For many couples having your wedding day captured by a professional videographer or photographer is an afterthought.
Many couples truly believe that family and friends will provide them with memories of their wedding day however, that is a misconception that can cost a couple the memories which they worked so hard to create.
Abacus Wedding Studios was among the few studios, selected by Contemporary Bride for Real Weddings. The primary reason for our selection is our unique album designs and custom video edits all created by seasoned professionals.
Here are some items couples should consider when making that hard decision about hiring a professional wedding photographer and videographer.
Experience! A professional photographer or videographer will understand everything from proper lighting and image composition to professional grade equipment, and everything in between.
Although photographers will use camera brands which they are most comfortable with, they will know what shots to take on your wedding day, and how to properly light and capture the emotion and essence of the day. Additional items like black and white, spot color and sepia could be post production effects which bring your album and you images to life.
Selecting a professional videographer can sometimes be more of a challenge however, there are a few signs which would cue you in to what level of professional work the videographer is capable of. First and foremost is, that’s right, EXPERIENCE!
At our studio most of the videographers are also video editors, which allows the videographer to make better shot selections, having an understanding of how the video will be edited.
Equipment! There have been some amazing advance in video equipment and I am sure many couples are looking at or already have an HD TV in their home. The minimum standard should be a 3 chip broadcast quality video camera, which are wireless and have both an on camera low light and microphone. Abacus Wedding Studios is among the very few studios offering True HD videos, delivered in Blu-ray DVD. (We will discuss HD Video in another post).
All video production companies, should be equipped with wireless microphones for clear and crisp exchange of vows and additional equipment as needed.
The post production edit is where all the magic happens and your wedding video becomes a living memory of your wedding day. Although there are many consumer brand edit programs, such as Premier and Final Cut (Apple) which offer an experienced the resources needed to create a custom video tailed to each couple, the software a company uses will, in some cases tell you how much EXPERIENCE they may have. The professional studios, such as NBC and FOX will use a non-linear edit program such as AVID or Canopus and there are several studios such as ours which uses the same professional grade of software, offering couples unique special effects which turn the ordinary into extraordinary.
If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail me or put up a post.
Be educated in your decision making and don’t forget to capture the day you worked so hard to create.
Alex
See this article in Current Issue of Contemporary Bride Magazine (New Jersey Edition)