So recently I have been thinking about how I can make my blog more helpful to all you brilliant couples out there planning weddings. Planning your big day can be quite overwhelming as you know you only get to do this once and making the wrong choice over a supplier for example can put a massive dampener on what is meant to be the best day ever.

So, because I don’t have all the solutions I have reached out to some of my fellow Wedding Breakfast Club members to see if they would like to guest post some top advice on here. Over the next few months I hope to bring you some super helpful wedding advice for everything from entertainment to styling and what better place to start than with today’s guest post from London based wedding videographer AK Films.

I absolutely LOVE working with videographers and I love it when my couples book one as it shows how serious they are about their memories. Creatively speaking when I am working with a videographer who is a good match I will find myself bouncing ideas and getting excited about what me, them and our couple are creating together. Working with one who isn’t a match or has a totally different approach can cause issues, which is why I am excited to be sharing Arran’s top advice on how to choose a great wedding photographer & videographer combination….

All the images in this post are stills from some of Arran’s beautiful films….

A clip from one of Arran’s films…

Arran’s words of wisdom…

You’re getting married! And you have ALL the ideas. And ALL the Pinterest boards. This is going to be EPIC. But now you need to make sure you capture it, right? You’re going to need a photographer and a videographer...

When deciding who to hire to capture your wedding day, you’re going to want to consider a lot of factors: the quality of their work, their personality, the packages they offer, etc. But one thing you should also consider is how your photographer and videographer will work together. Regardless of which you hire first, ideally both will compliment each other so that they end up elevating each other’s work and producing the best possible mementos from your wedding day.

Shooting Style

I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve shot a wedding where I’ve had to stand and wait while the photographer tilted the bride’s head like a mannequin, trying to find the perfect angle to catch the light. That’s really not my jam - I’d rather let you guys relax and get snuggly/go for a walk and forget I’m there. My approach is to be as discrete as possible wherever I can, which often means I capture moments you didn’t even know I was around to capture.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I’ll gladly tell you to touch foreheads, to wrap your arms around each other or to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your partner’s ear. But you’ll never catch me asking you to extend your back leg to give your back a better curve (that’s an actual thing I’ve heard a photographer ask a bride to do). I’m not trying to criticise others for their way of shooting - I think everything has its place, but it just baffles me that a couple would want such ‘posed’ photos and yet hire me to make their wedding film.

Having a photographer and videographer who differ in approaches can cause a clash on the day, which is something I don’t think a lot of couples realise. As an example, if your photographer is very relaxed and has a ‘documentary’ approach to shooting your wedding, then they might struggle to shoot alongside a videographer who wants to pose you and stage some epic drone shots. On the other hand, if both your photographer and videographer have similar styles, they’re much more likely to work well together, which benefits everyone.

For me, there’s nothing better than shooting alongside a photographer that’s looking for the same shots as I am, looking for the same pockets of light, beautiful reflections and compositions. It means we can bounce ideas off each other and elevate each other’s work so that you, the couple, get the best possible content from each of us.

Aesthetic

More often than not, wedding creatives will have a pretty consistent look across their work. This depends on a number of factors: the colours, the way they use light and shadow, what kind of focal lengths they use (e.g. wide or tight angles). Maybe one photographer will have a bright and airy style, while another will have a darker, moodier vibe. One filmmaker may leave their colours really natural, while another may tweak them to emulate cinema.

Either way, it’s important for you to take a look at how their work looks and decide if it’s for you or not. For example, you may have hired a videographer whose style is quite shadowy, moody and cinematic, but be looking at a photographer who likes bright, fun photos; on the face of it, these two styles are completely different and might not be a good fit. You may like the styles in isolation, but after your wedding when you receive the photos and films back, you might realise that you actually wanted a bright and airy style across both.

On the other hand, maybe you like bright photos, but prefer the darker look for your film. Ultimately, this is all completely subjective and it’s entirely up to you to decide if you want your wedding to be captured in a consistent way across your film and photos, or if you’d like the two to be different.

Ultimately, it’s important when you’re booking photographers and videographers that you know what you’re signing up for. Make sure you check out their work, and make sure you read their ‘about me’ pages to try and find out about their approach to the wedding day. Try to assess whether the photographers and filmmakers you’re looking at will work well together - and if you’re not sure? Just ask!

I’d love it if you came and asked me if I would be a good fit for your fine art photographer who needs two hours on the day for your couple shoot. Chances are, I won’t be - and I’d much rather figure that out now than on your wedding day when I’m struggling to get the shots I need to make a magical film for you.

That being said, differing styles are not the end of the world, and most professionals will be able to make it work regardless. So use your best judgement and remember that it’s your day to have captured however you like!

*Photo of Arran by The Woman & The Wolf*

I could not agree more with all of Arran’s advice above and super grateful to him for sharing! I hope you have found it helpful?

If you would like to find out more about AK Films you can do so in the following places….

Guest post from AK Films: Photographers and Videographers: How to choose the perfect combo for your wedding day