Donegee Media

The importance of meeting your Photographer and Videographer

We wanted to dive in a little bit deeper on the topic of your photographer’s and videographer’s personality. We think that it’s important to find a personality that jives well with you and your family.

Why it matters for different types of shoots

Three shots of bride and groom at Camarillo Ranch

Sumi and Steve Camarillo Ranch Wedding

For weddings

The media team will be with you as much or even more than your own bridal party. This typically depends on whether or not you’re delegating tasks on the day of. Photographers and videographers will be with you for your entire wedding day, so it’s important that your personalities vibe well together. There will be some stressful moments and some great highlights. You want to make sure that your photographer/videographer will be able to roll with it all! Sometimes the photographer will be the last person to you right before you walk down the aisle. If you need any words of encouragement or a ride out of the venue they’ll be the ones to give it.

Natasha and Roby embrace

For engagement and couple sessions

We highly recommend doing engagement sessions and couple sessions, especially before a wedding. This is a great way to test your photographer’s communication skills before a larger event. It can be surprisingly difficult to be on the receiving end of modeling directions. If you’ve never had your photos taken professionally, I highly recommend doing this to see your own coordination, comfort level, and style. This also makes for great slideshow images if you choose to do that on your wedding day.

For family, maternity, and newborn sessions

There will be lots of personalities within your family that you’ll have to consider when choosing a media team. I feel like the most important factor especially if you have children or animals is high energy and patience. An hour session could go by really quickly or seem to drag on. There are some people that know how to keep a baby comfortable, some that are straight out of the gates good with kids, and others that are simply dog whispers. You want a photographer who will make your family feel comfortable because it will show in the final edited images.

Spectrum of Personalities

Below I’ve listed some personality types. I don’t think that a person has to be on or the other, the best media team, in my opinion, are ones that have these different personalities built within the team or individuals that have the skills to thread between these spectrums and take up the skills necessary to get the job done.

Big ego vs humble

If you have a photographer who as a big ego and you see yourself being timider or laid back it can be intimidating talking to your photographer or asking them questions. Humble media teams tend to be more patient but if you have an assertive family, then the big ego photographer could do better in standing their ground and sticking to the schedule then the later.

Extroverted vs Introverted

There are some photographers/videographers that are open to sharing their whole life story with you. Then there are others that would much rather hide behind the bush to take your photos. It’s good to consider if you prefer to have the silence constantly filled up during an event or session or if you like quiet moments to sort out your thoughts.

Hands on vs Hands off

Some photographers will have to move your hair or adjust your clothing. Modeling photos can be exhausting and sometimes we have to herd some large groups. You may find yourself being pulled and pushed into position. There are some photographers that are very hands off and will give all of their direction vocally which is perfect for those that don’t like being touched but can be difficult for those that are uncoordinated. I’m personally pretty hands-on and will begin the session with “Is it okay if I touch you?” follow by “I’m probably gonna do this a lot today.”

Overall

We think it’s important to meet your photographer/videographer whether online through a video chat or in person before booking. You can see whether or not you connect and if you can trust that person to document your life.

It’s perfectly okay to pass on a media team if you don’t feel like it’s a good match. If we’re not compatible with a couple, we won’t book with them knowing that there’s a photographer/videographer that’s a better fit. It is important to build a good relationship because more often than not there will be other occasions where you’ll need a photographer and videographer. It’s best to find a team that you like working with so that you feel comfortable reaching out when the next special event occurs.

What are your tips on finding a photographer or videographer that’s the right fit for you? Share them in the comments below.

How a two day wedding might work for you

You’re probably thinking that this is outrageous! But hear me out.

The bride Lilian and her seven bridesmaid in soft pink dresses

Lillian and her seven bridesmaid

One day is not enough

One of the things that I’ve told my newly engaged friends, as well as my clients, is that the wedding day will go in a flash. There is kind of an anti-climactic feel when all the planning and coordination is completed. I’ve been calling it wedding withdraws. I’ve even seen it within the bridal parties that I’ve been part of. With all the festivities from the engagement parties, showers and bachelor/bachelorette party there’s a bit of a withdrawal afterward. You won’t seem to see you friends quite as often after the wedding. An extra day can grant you more time to enjoy your wedding.

Flower girl and ring bearer walking down the aisle

The first set of guests at Lillian and Philips wedding

It can accommodate more people

Even with small intimate weddings with less than 75 people, it’s still quite not enough time. As a guest, I’ll probably have enough time to say congratulations in between dancing. Now if you’re guest list is more than 200 people you’ll address your guests in groups rather than individually. We were lucky to shoot the wedding of Lillian and Phillip where they did a two-day wedding. Their Saturday church ceremony was followed by a light lunch reception where they invited many friends and acquaintances; well over 200 people. I also found that to be great because some of the attendees had other weddings that they had to attend later in the evening and this way they were able to do both. If you’re in the common marriage age of 28 – 35 you’re friends will also be attending a lot of weddings. They still had plenty of speeches and were able to dance with pretty much everyone in attendance. Then they had a formal reception with a separate set of 200 attendees.

Phil and his grooms men dancing in fog to 90's hit songs

Phil and his groomsmen performs their choreographic dance

Lillian and her bridesmaid sings for the guests. Later the aunties and uncles sing for the new couple

Chior performances throughout the night

Allows for more performances and dancing

At the Saturday wedding, they had multiple speakers take up the mic to share stories about the couples. From siblings to mentors, to co-workers. Trust me there were a lot of speeches. Even a video from the students from their school. The bride a groom were able to perform a duet for their attendees. At the second Sunday reception, the groom and groomsmen were able to perform a choreographed dance. Almost every single member of the bridal party was able to give a speech. They had their parents sing in a choir and plenty of wedding games to the guessing of the hands to my personal favorite, the shoe game.

The bride and groom are dancing with their guests

All sorts of dancing in the middle of the afternoon

Stretch the usage of decorations or completely change up the theme.

Even with using the best Hobby Lobby discounts, it can be hard to keep decorations cost low. Spending on expenses such as flowers, center pieces, and favors don’t seem as bad if you’re getting multiple day usage out of them. Some couples find that having a two day wedding allows them to try different looks and themes.

Less of a rush

In a single day wedding, there’s a bit of a rush to get through everything on time. From hair and make-up to setting up the venue, there always a feel that one needs to run around and get things done. In my early years of shooting, I’ve seen couples unable to enjoy their dinners because of all the festivities. With a spread out two-day schedule, there’s time to catch your breath.

Philip plays the guitar while Lillian sings on their wedding day

The couple performs a song for their guest

It’s more intimate

With everyone in town and meeting people that you’ve never seen before it can be quite difficult to get enough facetime, let alone catch up with anyone. They had a more formal reception for the family the following day on a Sunday evening. They were still able to fit over 20 tables of solely family that didn’t attend the previous ceremony. With family, it does require a bit more time to meet everyone. It also gives you more chances to take pictures with them! *wink wink*

Six of the two dozen guests that gave a speech at the wedding

Many guests were able to give toasts to the bride and groom

Potentially saving costs and no need to cut the guest list down

This is a big maybe. What was unique about this wedding was that they had so many people that they loved but were trying to do it on a teachers salary. By having a more informal lunch reception it allowed for them to invite more people at a fraction of the cost. Had they tried to invite all the same people to a formal dinner it would have been double the price and that’s only even if the venue could accommodate that size.

The bride and groom sit quitely to watch their students congratulate them on video

Lillian and Phil watching a slideshow made by their students to congradulate them.

Downside

There’s a bit more logistics and you’re gonna be exhausted. Finding vendors such as an MC/DJ and photographer might be difficult if you’re trying to book them for two days. And as for wedding planning, it’s not just you that will be exhausted but also your family and bridal party. They probably won’t want to see you for awhile.

Final thoughts

I would totally consider this if you and your partner have a large extended family and a huge circle of friends. This wedding personally changed my perspective and I myself might do a two-day wedding if and when the day comes.

What are your thoughts about a two-day wedding? Have you done one yourself? Comment below because we would love to hear from you!