Tuesday, January 12, 2010

"I'm thinking about having my wedding shot on video along with still photography. Do you work along with a video crew?"

Yes, I've shot several weddings that were also being captured on video. In fact, in another life I was a corporate video producer for many years... so I know the business from both sides. If I'm shooting stills and you have a video crew coming in, I strongly suggest a pre-ceremony meeting between all of us (you too) to establish who sets up where, etc. Still photography and video can co-exist, especially if both parties work together to stay out of the other's way. But experience has taught me that as the bride/boss, you will need to decide which format is of primary importance to you - and let both shooters know who takes precedence over the other if camera setups and shooting positions conflict with one another. If the video is more important to you, the still photographer will need to defer to their lighting, their crew positioning, etc. (And you need to understand that his still photos will most likely suffer as a result of video being your #1 choice.) If you're spending $15,000 on a full blown video production shoot with 5 or 6 crew members, full video lighting and a producer director, you probably don't care if the still photos suffer. On the other hand if high quality still photography is your primary desire but you are also going to have your buddy set up his video camera in the corner on a static wide shot, your still photographer needs to be given the control to make his thing happen - if your buddy comes up with some ideas that cause conflict. The most important thing is lots of pre ceremony communication activity between you and the various types of shooters you elect to have working at your wedding ceremony.