tonyhart Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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The majority of the weddings I shoot do not have any professional videography. Perhaps 25% do. I work with videographers relatively regularly therefore, but not on the majority of shoots. I've yet to encounter anyone who has truly impressed me. I am asked occasionally whether I can recommend a videographer (along with requests for other recommendations). I have never really been able to fulfil this request adequately because of the reason above, but I've also found that working with a videographer - while perfectly possible - is a less ideal situation than working with professional video coverage. Even when there is plenty of good will, the situation introduces more compromises than when only a tog is present.
Over the years I've equivocated and obfuscated and changed my mind a hundred times on exactly how to handle this question from clients. If it comes up in conversation I'll usually be relatively frank without being committal. Today is a new year and I thought I'd try a more honest/direct approach. I had this question in a recent email enquiry and replied as follows:
With regards video, I haven't worked with many impressive videographers I'm afraid. I'm sure they exist, but I haven't been lucky enough to encounter them! Please also bear in mind, that wedding photography and wedding videography can detract from one another. Photographers in the background of videos and videographers in the background of photographs is largely avoidable, particularly when there is a mutual understanding, but generally any particular situation during a wedding has it's own best vantage point, and when both the videographer and photographer want the same location, both have to compromise. Please don't misunderstand me - I've worked alongside plenty of videographers in a perfectly harmonious way and am ready and happy to do so again, but we each make the others job more difficult and to that end I always ask my couples to at least consider whether they're willing to accept the inherent compromises.
I recognise that this is a dangerous topic and could easily unearth strong opinions, but hopefully we can discuss it calmly! There will be those out there who disagree and will call me a noob and a shirker for this attitude. That's a perfectly acceptable POV. There will also be those who agree, and those who agree but would never tell a client. There are a whole host of valid opinions, this is merely my own.
Above all I'm interested in your thoughts on conveying this belief to a client. To a greater and greater extent I'm finding that a 'full disclosure' approach works well for me. I'm naturally honest, and (I think) I know how to do it, while remaining polite. At the end of the day, it's their wedding and they can have it anyway they want, but they're considering my services, at least in part, for the expertise that comes with them and I'm interested to see how a direct approach goes.
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