While Wedding Photography is a staple of any Ceremony & Reception, Wedding Videography is relatively new on the field. Everyone has a Photographer – not everyone has a Videographer (yet…).
Because of this, there is a lot of confusion as to what you should look for in a Videographer. Don’t despair! During your search, make sure to find these 5 “Must Haves”:
1. High Definition.
If the company doesn’t film in HD, don’t even bother. You and your husband-to-be may not have an HD TV or Blu-Ray player now, but you will. How do we know? They don’t sell non-HD TVs anymore. And the thing about non-HD (Standard Definition) video is that it may look OK on a regular TV, but on an HD TV? Yikes. And how bad will it be when they have TVs with higher resolution than HD? Double yikes! Stick with a High Definition Videographer.
2. Lapel Microphone.
What’s this? A microphone the clips onto your fiance’s tuxedo during the Ceremony. It’s small, about the size of a dime, and a tiny wire wraps around and connects to a battery pack that tucks into his tuxedo pocket. With this, you can hear your vows and his vows, crystal clear. Without it? No vow audio.
3. 2 Camera Operators.
Minimum. Why? Photography and Videography are very different. With Photography, if something is happening (the Kiss, rings 
exchange, toasts), the Photographer can run (or walk quickly…) across the room to get in the perfect spot and take a picture. Done. The Photographer can now duck back out of the action. Then, when you are looking at the photos later, you see a nice looking photo. Video? Not so simple.
Video records the entire duration of the event. This means that, in the situation of a toast, the Videographer is recording from the start of the toast to the end of the toast. What happens if the Videographer has to move….? You either get a lot of shaking in the video (like you are watching an episode of COPS), or the camera looks at the ground for a minute or two until the Videographer gets to their new location. How does 2 Camera Operators change this? One camera operator stays still while the other moves. This way, when they edit the footage together later, any movement is cut out of the final product.
4. Lights.
If something looks dim to your eye, it looks dark on film. Either a large light or a small light, your Videographer should have something that can illuminate what is going on in the Reception hall. Otherwise, one of two things will happen: you won’t be able to see anything, or the Videographer will have to adjust the camera film speed so high that everything will be a big, grainy mess (think of watching those old VHS tapes your family has had on the shelf for 8 years). Ick! Lights are important – after all, Videography can be simplified to mean “artistically capturing light” (and sound…).
While there are definitely more items to look for, especially depending on your own specific tastes and interests, these 4 items are critical to making sure that you will love your Wedding Video.
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