Wedding Documentary Photography and Videography Blog

Here are six key points that set us apart from the competition:

1. We Are Trained Professionals

Our photographers and videographers  are all university educated. With the increasing availability of digital video equipment it is easy to get tied up with an amateur who really has no formal training. With us, that will NEVER be an issue. We are trained professionals, who know not only how to properly handle the equipment, but are also schooled in production theory.

2. We Are Experienced

We have photographed over 200 weddings. Because we have worked so many weddings, we truly understand the structure and importance of your big event. We are experienced in anticipating your significant moments, and know how to capture them in the best possible way.

3.  Quick Turnaround

We provide you with your video footage and/or photographs in a timely manner.  We are organized and professional so there is no excessive lag time between your wedding  day and our finished product.

4. A History of 100% Satisfied Clients

Simply put, clients LOVE what we do. We provide a tasteful and cost-effective service which caters to the needs of each individual client. Everyone has a unique vision of how they want to remember their special day, and our job is to make that vision a reality.

5. Customer Service is #1

One of the many reasons why we have so much pride in our work is that we genuinely enjoy working with people. We understand that this is YOUR day, and our goal is to use our skills and knowledge to assist you in making it a perfect one. We know how to use your ideas  to create memories that are tailored to the results you want to see.

6. We Can Do It All!

Because we provide both photo and video services, you will never have to worry about juggling two different companies. Our photographers and videographers work together to create cohesive documentation of your event. We begin planning well before the event even takes place so all editing and continuity issues are seamless. This is a major advantage when compared to hiring separate production companies because our professionals understand that they are on a team working for a common goal. With two or more companies involved, you have no guarantee that they will be able to work well together. For example, you certainly don’t want to risk having a video camera visible in all of your photographs because the videographer and photographer were unable to effectively communicate. We take this factor completely out of the equation.

There is a lot of buzz going around about Canon’s new 5D Mark II, 21 MegaPixel Digital SLR camera. This camera is the second edition of Canon’s most popular wedding photographer camera, the 5D.  There are two reasons this new camera is getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so.

[caption id="attachment_657" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="All New Canon 5D Mark II 22 MegaPixel Camera"][/caption]

The first reason is that the new Canon 5D Mark II can shoot incredible images in very low light, making ISO 1600 look like ISO 400 from other cameras. This makes it the perfect choice for photojournalists and wedding photographers, where most of the shots happen without studio lighting and nothing more than camera mounted flash.

The second reason is camera will revolutionize the wedding photography and videography industry is because this digital still camera also shoots high defintion video at full 1920×1080 is 30 FPS. What this means is that a lot of photographers will soon realize the power of video and that videographers will use the Mark II as a replacement for expensive 35mm adapters for video cameras.

While shooting a ceremony with the 5D Mark II, we will be able to shoot video of the most important moments of the ceremony, even if you did not order a videography package. It also means when we are hired to shoot videography at a wedding, we will be able to have beautiful shallow depth of field shots where the subject is in perfect focus and background will be nice and blurred, like in 35mm films you watch at the movies.

The convergence is here. One camera that does it all. But, what does this mean? It means that ultimately, there will be alot of photographers just learning about videography, and plenty of videographers that will be racing to learn all they can about photography and lenses to produce the best results out of this camera.

For about 6 years now, Wedding Documentary has been offering both videography and photography. The reason why is that we believe they are both, very, very, important to have on your wedding day. And I have found through experience, that when a photographer and videographer team work together, with no egos involved, we can both produce excellent results and compliment each other.

Photography captures the “moment in time”, while, videography captures “the process of movement”. While we can freeze emotions and create mesmorizing images, we can also show motion and hear the sounds of your wedding, which will become so much more important to a couple as they get older and have children and grand children.

We offer both because we want a full story of your wedding day, and when we shoot stills and video together, we can add portions of video into entertaining slideshows, as well as, add beautiful stills into our videos for impact.

We do this already with our excellent high quality HDV camcorders, also by Canon, but now that we are going to be implementing the Canon 5D Mark II, we will have even more of a blurred line of what it means to be a photographer or videographer. Yes, professionals from both sides, who sometimes never wanted to be part of the other world, like photographers that do not like video guys, and video guys who think photographers have way to easy of a job are all coming together as one.

Wedding Documentary is ahead of the industry in this respect because of our expertise in both fields. I was interested in photography when I was a kid and started shooting videos, shortly after VHS camcorders were popular in the early eighties. When I was a Junior in high school, I toolk video production classes and decided to pursue a film school career. During my junior college studies, I dedicated a year to styudying photography, dark room techniques, and photojournalism, where I shot and wrote for the school newspaper. As a transfer student to UCSC film school, I entered the production concentration and began shooting many 16mm and Mini DV projects for my classes.

I attended the University of Ghana, Legon my senior year and did many documentaries about West African drumming, dancing, and culture. This is where I started shooting a lot of events. My research tools included both still and video cameras because I was making films but also writing my research findings. This was in 2002 and was the first time I used a high end video camera for both video and for capturing stills. While the video turned out great, the stills left something to be desired. Print quality was less than satisfactory.

I started shooting weddings with video cameras and later added on photography services when digital photography hit 8 megapixels and the Canon 20D was a major success.  Since then we have been providing both photography and videography at weddings with both video and photo.

At weddings where we do both, it is myself and two others. So at any one time, we always have one videographer, one photographer, and one assistant for both of us. During the ceremony, while I am taking stills, I still am able to walk around and see the video camera recording so I know what we are getting.

I am more of a director being able to get the shots I want, without necessarily being the camera operator. During the getting ready portions of the day where things are a little slower, I often go back and forth getting the exact shots I need for the album with stills, and shooting the getting ready shots I need on video for the documentary. This is extremely efficient as I am able to get what I need with a minimum amount of time and fuss, as well as, the bride does not have to feel like there are multiple cameras on her at once.

With the Canon 5D Mark II, I will be able to shoot stills and video all from the same camera, streamlining the process and even being more unobtrusive.

So while many photographers are trying to learn all about video, how to deal with audio, movement, editing, and whatnot, and many videographers are racing to learn all they can about photography, all I can say is that I have been doing both for many years and have dedicated myself to become a professional in both fields. When it comes to choosing the right photographer and videographer for the most special day in your life, go with a company that has streamlined their workflow to make beautiful wedding photos and videos together, and someone who is not merely racing to catch up to the industry, but with someone who knew long ago, where it was going and is ahead of the lerning curve.