A good wedding videographer has a passion for capturing moments and the artistic vision for presenting those moments in a personal and meaningful way. Selective shooting and experience are also necessary, and in the long run, can save you money and result in a better video(meaning a video that you love and want to watch over and over again). With selective shooting a videographer can save you money by offering packages that include less coverage time, and less coverage time means less video to go through and edit. At EuroStarProductions, we are able to recreate important moments like the bride getting ready so you don’t have to pay a huge price tag to have a videographer follow you around all day. We capture all the important details of the décor, guests, venue, bridal party, etc. and tend to focus on the ceremony and vows, first dance, toasts, father/daughter & mother/son dances, and other meaningful parts of the day instead of tons of dancing (who wants to watch hours and hours of drunk dancing?). Another advantage of selective shooting is even if you decide to have little editing done, you wont have to sit through a bunch of boring unimportant footage of the videographer walking with you to a different setting during the photo shoot at cocktail hour, for example. Think of constant rolling of the video camera vs. smooth transitions between important scenes. An experienced videographer will also keep in mind the personality of the couple when editing for a final product that is customized and showcases all that they love. For this reason, an eye for detail—not just an eye for a beautiful scene—is important. It is in the details of a wedding that the tastes and priorities of the couple shine through. So if your videographer just goes through a checklist of bride hair & make-up, walking down the aisle, grand entrance, . . . you could be missing out. Also watch out for videographers who focus on fancy techniques, brag about their pricey equipment, or who are focused on trends (black and white used to be a trend a long time ago, now it could be something like shooting with 8mm or 16mm film-a neat effect but will you still think so even 10 years later?).
How can you tell if a videographer has all these great qualities? Call them for a quote and share what you feel is most important to capture in your wedding video (are you doing something special like a butterfly release? Do you really want to make sure great grandma is in it? Are you writing your own vows? Have any concerns? A strict budget?). Ask them any questions you have. You should be able to get an idea of what the videographer is like and if they will be a good fit for you. If you have a strict budget, are they willing to work with you? What sort of ideas can they offer to make it work? Most importantly the videographer should have several video samples to share with you. Do you like what you see? Does every wedding look the same, or do they have a personal touch? You can also ask the videographer to send you videos they have of your venue or similar venues. This way you can get an idea of what your video could look like. Share with the videographer what specific parts of a sample video you like best.
Hope these tips give you an idea of what to look for in a wedding videographer in order to get a quality video keepsake you will love for years to come.