Choosing Professional Wedding Videographers

Using the services of a professional videographer should ensure that you get a good quality of wedding video and that none of your nearest and dearest spends the whole of your wedding day with an eye glued to the viewfinder. However, wedding videography is not necessarily cheap and if you choose to use the services of a professional wedding videographer, you should make sure that you're getting value for money.

Wedding Videography

Here are a few of things to consider about using the services professional wedding videographers:

• Filming Style – Make sure you have viewed samples of a wedding videographer's work, before you book him or her for your wedding day. Check to see whether they solely use a tripod or are more versatile in the way they shoot wedding videos. Is all the footage well-lit? Is the sound well-recorded? Do you like their editing style? Does anything look too staged or cheesy?
• Equipment – Make sure you understand the implications of using videography equipment on your wedding day. For example, you and your wedding guests may have to wear small cameras and transmitters for intimate, surveillance-style footage or wireless microphones.
• Brief – Agree a brief with your wedding videographer before your wedding day. Make sure they know where and when you are happy for them move around you and your guests and when they need to keep still. Make sure they know whether you expect or want them to 'direct' events or guests.
• Editing – Make sure you know what you're buying, so you do not end up with 'cheesy' special effects. Watch out for slide shows, highlight reels, templates and most importantly, the use of music. Viewing sample wedding videos will give you a good feel for what the wedding videographer's editing capability is. If the music is over-powering, tacky or clumsily added to the footage, you will see and hear it.
• Copying – Make sure you know how many wedding videos you will receive and how much it will cost to make additional copies. Most importantly, see if you are able to copy the DVD.

More About Wedding Videography

View NZ Wedding Guide's wedding videography information, or return to NZ Wedding Guide's main page.