Wedding Photographer or Videographer, or both?

It was when I saw my own wedding photographer roll his eyes at the mere mention of wedding videographers filming our day that I started to wonder what the issue was with wedding photographers and videographers working together.

I got married way back in 2009 and had no wedding experience other than my Auntie’s wedding back when I was a young bridesmaid. Wedding planning, and how wedding suppliers got along with each other was all very new and I imagine that may be similar for you too?

Well, I’ve now been filming weddings since 2010 and have lots of great (and not so great) experience working alongside may suppliers so felt I should share both my own personal and professional views on wedding photography and videographer, is it really worth hiring both…?

Should you hire both a wedding photographer and videographer?

Why on earth my own wedding photographer be so obvious about his dislike for a film crew when he’s never even met my guys before, let alone worked with them?

But after a little research and asking a few of my new wedding photographer friends around Lancashire and Cheshire I realised that there was a bit of a bad rep around!

On too many occasions there had been disagreements between a wedding photographer and videographer and they had plenty of horror stories to share. Some of them were really quite shocking!

Now, armed with this knowledge I make that extra effort with all the suppliers I work with (not that I didn’t anyway, but I’m definitely more aware of why someone may start off grumpy with me!).

Can you imagine getting ready on the morning of your wedding and feeling a bit awkward because your photographer is being rude to the videographer (or the other way around)??

On the day I understand that we are there to capture the day for the couple and I’d hate any tensions-I hate tensions in general, never mind at work-so I like to be professional, polite and basically win them over if they have had bad experiences before!

As soon as they realise I’m not ‘one of those videographers’ we’re soon working perfectly together and being conscious of what the other is doing so we can complement each other and not get in the way! I even like to get the photographer in the occasional shot as they are such a big part of every wedding day.

in a lot of my wedding videos, you’ll spot lots of suppliers working away! They’re part of your wedding day and story too…

I thought I’d share with you one of my favourite photographers to work with and you’ll hopefully see how choosing the perfect team to capture your wedding can really help you relax and get the best from your wedding photographs and wedding video!

I first had the pleasure of working with Mick Cookson at Laura and Andy’s Wedding at Mottram Hall back when I first started and many more wedding since!

Mick was a photographer who had had to deal with a lot of unprofessional videographers before working with me so was initially a little quiet around us when we first started shooting.

After lots of giggling with Laura, the Bride, we started to hit it off and work around each other like we had been shooting together for years. I even found myself holding up his flash gun so he could get a really good shot of them in front of Mottram Hall!

His style is very documentary influenced in style so there were less couple shots and more darting around the guests and the venue capturing the excitement. I still managed to capture him in some of my shots…

And here are a few from his camera of me working away on the wedding day (and occasionally laughing with everyone as I’m not one to hide in the corner and weird you out, I like to be friendly on the day too haha). I’m sure you can tell why I had one huge bicep back at the beginning, those HUGE film cameras from my film and TV days!!!

Top Tips for having both wedding photography and wedding videography to capture your day

My top tips for having both photography and videography to capture your wedding day would be…

See if your photographer or videographer has any recommendations first.

As well as being someone they work well with, they may also have a style that complements their work well.

There are so many styles of videography now that we are moving away from the more traditional style wedding videos.

From Cinematic (they tend to use lots of film style equipment like steadicams, slide tracks, cranes and drones) to Documentary style (where they capture the action as it happens, usually blending in to the background and ‘handheld’ with minimum kit so it seems very natural and unobtrusive) or even a combination of the two for that extra wow factor.

You’ll know which style you’re drawn to once you start looking.

Ask friends and family for recommendations.

People who have experienced using someone from the initial enquiry and right through to delivery are the perfect people to ask! They’ll tell you how they were made to feel and whether they were as good on the day as they seemed to be online!

Struggling to find recommendations? Maybe start your research online via websites and social media. Venue searches can be a good way of seeing how people work at your venue at real weddings. You’ll also find these a good way to get to know the person behind the brand and whether you feel they’ll be a good fit for you and your wedding day. Look for reviews and testimonials once you’ve found a style you like!

The Wedding Industry Awards have respected reviews as they are made by Bride and Grooms who have used the suppliers. As well as Little White Books who host styled shoots and wedding fairs alongside their magazine and awards!

Draw up a shortlist of everyone you love.

It’s a good sign if you can watch a stranger’s wedding film and get goosebumps, laugh out loud or even shed a happy tear.

Imagine what they can do for you and your own wedding video?

You should then try and meet them in person or speak to them directly to see how you get on.

This goes for both photography and videography as they will be spending a lot of time with you on the day so it’s important to feel relaxed in their company!

Ask to see lots of samples of their work. Most will have a lot on their site but it may be nice to see what a final DVD looks like.

Do they have interactive menus or do they just play as soon as you put them in your DVD player? Are they digital only? Will you get any physical products to enjoy?

Make those introductions!

Once you have found the perfect Photographer and Videographer make them aware of each other so they know who they’ll be working with on the day.

I like to send an intro email or chat to them on the phone before the big day if we’ve not met before. Most will also take a look at the others site so they can see their style and how they like to work.

After that you can just enjoy the rest of your planning and feel safe in the knowledge that you have picked the perfect team of suppliers.

They will be doing everything they can to work together to make your day perfect. All you need to do now is just look forward to your wedding day and seeing your final wedding photographs and wedding films!

You can get a feel for our style of wedding films on our wedding videography portfolio as well as looking through some more of our wedding blog.

If you like what you see then do get in touch, maybe even arrange a time to chat over a call (video or old skool phone call) or even come and meet us in person at our home in Lancashire or at a wedding fair? We can get the kettle on and hear more about your wedding, helping you decide if we could be the wedding videographers for you!