10 Questions for Your Video and Photo Team
Wedding days are so full of memories that sometimes brides get lost because of the crazy schedule of the day. To help the bride and her family and friends capture every moment she should hire a photographer and videographer. There is nothing better than sitting down and being able to review every moment that went on during your wedding day. The silly, emotional, fun, exciting, tearjerking, and loving moments will all be forever yours with beautiful wedding photos and videos.We know how important capturing this day is. Therefore, Fred at Fineline Weddings is going to help by answering a few questions about photos and video that most brides should consider before her wedding day.Here are 10 questions to consider for your video and photo team:What is the best way to understand a photographers style other than browsing pictures online? Ask them to discuss what types of photos they like to take and what types of photos they don’t like to take. Let your photographer speak and just listen rather than nodding in approval or disapproval. If a photographer can pick up on what you seem to agree with, they’ll tell you what you want to hear. By letting them discuss what they like and don’t like, you can get a better sense of their style.What should a bride-to-be expect in a normal package of photos? There are three main things brides should look for. 1. Shooting Time – A photographer’s package should clarify how long their wedding day shooting time is. Most basic packages should be a minimum of 6 hours. Some photographers still set their packages per a set number of hours while some are full day regardless of the package.2. Post-production – Make sure your photographer is going to provide post-production on all the photos you will receive. At minimum they should be taking care of exposure correction, tone, and color correction.3. Digital files with copyrights – One of the most important things to verify is whether or not your package includes all the digital files with copyrights. Some photographers will provide this but at an additional cost. Avoid photographers who will not release the digital files and copyrights.How long does it take for pictures and videos to get back to the customer? Every company is going to be a little different and much of this depends on the nature of the package and everything included. However there is really no excuse for your photographs or video taking more than 3 months at most. There are three main things brides should look for.What happens if equipment fails? How do most videographers prepare themselves for such situations? We encourage you to ask your potential videographers how they prepare but we prepare by not only bringing a backup camera for all weddings but also by allocating the day before the wedding to a complete check of all the equipment.What do you think about Photobooths? They’re fantastic!Wedding Photography & Videography in Pittsburgh, PA
Videography is all about catching candid moments of your guests enjoying themselves and photobooths provide just that.
How long do most family and bridal formal pictures take? The average formal session immediately after the ceremony takes approximately 30 minutes. This depends in large part to the size of the family, how organized and cooperative everyone is, and how much priority the bride and groom have on this part of the day. Most of our brides like to move through these formal photos in as short amount of time as possible in order to allow more time for the fun / romantic photos afterwards.
How many video cameras should a bride expect to have at her wedding day and what kind of cameras are the best to use? Our average package includes 2 camera operators at the ceremony and 1 at the reception. While a wedding can be shot with just one camera, having 2 guarantees a much cleaner production as well as helping to make sure certain moments that may happen quickly can be covered. We have some packages that includes 2 cameras at the reception, but 1 is just fine.
How do you find out if the videographer has won any awards or is very reliable? You can ask your videographer and if they do have awards hopefully they are sharing that information on their website. Some of the typical awards organizations include the videographer awards and the accolade competition. A quick search within these organizations’ websites can provide information. Often ‘googling’ your videographer can even turn up results from the videographer awards or accolade competition websites.
What is better for the final cut, DVD’s or VHS’s? Clearly DVD is a better delivery platform than VHS. We do educate our clients a little and let them know that there are two types of consumer DVD formats; DVD-R and DVD+R. In order to ensure playback compatibility we give our couples both formats just to be safe.
How much of a factor does weather play? Weather can certainly play a large role, especially if the wedding is to be held outdoors. However, any photographer or videographer should be able to adapt. Unless the wedding is planned to be held outdoors, the part of the day most reliant on good weather is the photo shoot session after the ceremony. In instances of poor weather most photographers will spend more time at the church and finding nice spots to come away with beautiful photos. If the bridal party is unable to head to an outdoor location due to poor weather conditions then finding a nice spot at your reception venue is the next best option. It’s good to have a back-up plan for this part of the day, but for the remainder of the day everything should proceed just as planned.
Hi-Def Wedding Videos: 5 Things to Consider
Your wedding video may be the most worthwhile cost of your entire wedding. It will contain some of the most cherished memories from your special day. Because of this and continuing developments in new technology, many couples are opting to have their wedding filmed in high-definition. If this is also important to you, here are some things you’ll want to consider and some suggestions on working with your wedding videographer.
1. Are You Ready for Your Close-up?
One aspect of HD video that is often overlooked is whether the customer is actually prepared to watch themselves in Hi-Def. All those close-ups will be much more revealing than you’re used to.
2. Additional Cost
There are additional costs associated with HD wedding videography for many reasons. Depending on where you live, supply and demand can play a major role. In southwestern PA only a handful of professional videographers are currently offering HD production (and even then you’ll want to clarify what you’re getting – see below). These videographers are investing in more expensive equipment, tapes or digital cards, capturing devices, and Blu-ray burning equipment software.
3. Who Else is Getting a Copy?
Keep in mind what your final product is and who is getting a copy. If you’re getting Blu-Ray discs and giving copies to mom and dad, make sure they have a Blu-Ray player.
4. Clarify What You are Getting
Some videographers are offering HD Production with a final product of standard definition DVDs and not Blu-Ray. The HD production means your day will be shot in Hi-Def but down-converted to DVD. If you truly want Blu-Ray make sure to inquire what you’re getting as a final product.
5. Who is Shooting?
Because the ability to shoot in Hi-Def and deliver a final Blu-Ray video is still relatively new for the consumer wedding marketing, not every wedding videographer is able to provide this. You may have to prioritize whether you want the professionalism and style of a videographer who is not offering Hi-Def or whether you want to go with the unknown videographer who is.
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