What are the differences between Wedding Photographers, Videographers and Content Creators?
From polished images to behind the scenes snippets, each of these creatives will bring their own unique set of skills to your special day. So, let's break it down and talk about what each of them brings to the table, how they can work together and which one/s you need for your wedding day!
Wedding Photographers
Firstly, let's talk about (in my humble opinion!) the most important of the three – the wedding photographer! We come armed with expensive camera bodies and lenses, years of training, expertise, creativity, wedding experience that gives us the skills and knowledge to not only capture your day but to help it run smoothly and to time and of course an eye for every beautiful detail of your special day. Your wedding photographer specialises in capturing all the moments of your day, from the little ones to the big ones, in every frame.
From stunning posed portraits to candid snapshots, a skilled and experienced photographer transforms your fleeting moments into timeless memories, allowing you to relive your most special day over and over agin for the rest of time. When you look through your final wedding gallery your memories will be brought to life, enabling you to experience all the emotions, the butterflies in your tummy and remembering when all the people you loved the most in the world were all together in one place.
These are the photos that will be on your wall forever, the album that you will sit and show your grandchildren when you are old and wrinkly and the images that evoke the memories that cannot ever be replaced.
In terms of delivery, wedding photographers generally provide you with a "sneak peek" - a handful of edited images - within 48 hours or so of your wedding day, with the rest of your gallery being ready for delivery approximately 6-10 weeks later.
WHY CHOOSE A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?
- Polished Images: With expensive equipment and years of expertise and experience, photographers deliver a polished product that showcases the beauty and romance of your day in every stunning detail.
- Creative Composition: From bridal prep to the final dance, photographers work with the light on your day to compose each shot to perfection, creating images that take your breath away every time you look at them.
- Support and Guidance: Your wedding photographer will be by your side throughout one of the most special days of your lives. Your photographer will have a vast wealth of experience in capturing wedding days, and will know how they run and will be able to gently support and guide you through your day to ensure it runs smoothly.
- Memories that Last a Lifetime : Your wedding album will be one of your most cherished keepsakes, filled with memories that transport you back to the magic of your special day – every time you open the pages. It will be your children's favourite book - they'll love to look back at when mummy and daddy got dressed up and how their family started. Wedding albums are passed down from generation to generation and are guaranteed for hundreds of years (if they're looked after properly) so this really is an investment to last a lifetime.
Wedding Videographers
Next on the list - wedding videographers! Armed once again with camera equipment that has been heavily invested in, years of experience and skill under their belt and a passion for capturing the motion and emotion of your day, these creative geniuses create a cinematic masterpiece that brings your wedding day to life in vivid detail - basically your very own movie of your wedding day! From capturing your exchange of vows to the gentle sway of your first dance surrounded by your nearest and dearest, a skilled videographer captures the magic of your day to watch back on the big screen.
WHY CHOOSE A VIDEOGRAPHER?
- Cinematic Details: With high-quality equipment and an eye for detail, videographers create a cinematic experience that transports you back to the sights, sounds, and emotions of your wedding day.
- Emotional Impact: From laughter to tears and everything in between, videos capture the raw emotions and intimate moments that make your day truly unforgettable. It will allow you to remember the voices of loved ones when you can no longer hear them in real life, and you can never replace this.
- Your favourite movie: Your wedding video becomes a timeless memory, allowing you to relive the magic of your day with friends, family, and future generations for years to come. What better way to celebrate your anniversary every year than watching your wedding film, and looking through your wedding album with your family.
Wedding Content Creators
Lastly we have the wedding content creators! Usually armed with an iPhone and a keen eye for reel-worthy clips, content creators specialise in capturing quick, readily available snippets of your day ready for you to share on social media either immediately or the day after your wedding. From snapshots for the gram to viral-worthy reels, content creators bring your wedding day to life ready for sharing on social media.
It's important to remember that images captured in this way will be of a significantly reduced quality to those captured on a professional DSLR camera, using expensive lenses to capture every detail in high definition. However, the quick and easy availability of everything that has been captured (usually you will receive everything the following day) makes this appealing in a world where we have become used to getting everything almost immediately, at the touch of a button.
WHY CHOOSE A WEDDING CONTENT CREATOR?
- For the 'gram: Harnessing the power of social media, content creators can capture and share moments in real-time, allowing you to share the magic of your day with friends and followers around the world either instantly or the day after your wedding.
- Fun Snippets: From behind-the-scenes moments to candid snaps, content creators offer a fresh and spontaneous perspective that adds an extra layer of excitement to your wedding day.
- Readily Available: With quick, readily available snippets, content creators provide instant gratification, allowing you to share the joy and excitement of your day as it unfolds on your socials.
The Magic of the Moment
While each of these roles bring their own unique set of skills to your wedding day, it's important to remember that less is often more. While a content creator snapping over the shoulder of your photographer or videographer might seem like a fun idea, it can actually take away from the wow factor of seeing your wedding album or video for the first time, if you have seen these same images and clips (albeit in much lower, and unedited quality) immediately after your wedding day.
So... Do I Need a Photographer, Videographer, Content Creator or All Three?
This all depends on a couple of things - firstly, your vision for your wedding day; and secondly your budget. If you don't want to spend your wedding day being pulled in several different directions, and always having a camera pointed in your direction I would absolutely not recommend opting for all 3. A photographer will be there with at least two cameras (and possibly a second shooter with another 2 cameras!), the same for a videographer (who will often have a camera in their hand and one set up on a tripod and perhaps a second videographer too) and add into that mix a content creator with a phone on a gimball and this can quickly become very overwhelming. Not to mention if each of these creatives wants to borrow you for photos / videos / tik toks at various points throughout the day!
If the thought of all those cameras is making you feel anxious already, I highly recommend focussing on one form of media that means the most to you - be it photography or videography - and choosing a photographer who is unobtrusive and approaches the day in a documentary or storytelling way. This way you will mostly be completely unaware that they are even there and your images will perfectly tell the story of your day when you look back on them. They will leave you to enjoy your wedding day however you wish and capture your day as it happens.
If showing large amounts of your wedding BTS on social media isn't important to you then I would suggest that a content creator is something that you don't need and that high quality photography and videography is far more valuable and will stand the test of time. Content creation has only really arisen in the wedding world in the past year or so and who knows how long reels or tik tok will be a "thing".
If you're not phased by being in front of the paparazzi then the next consideration is budget - what is your budget for photography / videography, which element is most important to you, and what does the split of that budget look like? I'd say the general order of priority usually goes photographer - videographer - content creator but depending on your budget it may be that video is more important to you and you spend more on your wedding film than your photos.
The last consideration to take into account is whether you will have enough time within your day to accommodate all 3 elements without it making the day feel rushed. Every man and his dog has probably told you this already, but your wedding day will go by SO QUICKLY - honestly it's crazy how fast they go. If you add into that mix having organised group shots, a couples photo session, some time creating content for your wedding film plus popping off and creating reels and following the latest social media trends this will heavily impact the time that you have to spend with your guests and the time you have to spend together just enjoying being there on your wedding day, in the moment.
In my opinion...
In my opinion, less is almost always more, and I would personally opt for unobtrusive, storytelling photography (and an equally unobtrusive and similar style videographer alongside). This way you can relax and enjoy your day (the way you envisioned it to be) and then take the time to look back over your photos and videos after the dust has settled and all your beautiful memories will be brought back to life before your eyes. The unveiling of your photos and your video will have the ultimate wow factor as you won't have seen poor quality snapshots of the same images and film the day after your wedding, and the day you get your wedding gallery and film back will be a really special and happy time for you to both enjoy together.
One last top tip...
Whatever you choose, my last tip is to make sure you let the photographer / videographer / content creator know before the big day who they will be working with to give them plenty of time to get in touch with each other and come up with a plan of how to best approach the day and work together as your team for the day - at the end of the day we want your day to be perfect and need to work together to achieve that goal!
Wishing you all the very best for your wedding day, and if you are looking for an unobtrusive, storytelling style photographer to capture your beautiful memories then get in touch, I'd love to hear about all your wedding plans!
Rebecca xx
