We all are living in a critical time - Pandemic situation. A lot of weddings got rescheduled or postponed. A lot of the weddings even got cancelled. We all are a little scared to make the plans as we do not know the future.
With that being said, it is also positive that our economy is opening up and we are getting back to normal. A lot of the brides started planning for their wedding again. Selecting a photographer and videographer is an important part of the process. At the end nothing but the photos and videos will remain with you forever as memory.
There are many ways to start the initial search - Google - The Knot - Weddingwire - Venue recommendation.
A lot of people use Thumbtack (we used to be on thumbtack as well but we left as we realized it is nothing but chasing the goose that you can never catch. I do have doubt about the quality of the vendors from thumbtack as well. Not saying they all are bad or all are good but it can get confusing. We do recommend the Knot or Weddingwire a lot as you can see a lot of reviews from real brides. If you do see a negative review, please make sure to review all the corresponding as well. You probably want to know the story from both sides before you make up your mind:)
Now you have a list of photographers in your area - the next thing would be to filter them based on the style you prefer. You should really cut down to top 5. Contact all 5 possibly and request for customized quotes even if they have pricing on the website. Sometimes we all have unpublished special deals available. Based on the quotes, set up priority and start setting up appointments with each of them. It could be a virtual coffee session. The most important things you will need to capture out of this are:
How fast they respond.
How friendly they are. It is important that they are part of your wedding not just as your vendor but your friend so that they can capture the best moments in the best possible way.
Their attitude towards helping you.
Once you pick the best three or two, you will want to check out the photos during the night. There are a lot of photographers now. A lot of people these days claim themselves as professional photographers as soon as they buy DSLRs. But you can only distinguish that when you check out the full gallery or night pictures or the framing. Real professional photographers will have cameras with very low light capability.
At the end whoever you pick, make sure they are ready to make lifelong friendships with you. As a wedding photographer, I believe we want to be part of your special day not just because we want to be part of your celebration but we want to make lifelong friendships in the process.
For Videography, you surely want to check out as many highlight videos as possible. In todays world highlight video which should be 6-8 minutes long is the most popular as it is easy to share online, and no one but the bride and groom has time to watch 2 hours long wedding videos. But if you really want to save the memories, you should go with a highlight video and the full film. Full film typically includes - some getting ready shots, whole ceremony, all speeches, toasts, cake cutting, full first dance, mother - son and father - daughter dances, and all other main/important events throughout the day in a documentary style. Also there is definitely a big different between just videography and cinematography. Videography could be just documentary video where as cinematography will make your video look like it is a movie.
I really hope this article helps all the brides. Whether you pick us or someone else, we are always ready to help if you need it and we wish you all the best. At the end it is your special day! Anything and everything in that day should make it more special for you.
You can always contact us any time by call/text or email and we are here to help anyway we can!