How to Find the Best Fit Videographer & Photographer

How to find the best fit videographer and photographer for you

On your wedding day, apart from your future spouse, the people you will spend the most time with are your media team – the photographer/s and videographer/s.

So while you put a lot of thought into who will be your spouse and attendants, the next most personal decision will be your media team. 

The other factor possibly adding some weight to your photographer and videographer decision is the product you get is one of the few things you have to show from your wedding day. These are the things that your friends and family, as well as kids and grandkids will be looking at and enjoying hopefully for generations to come.

So it’s OK to take some time and consider the options for your media team – in fact, we highly recommend it!

If things go according to plan, you will never be engaged again! So take the time to enjoy this very small slice of your life knowing there is an end goal of an official life commitment to each other.

Some points to get you started

Ok, so stay calm – we are here to help and although you may have not had much experience in this area – fortunately for you, we do! 

So to begin with, here are a few decisions you and your partner need to make: 

Budget:

How much have you allocated for photography and videography?

This depends on you and your partner’s priority. Some couples spend 10% of their wedding budget on photography while others have spent 50%. This is a pretty personal decision that you’ll need to work out together. 

Like we mentioned earlier…

Your videos and photos are one of the few things you will have for years to come after the wedding day. 

So while a stretched hummer may be fun to drive around in on your wedding day, if you’ve not had a media team there to capture it, you could be relying on your bridal party’s tipsy pics on their camera phones and Uncle Joe’s shaky VCR recorder! 

This being said, if you’re not really into photos and videos – you don’t need to spend 10’s of thousands of dollars to get a decent photographer to just have something worth looking back to.

Style:

You may not realise that you will already have a preference for photographic style. 

Look at some photographers’ folios on their website. Save them on a digital board and then use the below options to see what styles you like? 

Journalistic, documentary style?

Perfect, “pretty as a picture” style?

Light and airy?

Muted tones?

Dark and moody?

Bright and contrasty? 

Colours of filters – warmer tones, cooler tones, true to colour? 

Availability:

Have you got a particular date in mind? If this is the case, you’ll need to find a photographer that is ticking the above boxes as well as being available on your date. This is possible, but the earlier you book, the better.

Some photographers and videographers have bookings 2-3 years in advance. 

If you and your partner have not set on an exact date, usually a date within a 1 month window can be found even 6 months out from the wedding date. This being said, 12-18 months is a more usual timeframe for booking your media team. 

Wedding Location:

Will your location require your photographer and videographer to travel far from where they are based? Some photographers may not be able to travel far due to other prior bookings and commitments around the wedding date. 

Also – will you require the media team to travel on the wedding day? If you’ve got various locations for ceremony, reception and other places, they will need to be able to drive around with you on the day. 

It’s worth noting here – multiple locations means more travel, which means you are paying your vendors for time they are travelling in the car not able to record. It also means time eaten up in your wedding schedule – see this blog for more information on this.

What to ask a potential photographer/videographer?

See a whole wedding at the location you’re getting married (or similar) and if possible in the season you’ll be getting married. While all photographers and videographers will feature highlights on their websites, you will end up with only one day’s worth of photo and video. Seeing their work from a whole wedding will give you an indication of what they will produce for you. You may like one hero shot of a photographer, but then find the rest of their pictures aren’t what you’re after. It’s worth taking the time to look it through and get an idea of the quality of work you’ll be getting. 

For studios with multiple photographers/videographers – check who you get to know is the one at the wedding. Some studios have a studio manager handling all the meetings and then the couple haven’t ever met the photographer until the day of the wedding. Matthew Eastgate Photography

Speaking of “who’s there on the day” – if the photographer cannot make it on the day – what’s the plan? Unfortunately we live in times of snap lockdowns and isolations (and even flash flooding that cuts off roads!) which means there is a strong likelihood of needing to send a “sub”. The bonus of a studio with multiple photographers and videographers is that they can make sure there is someone in the team that can still make it. Ask who they have as a back up should the worst happen and they will not be able to make it on the day.



What’s the plan if the weather isn’t what you had in mind? Where do you go? Can they control lighting if conditions become foggy or darker than usual? Some photographers only shoot on natural light which is great as long as there is a sun, or strong ambient lighting at the locations. 

What do you get with your photography package? Are you only paying for the photographer’s time on the day without inclusions like HiRes and LoRes files, B/W and Colour, or Albums? Who owns the images and can you share them on online platforms like social media?

How well do you work together? 

Like we said earlier, apart from your future spouse, you will spend the most time with this person on your wedding day. This is why it’s so important to ensure you and your partner get along with the media team. 

So get to know your photographer/videographer. Knowing their personality beforehand can save your wedding day. If you have clashes on the day with your photographer or videographer (or any of your vendors for that matter), you may receive the most beautiful pictures in the world, tainted with the memory of dealing with a difficult personality.

Online reviews are a good start, but nothing beats talking with anyone who has dealt with your photographer/videographer recently. Especially other couples who’ve employed them recently – who better to know the experience with the media team than them? Also ready to answer your questions are your location’s venue managers and other vendors. Use their experience to save you having to do extra homework! 

While videos and photos are important, it’s not what the day is about. For most couples, it’s more important that you enjoy your day and have fun. (It’s not all about your photographer and videographer). There’s a balance that you’ll need to judge priority, because sometimes just having fun is more important than getting that crazy good shot. 

Something we often hear from our couples post-wedding is that they wished they’d taken more time to enjoy the day. Your experience and the documentation of those precious moments may be more important than than any brilliantly creative photography.

Stay calm …and remember what this is all about!

We know, there’s a lot to decide here. Hopefully by this stage, you and your fiancé know each other well enough to be able to make most of these choices quickly, but we get it – you’re not planning a wedding every day. 

Getting married at Preston Peak means that our couples receive much support in their wedding planning from our team. If you’ve chosen a good wedding venue, you will have the same. 

Got any questions or want to book a tour? Contact us and we’d be happy to help!