Working With Photographers and Videographers
Photo Credit: Stephen Ludwig Photography
After all the time, thought and finances you’ll inevitably invest into planning, it's only right that the day of your wedding should be well documented. Picking the right photographer and videographer is an important decision. Not only will your wedding photos and videos be what you’ll have to look back on to remember your big day, but they will become family heirlooms that you will display and share for years to come. Making this decision might be a little overwhelming especially if you have no prior experience working with photographers or videographers, but lucky for you we’ve created some resources to help you with just that!
Research
The first step to making this big decision is having a clear idea of what you’re looking for aesthetically. All photographers and videographers have different styles. What they do is an art, and you inevitably will discover you have your own preference in artistic style. If you aren’t sure exactly what you’re looking for, use platforms like Instagram or Pinterest to explore a wide variety of styles. By simply searching “Oahu wedding photographer” or “Oahu wedding videographer” you’ll start to discover tons of relevant options. After a short period of time, you’ll probably start to see a pattern between the shooting and editing styles of the photos and videos that you're most drawn to.
Photo credit: Stephen Ludwig Photography
Once you start to get the gist of what you’re “into” visually, start exploring the specific photographers or videographers who captured some of your favorite photos or films. Check out their websites, galleries, portfolios and blogs. Look at their social media pages. Sometimes their social media profiles are more up to date than their website. Not only that, but you will be able to get a sense of their personality through their captions and stories.
When looking at different photographers, pay attention to how they shoot and edit their photos. Somethings to consider are:
Do you like the way their photos are composed?
Is their editing style what you’re looking for (moody, colorful, airy, etc.)?
Do you see constancy in their work?
With videographers, consider the questions above, but also pay attention to how they tell a story. Some can be more emotional or dramatic, while others are more lighthearted. Your preference will likely depend on your personality, style and how you envision your wedding day.
Once you’ve done your research, create a list of your top photographers and videographers to reach out to. We typically recommend 3-5 in each category. Check out their reviews and testimonials from past clients. We also recommend reaching out to other vendors to get first hand feedback. Once you’ve done your homework, reach out for their availability and pricing via email. Once you’ve gathered enough information, schedule interviews to get to know them and ask all your unanswered questions face to face.
Discovery Meetings
Meeting your photographer or lead videographer before booking is super important! If you can’t meet in person, the next best thing will be setting up a video call. During this meeting you will want to ask questions about their style, how long they’ve been in business, what their approach is on the wedding day as well as questions about the product you will receive after your wedding.
Generally you’d ask a videographer similar questions you’d ask a photographer, but there are a few things you might want to ask a videographer specifically. For example do they use drones, how do they choose the music for your film and how do they approach working side by side with a photographer.
You also should use this meeting to get a feel for their personality and figure out if this person will be a good fit for you. Having insight into what type of personalities you work well with is important. If you're someone who is more relaxed, are you looking to work with someone who has a similar vibe? Or do you want to work with someone with a personality that will contrast and balance out yours? Considering this type of synergy is important, but even more so, you’ve got to like them as a person. You will be spending a lot of time with them on the day of your wedding. As a good rule of thumb, imagine your photographer and videographer as guests at your wedding. If you can’t imagine them being people you’d enjoy having there, they might not be the right fit for you.
Leading up to the Big Day
Photo credit: Chelsea Abril
Once you’ve decided on the photo and video professionals you want to work with and have officially booked their services, typically there isn’t a lot you have to do until much closer to your wedding date. All the photographers and videographers we interviewed mentioned they are happy to connect at any time to answer questions or concerns, but they typically reach out about 1-2 months before the big day to gather up-to-date important information and refresh their memory on your vision and priorities.
In the last few months leading up to your wedding, when you have more plans finalized, it's time to start thinking about what type of coverage you want. Most experienced professionals already have a good idea of what shots are important, but they aren’t mind readers! If there are uncommon special moments, family members, groups or design details you want documented be sure to create a shot list. This goes for both photographers and videographers.
Around 1 -2 months before your wedding, you’ll want to discuss the wedding day timeline and confirm the correct amount of coverage you’ll need for the day. Finally, around 1-2 weeks before your wedding, you will want to share things like the final logistics and shot list.
The Day of
On the wedding day, it's your photographer and videographer's job to capture all the special moments. Not only will they be documenting, but they will also be directing you through the shots. Based on your timeline, both professionals will have a plan in mind when it comes to capturing all of the things that are important to you as well as additional details they find important to tell the story of your wedding day. In most cases, the photographer will often take the lead directing the majority of the shots whereas the videographer is a bit more behind the scenes. Ideally they should be able to get most of the shots in tandem for efficiency.
Vendors understand that plans can change during the event, so be sure to communicate with your photographer and videographer if you need a break and/or if you have additional requests. Make sure to plan to feed your photo and video team if they’ve been working for 4+ hours. It tends to work well if you have the caterer provide them with a vendor meal at the same time you eat your dinner. At the end of the night, photographers and videographers will typically give you a heads up when they’re about to finish up. If for whatever reason you need them to stay longer, it is typically an option, but be prepared to pay for overtime.
Photo credit: Sarah Jual Photo
Photo credit: Aria Studios
Post-wedding
Your final deliverables will vary and depend on the photographer and videographer you choose. For photographers, most offer sneak peaks a few days to a few weeks after your wedding. The number of photos could vary from 10 to 100 depending on the company. The delivery date of the full gallery varies from 3-14 weeks, depending on the company. Photos are most commonly delivered digitally in an online gallery, but some photographers also offer prints and albums.
With videographers you can expect to receive the final edited product 3-4 months after your event date. This is often shared online or on a thumb drive depending on the company.
We hope this blog was able to help you! We want to give a big shout out to some of our all time favorite photographers, Chelsea Abril, Sarah Jual, Stephen Ludwig, Ashley Goodwin and Jessica Nakasone, for their help! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us and for sharing your insights on this topic!