Meeting with the videographer today...any advice?

One little thing people sometimes forget to ask is "will you be requiring a meal or personal table @ the reception?" I almost forgot to ask mine and I'm glad I did!

1. We wanted all our raw footage which some videographers either wont do or charge $400 for... ours gave us the option of putting it all on our apple tv...

2. What he wears to the ceremony.

3. If he smokes.

4. If you will have input in what parts of the footage will go into the final product.

@Holly T.. I didn't think about the videographer eating either! For some reason I counted the photographer (I pay half price for vendors to eat...smh).

@Christina...just curious..why would you care if he smokes? I hope my videographer will not leave my ceremony to go outside to smoke. I will ask tho.

I know.. the smoking thing is sort of a weird question... some of my vendors starting just telling me "don't worry I dont smoke" which makes me wonder if they're saying it because people have had bad experience with people leaving to smoke. I would also hope people are more professional than that... but its always worth asking I guess!

@Christina.. thanks!

We are a wedding film company in Chicago and would love to offer up some advice. Once you decide that you like the videographers work, check and see their turnaround time. nothing is worse then having to track down your videographer for your video. We keep ours at a preview of 30 days and DVD delivery guaranteed under 90 days. Anywhere around that 90 day mark is pretty good. Also it doesn’t hurt to see if they are referred by photographers, or if your photographer works with them or has heard of them. We believe that the video should compliment the photography, not compete with it. You don’t want the videog in the photog’s way etc. Congratulations!

Other questions other than what has already been stated:

1. Backup equipment.

2. Ask about how they compensate for lighting.

3. You do care if they smoke, a pal had a videographer that was taking a smoke break every half hour and missed lots of footage.

4. Is it just one person or 2. Often, even if they have one camera, then they have someone along to help assist them.

5. How do they store the masters? How long do they store them? Are you allowed to duplicate the footage?

We work with a lot of videographers, and I think viewing samples of their work is really important (obviously, LOL). If you just want to be sure everything is recorded, it's not AS big of a deal, but some videographers take it to an art form where they compose it like a photo even though it's in motion. This cinematic style can be really beautiful but is harder to find!!!!

We are a local wedding videography company here in Phoenix. We often get asked the following:

1. How long will you stay?

2. How early will you arrive?

3. Why some videography companies are so expensive, what's the difference?

4. Will you be bringing assistants?

5. Will I be able to hear my vows?

6. How long will the finished video be?

7. How long will it take to get my video?

8. Do you record in HD?

9. What's the difference between Blu-Ray and Standard Definition?

10. What your editing style?

If you are still looking for a videography we would love for you to check out our website and some of our samples. Happy wedding planning!