So, you've decided to look into hiring a wedding videographer. Nice decision. Now you're starting to look for the perfect person to capture your day and finding out, holy cow, this isn't going to be cheap. Allow me to shed some light on what you get for the cost, and share Wedding film and photography 5 reasons why wedding video is expensive.
- Videographer Experience
You are trusting a complete stranger to document one of the most important days in your lives. There are no do-overs during a wedding day, you get one chance to capture those important moments. Videographers with experience will tend to be priced higher than those just starting out. They will have better equipment, more intuition as to when moments are going to happen, and better knowledge of their gear to make sure they get the shot. Everyone has to start somewhere, but be advised, wedding video definitely falls under the category of "you get what you pay for", and if you decide to go the cheap route, you may be disappointed with the final result and wish you would have made the investment in someone with experience.
- Equipment
They say that it's not the gear, it's the person behind the lens. That is true to a point, we have to know the importance of framing, and photography settings, but good equipment makes a huge difference in the overall quality of your wedding video. Good experienced wedding videographers have invested a lot of money in the right gear for the job. Multiple cameras, audio recorders, lighting, tripods, stabilizers, lenses, etc. That all adds up to 30k - 50k worth of film gear at the minimum, all to make sure they can capture your wedding day in the best way possible.
- Time and Editing
People think that this job is easy, we only work on Saturdays during the wedding, right? Not so much. I don't know about other wedding videographers, but I do my research. I find out all I can about my couples prior to the big day, taking the time to learn about how they became the couple they are. I attend rehearsal the night before, and spend 12-14 hours with them on the day itself. After the day is over and the couple finally gets to relax, I am headed home to transfer all of the footage to my computer and make sure everything is backed up. This could result in me going to bed a 1am or 2am after a long day. The following Monday is spend going through all that footage to create the wedding film. We're talking about a minimum of 16-20 hours of editing time, finding the perfect music, and creating the perfect story of your day. Mentioning music, that takes me to point #4.
- Music Licensing
Many people think that you can just pick a popular song to put behind your wedding video footage. With copyright infringement being such a big issue these days, quality wedding videographers will subscribe to royalty free music sites to procure their music library. There are many sites out there to choose from and many videographers will pay for multiple sources. This can cost hundreds of dollars a year, but ensures that your wedding film and my business will be free from lawsuits or legal action.
- Computers, Software, Insurance
Having all of this beautiful footage of the day is great, but we need computers and editing software in order to create your beautiful wedding film. I suppose you could get away with having and older system and using some free version of video editor, but having the industry leading software makes your final wedding film that much better.
Let's face it, things happen. We need to carry some type of insurance for gear and liability in case the worst case decides to appear. Another expense that we need to address and pay for.
In summary, wedding videographers (at least the good ones) aren't cheap, but nothing worth having ever is. All I can say is, it is absolutely worth the investment! It may not seem like it during the planning stage, but having a gorgeous wedding film that captures every moment Wedding film and photography of your perfect day will be absolutely worth it when everything is said and done, and you can look back and say it was one of the best decisions you made. You will be so glad you did!
