As you begin to build out your wedding team, the creative professionals that you choose to partner with will play important roles in the big day. Your wedding photographer(s) and videographer(s) will be there with you every step of the way and it will be helpful if you have a better understanding of what to expect.
In today’s article, we’re focusing on what to expect from a wedding videographer on your wedding day. (If you’re interested in the role that your photographer will play, read this!)
Tips on What to Expect from a Wedding Videographer on Your Wedding Day
Here’s what to expect from a wedding videographer on your wedding day:
1. In the best-case scenario, your videographer(s) and photographer(s) will align on a shot list beforehand and be comfortable working together as a team. On the day of, keep in mind that you might get directions from both, since they are each looking for different types of content. For example, while a photographer might want a specific pose, moments of transition and movement will be more important for your videographer. Be patient if your videographer asks you to perform a specific action again, and just know that it’s because they are trying to capture the best possible footage.
2. Once they arrive, they will need some time to get acquainted with the space and set up their gear. Don’t underestimate (or get overwhelmed with) the number of items that they bring---it’s so that they’re prepared for whatever comes their way. As part of their setup, there will likely be small microphones that they ask for you to wear during key portions of the big day. This will help capture your voices above the background noise. These will be small and not visible on camera, and they will make a big difference in the final result.
3. Your videographer will be there the whole time for your consecutive coverage which has been agreed upon, but you might not always see them! For example, while you're spending time with your photographer, they might be shooting the outside of your venue to get footage of the building or to capture close ups of your details.
4. It’s likely that you’re going to have more of a personal connection with your photographer than your videographer, because of the natural amount of dialogue that takes place. Consider this: your videographer will be shooting video footage of what’s occurring. Since these aren’t photos, they won’t want their voice in the background of all your footage. Because of this, expect them to be vocal during moments of setup or transition, and quieter once the camera begins to roll.
5. Your videographer will stay close by your photographer, and continue to shoot the whole time! As they get footage of you throughout the day, even while having photos taken, this might feel unnatural to you. They will continue to shoot because some of these scenes will lead to important video content. Don't overthink it and just lean into the experience. Remember that quite a bit of the footage will not make the final cut, and your videographer will want more options for scenes to splice together.
Tips for Communicating with Your Wedding Videographer
In advance of the wedding, make sure that you share what you expect with your final wedding video. For example, are there specific parts of the day that are really important to you? (Tell them so that they can get adequate coverage for these ‘scenes’!)
Be prepared to provide input on your desired wedding video style because it could change the way that the footage gets captured. (This isn’t something that most couples are familiar with, so it would help to do a little bit of research! Read this article next.)
To help set them up for success, tell them beforehand of any unique ceremony/reception space details. Relevant areas might be things like lighting or décor (i.e. is there a ‘loud’ fountain right in front of the ceremony location?)
Ask if there are specific needs that they will have on the wedding day. For example, do they need a plug point for a specific light setup? These will be important details for you to share with your venue or wedding planner and help the day go more smoothly.
If you want to capture livestream footage, discuss this with them. They might have tips on how to do this on your own, or even be able to help provide some support. Either way, this is important for them to be aware of in advance.
Offer to connect them directly with the production team or wedding coordinator to get specific technical questions answered. Whether or not they take you up on that offer, make sure they have a contact on the day-of who they can go to if they need anything. (It shouldn’t be you or your spouse!)
We hope you enjoyed learning about what to expect from a wedding videographer on your wedding day. At Joy Photo and Video, we offer both photography and videography. This makes it easier on you because you’ll be working directly with one production company before, during, and after the wedding day. This creates a more seamless experience and helps to keep your creative team more organized. (And in our main city hubs, many of our photographers and videographers have also partnered together before---this can really help elevate your experience)! Learn about our packages here and then catch up on our latest FAQs.
[Video in the spotlight: Nicholas + Brenda in Austin, Kaylin + Joshua in DFW, Texas, and Rachel + Rafael in Orlando, Florida.]
Choose joy,
The Joy Team