you should be aware that HD cameras are quickly becoming the standard., and almost all true professionals shoot in HD.

Kevin and Ashley Hill are professional wedding videographers in Calgary, Alberta. They love big dogs, good friends, and romantic weddings!

If you would like to see some of their videos, visit:
SNAP Weddings, Calgary wedding videographer

Wedding photographs courtesy of Mike and Ashley Kitchen from SNAP Weddings, Calgary and Victoria wedding photographer.

Now that you have determined the general video style that's right for your big day, you are well equipped to identify which local videographers may be a good fit for you.

The internet is a great tool for finding and sorting through local videographers. Using either Google or Bing, you should be able to quickly identify the main videographers in your area by using two main search phrases:

• [your location] wedding videographer
• [your location] wedding videography

For example, if your wedding was going to be in Calgary, Alberta, you could begin by searching for "Calgary wedding videographer" and then for "Calgary wedding videography" (you don't need to include the quotation marks). Together, these two phrases would bring up most of the wedding videographers who serve the Calgary area.

(Note: If you know you want a cinematic style wedding video, you may want to also search for "[your location] wedding cinematographer" or "[your location] wedding cinematography". That being said, most cinematic style videographers still list themselves as videographers on search engines, so the original two phrases should still find them.)

Word of mouth can also be an extremely helpful way to find local wedding videographers. Ask recently married coworkers, friends, and family members if they have any experiences with wedding videographers.

Coming February 2012!

Coming March 2012!

Coming March 2012!