Tip #5 - Videographers vs Photographers

While there are some overlaps, I've come to the opinion that videography and photography are completely different forms of media.

Although in both a camera is used, light is important, and the optimum angle is desired by both parties, they are two completely different animals. In one, an instant is captured forever, and everything depends on that one moment. All the efforts of the photographer are focussed (pun not intended) on that 500th of a second or however long the shutter is open. Photos can be quite breathtaking and I have great admiration for photographers who are able to attain perfection in this regard. In the other, sound and movement come in to play, sequential editing decisions are important, music can be added, speech recorded. You can hang wedding photos on a wall or place them on the sideboard, whereas a wedding film is put away and taken out to be enjoyed for years to come. 

Photography is the traditional way weddings have been recorded for generations. Getting your photos taken has become an important part of the ritual all over the world, and many photographers are very skilful at coordinating crowds, keeping people entertained, navigating the venue, the weather, the backgrounds, different poses, the light etc.

By comparison, videography is still considered the troublesome infant at weddings. The unnecessary fifth wheel, with his or her cumbersome VHS camera* pointing invasively in peoples' faces, making them nervous and generally getting in the way up at the top of the already crowded ceremony room. After all, if you already have a photographer, why a videographer as well? Isn't it a bit overkill?

Here are some of the aspects of a wedding though that, unless you have an amazing memory, are lost forever if you only have a photographer present and no videographer:

• Your spoken vows
• Any readings given at the ceremony
• Any poignant advice given by the minster, celebrant or priest
• The father of the bride's speech
• The groom's speech
• The best man's speech
• Any speeches made by the bridesmaids
• Video messages from guests
• Any other funny or nice things that happen out of the photographer's line of sight, or too fast for them to capture
• Music that means a lot to you

Wouldn't you much rather have all of that in addition to the photos to remember?

There's something about video cameras that cause people to tense up, to become stiff and unnatural. Decades of watching All Right On The Night and You've Been Framed have made the general public suspicious of camera operators, convinced that we'll take clips of them making fools of themselves and share them on social media or worse - sell them to TV or post on Youtube and go viral. 

More so with microphones. Grooms often seem to think they will somehow incriminate themselves or say something embarrassing that will be held against them at some point in the future, perhaps played at a murder trial as evidence.

Photographers do not face such suspicion. They are respected professionals who must uphold the generally accepted ethics of all photographers and are trusted unconditionally with high shots down guests' dresses or saucy shots of wedding garters, while videographers are banished from the room like villains who are always a hair's breadth from cracking the already shaky videographers' code and uploading the clip to Redtube.

Please let me take this opportunity to quell peoples' fears. It would not, in any way, be in the videographer's interests to make fools of or otherwise embarrass brides or grooms, their families or guests, by sharing footage publicly without your consent. Photographers hold the copyright for their photos, but videographers in my opinion are very much held by the consent of those in the footage. It would be business suicide to break the trust of the wedding couple by doing such a thing. And for what? A few likes on Facebook? A couple of views on Youtube? We would much rather get likes and views on social media for the high quality videos we can produce. Honestly, it's a joy to shoot and edit a great highlights video and see this take off online, because it not only shows how great your wedding day was - it also shows off what we can do. And any wedding videographer worth his salt is as proud of his work as a photographer is of theirs.

That said, there are sometimes moments when things do not go according to plan. At a wedding, never having worked before and suddenly finding themselves thrust together on a very important one-off event that could make or break their business, a photographer and videographer must work together to ensure that the day runs without friction. They must be able to produce the best result possible while being civil about it, respecting each other's professionalism, integrity and end-goals.

It's generally accepted for the photographer to be in the wedding video, because as I said, they have been embedded in the wedding ritual for generations and are expected. So I have absolutely no qualms about a photographer being visible - in fact it would be strange if they weren't. On the other hand it would be very odd indeed if the opposite was true.

Imagine your Auntie Morag comes round for tea and you're flicking through the wedding album, and she stops you and says, "Ooh, that's a lovely one. It must have been very difficult to hold that pose on the pier, but the light is lovely and the venue is dramatic and you both look so happy and in love. But who's that guy in the background with the big VHS camera*, boom mic and headphonesª?"

I'm positive that in my enthusiasm in getting the best shots for my wedding clients I may have got in the way of what may have been some great photos, and I'm very sorry about thisº. However, the opposite is also true. Photographers, in their enthusiasm, have often got in the way of my shot. But it's just one of those things. Because we don't see ourselves in our own work we sometimes think we're invisible at the event. But we just apologise, try not to do it again, and strive to find the common ground, because at the end of the day, it's not about business competition - it's about your special day. One of, if not the most important of your lives.



* We don't use VHS cameras. We use High Definition and 4K cameras with a Merlin Steadicam for smooth motion shots and export to DVD, Blu Ray, HD mp4 file on USB or online streaming.

ª We don't use a boom pole and headphones. We place audio recorders at strategic locations around the room, and a lapel mic on the groom or best man for maximum quality and discretion.

º If any photographers I've worked with have any amusing photos of me in their shots, please email them to me at raptorfilmz@gmail.com

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© Chris Young 2018