What is the difference between wedding videography and wedding photography? Do I need both?
For many years, wedding photography was pretty much the only media requirement for weddings. This was because there was no easy way to share a wedding video with others or watch it for yourself. Unlike a wedding photo, you couldn't hang it in your house, make prints for others, or mail it to someone else for quick consumption. It was also much easier to pick up a wedding album than pop a DVD or VHS tape into a machine. In the last 10+ years however, everything has changed. Now that people are able to quickly and effortlessly view and share videos, wedding videography has become pretty much essential!
Wedding videography and wedding photography both give massive value in their own unique ways. Both a professional photographer and videographer are necessary for preserving your memories as well as sharing the happiest day of your life with others because each of them capture the spirit of your wedding day with a totally different feel. Wedding photos are moments frozen in time. They feel iconic, almost like an idealized version of each moment. On the other hand, wedding videography tends to be about cinematic storytelling and can feel more tangible and real. Seeing the moments from your wedding unfold in motion is a completely different experience and can bring those memories back to you in a way that feels familiar and alive. If we were to sum it up, wedding photography tends to feel iconic, timeless and idealized while modern wedding videography is moving, real, vibrant and alive.
Also, wedding videographers and wedding photographers capture different things in different ways throughout the day. For example, your wedding photographer may capture family photos traditionally with people standing still and smiling at the camera. On the other hand, as wedding videographers, we may capture the exact same group cheering, laughing or talking. We will generally seek out candid moments between your family members and close friends while your wedding photographer may try to set them up for a particular shot. Another example is, as wedding videographers, we focus on establishing moods and feelings. This means your wedding videographer will spend a lot of time with you as you’re getting ready as well as filming lots of establishing footage at each location or event change. As wedding videographers, we are all about telling the story of how your wedding day evolves.
All of these reasons are why both wedding videography and wedding photography are must-haves for your wedding.