How To Make The Best Decision When Choosing A Videographer For Your Indian Wedding

Planning an Indian wedding is no easy feat. There are many, many things to keep in mind when organizing and planning this special occasion – the venue, the guest list, the color scheme, floral arrangements, and of course – the videographer. Since video is a powerful medium to look back at, most couples choose to hire videographers when planning large events such as weddings and parties. A good video can last a lifetime and so, selecting a videographer should be an important part of your Indian wedding planning process, a decision you shouldn't take lightly. But what do you look for in a videographer for your Indian wedding? And how do you go about finding the best person? There are several factors to consider when choosing a wedding videographer, including experience, style, and cost. And if you're going with a professional company, how do you choose one? Here's what to ask and keep in mind before hiring a wedding videographer for your Desi wedding to make sure they're the right fit for your big day.

Source: Pinterest

 

Why Do You Need a Wedding Videographer

Unless you are living under a rock, you must have come across a wedding video on Instagram that would have induced tears of joy or a Bollywood wedding that you watched on repeat, imagining your own walk down the aisle. If you are nodding your head, you don’t need to think twice before hiring a videographer for your Indian wedding. The memories that are created on such an auspicious day need to be preserved forever and a videographer can not only make this possible but capture it from beautiful and stunning angles.

 

Your Favorite Souvenir From Your Roller-Coaster of a Wedding

Be it your heirloom jewelry and vintage china set gifted by your elder or Pajama Sutra PJs from your BFF, you will be left with unique memorabilia after your big day has come and gone. With that said, there's not better way to remember your wedding weekend than with a highlight reel or full-length movie - we guarantee you ll go back and watch this on anniversaries to come. 

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Have An Unplugged Week With Your Loved Ones

Are you tired from the everyday chaos of your phones, laptops, and other gadgets that seem not to reduce your stress but keep adding to it? Whether your answer is yes or no, your wedding week (or weekend) is a great way to have an intimate getaway with all your loved ones and cherish the present moments as much as possible. You can hire a wedding videographer, let them do their job, and let yourself truly enjoy and live in the moments as you celebrate your union.

Source: Biyani Photography

 

Watch Out For The Easter Eggs

Be it the first dances or the emotional moment for the parents during the wedding, there's a lot to take in on the day of the wedding and as the bride and groom, you would not be able to see everything on your wedding day, even if you are the one to plan all the little details. This is where the videographer(s) come in handy. They will shoot your wedding video and will include not only the major ceremonies but all the snippets that make your wedding unique to you as a couple.

 

Sharing Is Caring

It's now easier than ever before to share videos no matter what size they are, which makes it simple for wedding videographers to post weddings on platforms like YouTube and for you to share them with your friends and family. It may not be easy for every relative and friend of yours to attend your ceremonies, especially if they are living overseas or if you are having a destination wedding. This is where shooting videos of your wedding ceremonies comes in handy as they can easily be shared with cousins or friends who could not make it for one reason or the other.

 

Indian Wedding Video Ideas That Anyone Can Steal

Weddings seem so scripted today. What can you do differently? Instead of reading blogs and watching the same wedding videos over and over, why not take on the task you have to yourself to make a creative and compelling wedding video of your own with unique shots? Find creative video ideas for your wedding. We've got the scoop on some awesome video ideas in this article and they aren't even hard to film!

Raag and Isha from Paraagon Films say, “We have a candid-cinematic approach to all of our films. We emphasize the real-life moments that allow our couples to relive their big day when they look back at it years later. Our motto is “when it’s all said and done, relive it”, so portraying our couples and their wedding authentically is extremely crucial to our style.”

 

Stop the Motion and Save the Date

This is an incredible masterpiece that has grown extremely popular in recent years at wedding ceremonies. This approach employs animation to allow an item to move on its own and be caught as movement between separate framed images. This will focus attention on one individual while also leaving others out. The stop-motion wedding video trend (where a chronological arrangement of pictures is utilized to produce the illusion of movie footage) is a wonderful combination of new and old. Ask your videographer whether they can work this out or if they may work with a photographer.

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Mixed Media Wedding

A single cinematic style isn't always enough. The best part of shooting your wedding is that most of the effects are editable after the event. This may seem extremely cinematic, but it is a great and very unique blend of stop motion and save-the-date techniques, as well as a marriage documentary approach. It's a fantastic fusion of cinematic flair and documentary that will liven up your marriage and leave a lasting impression on your guests. If you want to feature your closest essential family and friends in your marriage movie, for instance, you may blend interviews with getting-ready shots, inserting their affectionate remarks in audio for some memorable scenes.

 

Your Wedding Trailer Or Highlight Reel

You or someone from your wedding party can compose a story created by collecting footage from the ceremonies including music, and conversations. You can create the video chronologically but any important moments (or photos) from after the wedding can also be included. Your friends, family members, and guests can also be involved through fun interviews or commentary. 

 

Highlight Your Ceremony

To focus a video specifically on your wedding ceremony, it is a great option to set up cameras on different angles such as down the aisle, near the groom to capture his reaction on seeing you in your wedding dress, and taking in the proud looks of your elders as they see you starting a new chapter of your life. Your videographer can help you set up cameras and run these angles and capture any candid or small-yet-special moments from your wedding ceremony.

 

Save The Date in a Creative Manner

To create an amazing Save The Date video, recreate your proposal and add your names, date and time of your union, your wedding venue, and any other details in a fun animated film. If you have your proposal video, you can use it to make a stunning cartoon version of the film. To add more depth, include moments from your relationship and illustrate the tale of your relationship.

 

Make a Film Parody

You can make a mini-movie of your wedding or the events leading up to it but recreating scenes from your favorite movie, be it any hook step of a Bollywood movie ("Bole Chudiyan" from "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham") or a romantic scene of a Hollywood movie ("The Notebook").

 

Cinematic Video

Photographers and Videographers often go out of their way to shoot incredibly-impossible shots that seem to be straight out of a Hollywood movie. Ask your videographer for a cinematic video, which is more elaborate than the regular wedding videos and is much more artistically shot than being just a collection of the big moments from your ceremonies. Include natural landscapes such as deserts and beaches to add drama or candles, lamps, and lanterns for depth.

 

Qualities That Define A Great Wedding Videographer

There are a lot of wedding videographers out there. This can make it difficult to choose one for your special day. It's hard to ignore their flashy websites and promo videos, but how do you know if they're right for you and your wedding? There are several qualities that define a great wedding videographer. Read on below to learn more about them.

 

An Impressive Portfolio

Beginning with the basics, your videographer and his/her team should have a portfolio that speaks for them. When choosing a videographer, go through the portfolios of each company you are interested in and make a list of your favorite clips if you are finding it difficult to choose one. You're hiring an artist, therefore you should adore the picture that they are painting through their camera. When you look at a portfolio, you're certain to have some questions. Make a list of emails to send to your videographer. Is the lengthier version of the ceremony complete? Is the lengthy version inclusive of all speeches? Do we select music to accompany our video? Examine the portfolios of the videographers you've narrowed down to a shortlist. Videographers are not always the greatest of bloggers, so if you don't find any recent work on their website, do ask them for any latest wedding they may have captured. As new trends and styles come and go, their work would also be evolving accordingly, so looking at their latest work must be a priority for you.

Source: The Propixels Photography

 

Experience and Talent

Talent and experience go hand-in-hand. There may be weddings that can make do with buckets of talent of a videographer, but for big, fat Indian weddings which are usually loaded with drama and stress, sometimes you may want to call in the experts. This is where the valuable experience of a videographer would save the day. Plus, it's great to know that you have someone you can rely upon completely. Moreover, weddings that are scheduled to take place outdoors may not find the same cooperation from the weather, and shooting indoors in a poorly lit venue may prove to be a challenge for budding videographers. This is another instance where experience can come in handy and the visuals may still be breathtaking. Moreover, with experience comes the ability to deal with those guests that are a bit more difficult. Such clients or wedding attendees might throw a novice wedding vendor off but for a seasoned wedding videographer, it's simply another day on the dance floor. These scenarios may make you nervous, but now is the time to consider all possibilities. Hiring an experienced staff is a good decision.

Raag and Isha say, “We do a thorough timeline review with the couple a month before the wedding to make sure everything makes sense and all potential delays/issues have been accounted for. The biggest mistake I see people make is not having any buffer throughout the events, so any little delays push everything back.”

 

Personality

This is a matter of personal choice, and both introverts and extroverts may make excellent videographers. But do keep in mind that you will be spending the entire day with this individual and their crew, so it’s important for you to get along with them. Will someone who is overly loud drive you insane? Before including them in your list of vendors, an in-person or video conference meeting is strongly recommended. In our thoughts, the media team must consist of people who are kind and approachable. Aren't those the types of individuals that make you feel instantly at ease? And aren't these the types of individuals you want around your family members and friends on your wedding day? A video crew may work in an inconspicuous manner by remaining cool, and discreet, but in charge. If you have ever attended a wedding and had the urge to run away every time the photographer came for the next round of photos with the flash blinding your eyes, you would agree not to hire someone like that. Furthermore, it's not a piece of cake to direct hundreds of relatives for family shots and a firm, authoritative voice will be needed to organize them in the way that will make your album stunning. You will have all your required shots taken quickly with the help of such a videographer.

Source: Filza Naim Photography

 

Business-Savvy Approach

As the world becomes more business-oriented, it's important for videographers to do the same. To run a successful and organized business, a videographer needs to keep his/her team up-to-date with the latest technology, from the gear used at weddings and video-editing tools to marketing skills and social media. It is also necessary for videographers to offer a backup team to the couples in case of any illnesses and emergencies with the lead videographer(s) (it will definitely be reassuring to have a plan B!) Detailed paperwork is essential for videographers to offer as well. It may be a bore but having detailed, well-planned contracts can come in handy in case of any future disputes. Excellent customer service, as well as a flexible and friendly approach, should be other traits that you should keep an eye out for.

Pro Tip: “If you’re camera-shy, it’s important to communicate that with your videographer so they can have a candid approach to your portrait session instead of making you do poses you’re not comfortable doing. It always helps to find a video from your videographer’s portfolio that you feel best represents you both and how you can envision seeing yourself.” – Raag and Isha from Paraagon Films.

 

Conclusion

“You spend more time with your videographer than you do with your partner on your wedding day, so they become a huge part of your experience and how you remember the day. Find vendors that you get along with and are excited to have around you. Stress as much as you need to before the wedding, but once the events start, enjoy them and be in the present! The weekend goes by SO fast! This is probably the only time everyone you care for will be under one roof celebrating YOU! Hiring a planner or a coordinator if you don’t have the proper help is always worth it!” – Raag and Isha

If you decide to hire a videographer at the start of your wedding plans, know that you're adding an important and fun element to your big day. Videographers capture so many moments that might otherwise be forgotten, from the processional to the first dance to the good-bye at the end of the evening. Everything else—timing, cost, and quality—can be worked out after you find the right one for your wedding needs. You'll save a lot of time and stress by making this decision ahead of time!

If you're looking for trustworthy, reliable, and affordable wedding videographers and other vendors, we're here to help. All you need to do is browse through The Desi Bride website, get in touch with us, and we can help you find whatever it is that you are looking for! Sign up to our newsletter for regular updates and similar exciting blogs! Happy Wedding Planning!

 

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Cover Photo Credit: Two Fish