You’ve been planning and planning that wedding and you’ve almost got everything set. You even managed to reserve a few hundred bucks of your budget because you want someone to video your wedding. You know you can’t afford anyone great with the money left, but you think you might get someone ‘decent’. You got the lute player and photographer you loved, but having some kind of video is better than having no video, you think. It’s beats nothing.
Well, when you hire this person try using this line:
“Excuse me, I’m paying around $3000 or $4000 for photography and I would like to pay you $500 to get in the way of the professional photographers.”
If that sounds crazy, it shouldn’t. (Well, depending on your budget, $3k or $4k for photography might sound crazy.) Many times I have seen a bride and groom spend a few hundred bucks on some cheap videographer because they just wanted something on video. When you have photo and video, they are going to have to work together and share the space. Otherwise, they are going to be in each other’s way and the quality of their work may suffer. One or the other not knowing what to do, or where to be, likely makes it impossible to work together smoothly.
It seems that some of the low-priced, inexperienced videographers are accustomed to working with inexperienced photographers so they show very little professional courtesy, much less professionalism in general. Spending $500 or so might sound like a lot of money, and it might be a lot of money, but it isn’t a lot of money for having someone make a video production of your wedding. Even paying $1000 might not get you a good video, although it’s more likely to get someone who acts professional. Breaking down business expenses and compensation for time, a videographer charging a few hundred bucks is probably working for about $3 to $10 an hour from start to finish. Does that sound like a real professional? What kind of quality and service do you expect for $3 an hour? You can’t even pay someone to make sandwiches at Subway for that much.
Wedding professionals are there to work together to do their jobs and make the day great for the bride & groom and their guests. Inexperienced amateurs don’t typically understand this, much less how to do their own job. They are usually so afraid of messing up that they overcompensate. They often put themselves in a bad position and force the photographers to take bad angles to compensate. They move when they shouldn’t. Sometimes they excitedly run about like a spastic ninja. They violate personal space. And I’ve seen them wear cargo pants, a t-shirt, and Crocs. A lot of times, inexperienced video people are probably shooting more for their portfolio (because they have BIG dreams) than to meet your personal expectations for your wedding. Maybe they aren’t eager to go back to their burger job. I don’t know why that would be though, because I happen to really like burgers, and I appreciate what they did at their old job more than their new job, at least in spirit. (I know, that was mean. I didn’t give them any credit at all for what they could do with a fryer. And I deeply I apologize. As in deep fry.)
A wedding is a big deal. You have all of the important people in your life there. You want it to be beautiful & fun for you & your guests. You want rainbows (seen it)! And unicorns! (haven’t seen it sober, not that I drink at weddings, as far as you know) And ice cream! (please hire me and have some at your wedding!) You get one chance to get it right the first time. So, it makes sense that you only want experienced professionals there that day. You aren’t going to grab a landscaper with a leaf-blower and ask him to do your flowers because he is cheap and you just want flowers, are you? (if he uses a leafblower to decorate, it will make a cool story though) When you look at your pictures or video, you want to relive that special day. If you hire an unskilled, inexperienced videographer, you probably won’t look at your wedding video twice. And you probably won’t know what awesome pictures were missed because of the bumbling amateur video people spreading their bumbliness everywhere. The photographers will know, of course. And if only some professional photographer had had the decency to take the time to explain it all, you could think things through a bit more clearly and maybe borrow from someone else’s experience to make a more informed decision. You know, maybe hire a videographer who works hard and deserves your money. *wink* *nudge* 😉
Of course, in the real world, we all have budgets and priorities. Sometimes you have to make a tough call on what investment to make. Ultimately, it will be your decision and your wedding day. From my personal experience, having shot around 250 weddings, just throwing a few hundred dollars to get something on video is a big gamble. Honestly, they cause more problems or annoyance for the photographers than probably anyone else. But why pay thousands of dollars for photography and then pay someone a few hundred dollars to get in their way? Sure, I can’t say all inexpensive videographers are a nuisance, but, if you want a great wedding video, hire someone who is going to give it to you. Hire someone to show up at your wedding because you want them there. Because you know they are going to do a great job. If you need a couple of referrals, we can recommend a few stellar professionals here in Louisville whom we’ve worked with often. Professionals communicate, know what to do, and get it done. You shouldn’t be paying them so they can try out a new profession on your wedding day.
So, the best way to hire an amateur/inexperienced videographer is don’t. But, if you feel you have to, then put the same time and effort in to it as you would hiring a more expensive and qualified vendor. Ask other professionals, get references, and make sure you are hiring someone you want at your wedding. And, remember, just because someone has decent gear doesn’t mean they dress and act professional or play well with others. This day is too important to gamble. If you want video, your best bet is not to bet; hire someone good that you like who has a solid reputation. If you do, we have free hugs available during regular business hours.
Louisville Photographers – Wedding Photographers in Louisville KY
That guy is wearing Crocs! And pants-shorts-thingies. And a sweat towel.
And possibly has tots in that cargo pouch.
