The Importance of Choosing a Wedding Photographer and Cinematographer Who Work Well Together

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This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime.

As a Wedding Photography company, we meet and work with many different people, from the client, decorator, wedding organizer, venue owner or manager, singer, and many more, but the one that we always work with closely, apart from the wedding couple, of course, is the Wedding Cinematographer who provides the video. Choosing a wedding photographer and cinematographer to deliver memorable photos and videos is an important decision.

What to Consider When Choosing a Wedding Photographer and Cinematographer

For a couple who is planning their wedding, apart from the beautiful memory, your wedding photos and video are the two things that you will keep with you for a long time. You can look back at them anytime you want and, of course, share them with your close ones, especially when you have kids (if that is part of the plans. of course.) This is a good reason why you should pay some attention when choosing photographer and videographer.

There are so many choices when it comes to choosing good artists to produce something that you will cherish for a long time. What couples normally don’t pay too much attention to is whether the they select can work well together. When they don’t, there can be a few problems when it comes to photo and video which you will not like when you see the final result of their work. One thing that I can definitely tell you that is 99% likely to happen is that you will get lots of photos or video that will include people that you don’t really want in either your photos or your video.

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Rules for Choosing Your Team

Of course, the obvious solution in this is to just hire one professional, either just a photographer or just a cinematographer. If you would like both photos and a video of your beautiful wedding, always remember that humans (and maybe more so with artists) all have their own ego, and some want to stand out more then the other. That being said, here are a few tips for you:

1. Hire both from the same company

This is the easiest and will save you a lot of time. There are many companies out there that provide both services. If this is your decision, then you most probably don’t have to worry anymore since being from the same company this means that they know how each other’s work and most of the time they can work well together.

2. Make sure you meet them before your wedding day

This is very important if you decide to choose two different vendors. Meeting with you and with each other will reduce the likelihood of awkwardness on the day of the wedding. When you meet with them, it is important to discuss the plan with both of them so they understand what you consider to be the crucial moments of your wedding: the wedding kiss, ring exchange, first dance, cutting the cake, etc. You should also share which guests not to miss in the photos and video.

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3. Be very clear with what you expect from them

Tell them clearly what you want and don’t want in both photo and video (i.e., no videographer should be in the photos when standing on the altar). Believe me, it is better to tell them what your expectations are in the beginning rather than sending them the files back to edit out people who are not supposed to be in the frame. Both the photographer and the videographer are equally important, but if you do think that one is more important than the other at a specific part of the wedding, be sure to let both of them know. For example, there is no point for a photographer to keep shooting someone giving a speech when this will come to life in the video. They should consider it their job to talk to each other about these circumstances and coordinate their work, but always remember sometimes their egos get in the way. Since you are paying them, you should clearly express your wishes rather than let them decide.

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4.Get them to recommend to you what vendor to hire

Another way to get rid of the headache is, to simply ask either the photographer or videographer to recommend you who to hire. Usually, they will give you a few choices with different styles, ideally pros who usually work well with them.

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5. Be sure to take a closer look at their portfolio before you decide either a photographer or videographer

You can tell a lot from checking out their work. Make sure you ask to see some example of a full wedding (either photo or video) so that you can see the style and note duplication or any examples of people in the frame that shouldn’t be in it.

6. If possible, let them know if it is possible how much you are paying each of them.

This a little sensitive but I think it is worth mentioning, especially if you hire vendors from different company. What you are paying is an indirect way of saying which is more important for you (photo or video). But sometimes it can actually help you a lot in conveying to them who is more in charge .

The most important thing in the end is to get the best result for you to keep, so it is a good idea to be a little more fussy in the beginning than to end up with something that you might not like as a result.

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Bio: Jimie Wu is a Wedding Photographer at Balipixtura, a Bali -based Wedding Photographer