wedding cinematographer

Five Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Wedding Cinematographer

Hiring a right wedding cinematographer should be top of your list because it’s an investment. Your wedding film will be watched by you for all your life and generations to come. If you are a bride and looking to hire a wedding cinematographer for to film you big day, asking right questions is the key. Here are five questions you should ask before hiring:

1.      What is your style? Most of them will say “we offer cinematographer”. Don’t buy into that because everyone calls themselves a wedding cinematographer vs wedding videographer. What you need to find out is how he/she will film your entire day starting from getting ready to end of reception. You want someone who is friendly, funny and patient so you can be comfortable being him/her being there with you entire day. Moreover, you want someone who doesn’t want you to pose for everything you do. Some posed pics may look good but when it comes to wedding film, candid moments is the best way to go. You don’t want cheesy posed wedding video.  

2.      Do you use drone? Old days were different when aerial shots were only seen in the Hollywood movies. Shots of you, your wedding venue and ceremony using the drone is mesmerizing and cinematic.  If the wedding cinematographer does offer drone coverage, find out if they have taken and passed the FAA PART-107 EXAM. FAA requires drone pilot to pass this exam in order to fly the drone legally.

3.      Do you edit and color grade the whole film or just past of it? Footage which comes out of the camera can be good but never perfect. It needs to be edited and color graded to make it more cinematic. There are many reasons/catches for one wedding cinematographer to be cheaper than the other one. One of the main reason is how they edit the final product/film. Editing and color grading takes at least 3 to 5 times longer than the actual shooting time. To keep package price lower, many wedding cinematographers color grade only highlight reel and not the whole wedding film.     

4.      Do you use slider, gimbal, camera crane or other tools except a tripod? Those days are gone when wedding videographers documented the whole wedding using a tripod. Wedding cinematographers use new tools to get creative angles and camera movements which are essential to make a cinematic wedding film.  

5.      How soon will I get my final film? Any wedding cinematographers book more weddings than they can handle so they deliver the final film after months. You want to hire someone who can deliver the film to you in the time which is acceptable to you and your family.