Are you wondering if you need a videographer at your wedding since you already have a photographer? Let me help you answer that!
I recently sat down with Rachel of Olive Ewe Productions, an amazing professional videographer in New England. (Go watch some videos on her website and cry your eyes out. I’ll wait here.)
Rachel and I share a love of cheese and of capturing your authentic wedding memories. Today I’m sharing our conversation all about wedding photography and videography, how they differ, and how they complement each other.
Let’s do it!
Shaina: What are some of the things that make videography different than photography?
There’s sound.
Rachel: The biggest difference is that I’m recording audio. You get to hear yourselves say your vows. And you get to hear your favorite people ever doing your toasts. And you get to hear what was actually said during your ceremony, versus just vaguely remembering it or having a copy of the program. You can relive the moment.
You’ll remember the little things.
Rachel: You end up accidentally capturing a lot more little moments that maybe don’t make the highlight cut, but you go back and watch the whole thing and it’s hilarious. You forget those little things that happened, especially over a number of years. Like at my best friend’s wedding – we were just talking about it the other day. She didn’t get a video and I completely forgot that one of her groomsmen passed out in the middle of the ceremony!
Shaina: Oh no!
Rachel: If she’d had a video, I think I would have remembered that. We’re always rolling.
Shaina: At my wedding, I forgot to write in the ceremony script to tell everyone to sit down after I got there, so everyone was standing for like, several minutes, which was obviously awkward, but it was kinda hilarious and we totally would have forgotten if we didn’t have the video.
It’s unfiltered.
Shaina: Even a documentary style photographer is going to curate what they deliver to you. But with video, it’s all there.
Rachel: And I do think that photo and video complement each other in that way. In that, you get those amazing curated moments. But for everything else in between – those unvarnished things that make the day feel more real… It’s because we were filming at the time. It’s not possible for a photographer to be clicking all the time.
Shaina: Right. Our entire goal is to freeze the critical moments.
Rachel: But we do compliment each other very well because we can’t photoshop a video. We can’t make them look perfect. So there’s…
Shaina: Honesty.
Rachel: If the grass was brown, it’s gonna be brown.
Shaina: Yeah. As a photographer, I have the opportunity to, sort of, make the world as beautiful as I think it is. And it’s not that I’m not being honest. But I get to curate the memory a little bit. I can easily crop out that ugly bush or brown grass as I’m shooting. So as much as I strive to be honest, it’s a totally different medium and goal. I agree that they are complementary.
It’s all about the in-between moments.
Rachel: When you’re doing your portraits, that one second when you get that great picture is great for the photo. But for the video, it’s when everyone’s getting set up for it. And laughing. And being weird. So it’s everything in between.
I mean, for the critical moments, like the first dance or your kiss at the end of the ceremony, of course we will both capture that. But for everything else, I’m looking for the things that are happening in between.
Shaina: I love that.
You experience the memories differently.
Rachel: Another thing that’s very different about photo and video is, you sit down and watch a video from start to finish. Whereas with a gallery, you can look at it and come back to it and kind of take as long as you want. With video, it kind of sweeps you up for a moment and then it’s over.
Shaina: Exactly. I mean, I cry every time I watch a wedding video, but I don’t cry every time I look at wedding photos. There’s something about being totally swept up – some sensory piece.
Don’t worry. You’ll watch it.
Rachel: I think it’s a common misconception that you won’t watch your video again. I still get e-mails from people I filmed like five years ago who want a new dvd because they broke theirs from watching it too much.
Shaina: Aww. We watch ours every year on our anniversary and also go through our wedding album.
Rachel: There you go!
Shaina: And I’m trying to figure out how to articulate why it’s so meaningful to have both.
Rachel: Because they do fit together!
Together, they tell the whole story.
Shaina: Our video doesn’t have the whole day, just the ceremony and a little bit of getting ready, so there are pieces where we have that full story and pieces where we don’t.
Rachel: Having both can help you form a bigger picture in your mind because sometimes the photographer and videographer aren’t in the same spot at the same time. So the more cameras you have, the more chance you have to remember everything.
We share them differently.
Shaina: What do you think about sharing photos vs. videos?
Rachel: It depends on the couple. Not everyone wants to share their video online, but social media has definitely made it easier to share your wedding day with both photos and video. It’s nice for people that weren’t there to watch things as they happen.
They help us remember differently.
Shaina: Often photos are shared one at a time, like on Instagram, for example.
Rachel: And one photo can capture a lot, but there’s something a little bit different about – this is going to be a morbid example, but I’ve had a lot of clients come back with deceased friends or family and they say it’s so special to be able to see them laughing. Or even just walking. Because you might forget how people lived their lives and what they sounded like. So it can capture a person’s essence just a little bit more.
A Note On Elopements:
Rachel: For an elopement, video is essential. You don’t have many people there and you don’t have any witnesses to what you said. You won’t be able to reminisce with people. Even if your ceremony is like 15 minutes long, it’s pretty dang important that you capture all of that!
Shaina: You’re the only memory keepers.
Rachel: Yeah, exactly! It is super important to have both photos and video, if you’re eloping.
What do you think? Will you have photography and videography at your wedding? Did this conversation help steer you one way or the other?
Find out more about Rachel’s work and book her for your wedding at:
Website: www.oliveeweproductions.com
Instagram: @oliveeweproductions
Facebook: /oliveeweproductions
