I am just starting into wedding video and I am trying to figure out the best way to price my weddings. I considered only having 3 wedding packages to make things easy on my clients, but I ended up adding the $1000 package for those who only want the ceremony filmed and nothing more. I just had a bride this week sign a contract for a wedding and it was for that smaller package so I think there is a market for it in my area.

My question is, do my packages on my site (below) make sense? I'm in a smallish market (Charleston, WV) and their aren't a ton of wedding videographers in the area.

So I know this is a really tough question, but do my prices make sense? Does what you receive with the packages make sense? The "Platinum" package is where I'm trying to point people with it's price point, but I'm not sure if that's wise or not.

Any advice you can give would be great.

PS - don't judge my site, it's not finished quite yet lol

Weddings | Paradise Valley Productions (http://paradisevalleyproductions.com/7266-2/)

Hi Brock

Have you actually spoken to a selection of brides and asked their opinion...your site seems to be selling the technical side rather than the romantic side ... Most brides couldn't care less whether you have 1 or 3 camera people and even less interested about how many angles you can give them. All she is interested in is her end product not your tech specs so I would tend to push the descriptions towards her asthetic needs rather than offer all this tech jargon which she won't understand...she's far more interested in what you will cover and how you will cover it than how much tech stuff you have.

HI Brock,

I pretty much agree with Chris, your site at the moment has no emotion in it, but plenty of technical stuff. You really need to choose whether you are selling wedding video, or general video

Wedding video is totally different to marketing other forms of video, you need to tempt brides to your video production by pushing the emotional side of the video content. As Chris said, brides will not be interested in camera numbers, angles or how many audio recorders you use. She will want to be dabbing the tears in her eyes when she watches her video because of the emotional content. Your site wording needs to get that across, perhaps with a totally wedding dedicated section to the site with some emotive stills and video clips.

Roger

Yea I think you both are correct.

When I first created the site, it was created for general video (corporate, businesses, etc) but after I created my first wedding video and began to get inquires, I thought I should jump on it and make it at least have a wedding page on my site.

Do you have any particular suggestions for what I should change?

Hi Brock

If you are married ..get help from your wife otherwise ask girlfriend or even Mom ...A wedding web site as Roger says is all about memories, emotion and such topics not cameras and technical gear to boast about. I would also look at what others are offering in your area and beyond ... don't copy them of course but see how they create the correct scenario for brides and then create you own bit of text that brides will be attracted to.

Good info. I agree with the others but want to add something positive as well.
Your site does clearly and quickly show what they are getting regarding the packages.

Brides are hard-wired differently than other clients. Anyone have examples of really effective wedding sites?

I agree with what others said less technical. I would suggest researching wedding video sites, find the ones you like then hire a web designer to create yours in that style.Remove "Professional Quality Audio" List only the features that distinguish between the packages. Unless your bronze has unprofessional audio ;-)

Concur with others.

Also sales training - start with highest price first for packaging and have 3 clear levels.

You can see my package set up here - Kyleroot.com/thank-you.html

I make mine fill out a form to see pricing. I may change that though. I go back and forth on that personally.

Hi Brock,

your packages seem to make sense but I wonder if you might be better bringing the numbers down - $950 rather than $1000, $2450 instead of $2500 etc. It's been a long standing marketing practice and while most people understand that it's smoke & mirrors - it still works.

you also need to work out which one you really want to sell, and think about pricing that a little better - given 3 choices brides will usually go for the middle one.

some people believe that it's best to keep it really simple and others offer lots of alternatives - it's what works best for you - talk to and listen to your brides, any brides

Hey Paul

Have you watched the program on Foxtel about how our brains work? They did a test at a cinema with patrons and popcorn. They had 3 sizes (S,M,L) priced at $3, $6 and $9 and most bought the middle one.

They then upped the price of the middle one to $8 and most patrons then bought the large one (they were questioned and replied because it's only $1 more) Marketing is a science it seems? Also they discovered that the human brain struggles to make a decision when given more than 3 options so based on that it's unwise to offer brides many different options! In fact I have heard a lot of wedding videographers say that the best option is to offer just one package only! You can always offer smaller packages as optional extras but it guess it helps offering a base package from bridal prep thru to the dancing as most brides choose that anyway from my experience.

Oh, I wish I was a much better marketer !!!

They had 3 sizes (S,M,L) priced at $3, $6 and $9 and most bought the middle one.

All my clients pick my most expensive package, but that could be because I only have one full option package :)

Go with two or three packages.
Ditch the 'silver' 'Gold' Platinum' labeling.
I personally don't think the client cares about the number of cameras.

I focus on:
hours of coverage
What films I deliver

As for your selling.... write everything to focus on this: what does it do for the bride? What is her benefit? It might be emotional.

Figure out what package you want to do the most, and what price is appropriate, then make your other package(s) based on that. So, I offer three, but only two realistically get booked. The highest option is to make the others look better, and there just in case. Then I've got a half day or 6 hours and full day, or 12 hours, and I want people to book the 12 hour day. Its not really *that* much more expensive than my half day option. So far 5 out of 6 clients for next year took all day.

https://shesaidyesweddingvideo.com/wedding-video/pricing/

Hi Rob

I'm sure brides don't care about technical details! Grooms might if they are tech heads but brides are the ones that usually book ...it really comes down to what coverage you offer for the price .. I have never had a bride ask me about cameras ..(neither make, number or type) I still think that like Noa one package is the answer ..if they want less, they will ask you but if you offer less they might pass you by! If you do want to offer lower packages then maybe dual branding is a good idea ..I have seen it done quite often. One website as "Ultimate Cinematic Wedding Films" which has all the bells and whistles and then "Budget Wedding Videos" if you want to target low income brides and shorter coverage. Our problem is that we offer both photos and video and do combined packages so having one package might let us lose out on a bride that already has a photographer. We also do a few live broadcast weddings so it get complicated.

[QUOTE=Robert Benda;1925086]Go with two or three packages.
Ditch the 'silver' 'Gold' Platinum' labeling.
I personally don't think the client cares about the number of cameras.

I focus on:
hours of coverage
What films I deliver{/QUOTE]
Packages where you explicitly state how many cameras or how many operators etc are going to be a rod for your own back if there is ever a problem with a camera or your assistant. Far better to focus on hours of coverage & exactly what the deliverables are.

Hi Rob

I'm sure brides don't care about technical details! Grooms might if they are tech heads but brides are the ones that usually book ...it really comes down to what coverage you offer for the price .. I have never had a bride ask me about cameras ..(neither make, number or type) I still think that like Noa one package is the answer ..if they want less, they will ask you but if you offer less they might pass you by! If you do want to offer lower packages then maybe dual branding is a good idea ..I have seen it done quite often. One website as "Ultimate Cinematic Wedding Films" which has all the bells and whistles and then "Budget Wedding Videos" if you want to target low income brides and shorter coverage. Our problem is that we offer both photos and video and do combined packages so having one package might let us lose out on a bride that already has a photographer. We also do a few live broadcast weddings so it get complicated.

I ran into complications with combining services, too. I have been a wedding DJ since 1998, and a few years ago started offering the option to book DJ, video, or both (and photo booth and up lighting). It did OK, but I like making the client's choices simple. Now I have two different companies again (though both are just me).

As for the more practical stuff, I put more info below my pricing and packages, so if they want more details, they can have it. Technical explanations, like number of cameras, are in my contract, but not on my website.

The fact some of you don't mention the number of cameras may explain why some clients come to me and say they picked me because I offer multiple cameras and others do not. I assumed it was because there were loads of single camera operators still out there, but perhaps they just didn't see it listed on a website. Do you even say you film with multiple cameras. I do and if they delve further into my Service Pack, they see I have it detailed as 3-4 cameras are used for Ceremony and Speeches. For those who don't care they'll ignore this one detail and focus on the features listed that would appeal to them, but for those who do, its a selling point.

I think the most important purpose of the web site is to show the potential client the style and quality of your work through the use of video samples. Secondary to that is a frame work of pricing. The two largest cost factors is hours of coverage and camera operators.

Eventhough I mention I use more then one camera during a ceremony on my website I never had a client asking about it, they just don't care what and how many gear I use, they contact me because they liked the trailers they saw on my website, like Pete says hours of coverage and cameraoperators would be the main factors that can have a significant impact on price and that is something I would mention because if I don't then they won't ask either.

I would say that over 75% of my bookings this year were the result of offering only one package, one price, one camera. The brides don't care for technical jargon or 4k. 1080p frame rates etc. No, they want coverage of themselves and having fun with their guests/friends but mostly focusing on her and hubby. It has worked good for me netting on average 70 weddings a year over the past 10 years or so. Offer too much on the menu gets them confused and worse yet the " oh, those are all nice packages but let me think and talk it over with my fiancee". When that happens there is a 56% chance she will tell her fiancee but they will also look to see what others have on their menu and eventually get booked by factors like personality/soft sell/BS/young attitude etc. There is also a 27% chance they will get nabbed and booked by someone else offering them more stuff/coverage/bells/whistles/effects than you while matching or lowering your price. A 12% chance they will call you back saying to hold the date BUT...they still have to decide ( that's because they have to juggle some offers around and need time to decide). Which leaves a 5% chance that they will come and see you with the deposit moola within a week.

I am WAY WAY too complicated I think and it simply puts brides off!! I have 3 packages ..(ceremony only, ceremony + reception and prep, ceremony + reception) BUT I offer each of these as traditional video with DVD + USB, then again doing the same but Live Broadcast (edit on site) and finally as a combined package with photography too so that's 9 options on the website in all. If I was a bride I would be totally confused too!!

I really think the simpler the better ...as Arthur says ..one package, one price, one camera

I concur simpler is better.

One thing that comes to mind when you offer solo shooter to multiple cameras and operators is if they see a trailer they like (from a high end wedding) and they order a low end package they might not be happy if they didn't get what they were expecting.

I can see the benefits of shooting one way but providing different amounts of coverage to insure a uniform standard of quality.

I try to take the middle ground Pete I shoot with two cameras during the ceremony and speeches and then it's just a single camera for the rest. That way, I can do guest cutaways and wide shots on my B-Cam while the main camera covers the couple on a tripod (same with speeches) Doing a wedding ceremony with one camera is tricky when the bride walks down the aisle so doing that on the B-Cam is much easier so I can cut between the girls walking down and the reaction shots of the groom. That way I can "claim" a multi-camera shoot but stay as a solo operator. The moment you start hiring second and third shooters your costs sky rocket (if you have a decent experienced shooter) so your price HAS to increase substantially!!

Our brides here are pretty budget orientated and if I have to pay an extra $500 to have a second shooter it could be the loss of a booking when competing against a solo shooter.

Chris, that's exactly why I shoot solo and single camera. Keeping costs down to not chop off my profits and at the same time keeping my package cost attractive enough to be affordable. A very thin line that marks the sweet spot of making a nice tidy profit while providing a great day's coverage that any bride can afford. Yes, I know it's not that multi cam/steadyshot/slider look that produces that wow factor, but then again, can I cope with the extra edit time and effort to make those extra few hundred bucks ? To make say, 20% more in profits
on a multicam wow shoot mean that I may have to spend more than 20% extra time at the desk. Also to consider is 2nd or 3rd shooter fees which do a fine job in minimizing the bottom line. Not to mention that the higher the package price, the more picky and demanding the client tends to be. But that's another story for another time. Re-edits...you know what I mean.

Very sensible Arthur!! That's why you do so well! The other second shooter issue is if you get a cheap operator you get results to match so I'd rather stay solo!!!!

I still do a slomo shoot but without any stedicam or gimbal which saves me heaps!! The newer cameras have such good 5 axis stabilisers you don't need the extra gear!

Yep, I'll stick to solo shoots too ...way more profitable!!!

I think some of you lot of perpetuating myths to justify your style and methods of work. I have 62 confirmed bookings next year and from doing everything that Arthur is not. I find it's the couples that select my cheapest package to be my most picky of clients as opposed to those who book my highest are by far my most easiest to please customers.

Part of my business style is that I'm adaptable, so appeal to a wide variety of needs. I can be cinematic to those who want it, a fun Marryoke for those who favour that and a pure documentary with natural audio throughout to those who prefer this style. I've done all types this year from 3 hour videos to 20 min cinematic videos. I like variety in my work.

I would have to say that having edited a single camera shoot a couple of times, I found it a very frustrating experience trying to cover up camera operator movement and blocked shots with B footage of flowers and other decorations inserted in to fill the gap. It looks ridiculous and seems like a cheat. Besides I can edit a 40 min church Ceremony video with 4 cameras in 90 mins. I've edited Speeches that were an hour long in a similar time. So I don't hold that adding extra cameras adds an equivalent in extra work.

Oh and to touch on Pete's view that a low package could mean a low quality Trailer; I never lower the quality of my Trailers / Highlights videos for each package as they're my marketing tools. A client booking my smallest package may have friends who could after seeing that Trailer end up booking my highest package. Never cut corners on your online videos. It's the full length video for me that varies from package to package, the higher ones benefitting from colour grading and more attention in editing. However my sample disk has the middle package version, so only a minor step up from the lowest package.

@Steve - Admittedly I would love to do a single camera shoot. Notsomuch to save on editing, but just to only lug around 1 camera bag & 1 tripod. Unfortunately like you said, it would likely just lead to too many coverups & a bad video. If it were a budget budget, or a friend of a friend/coworker just accepted a 'do your best', I might do it, but I agree I doubt it. 2 cams is just so much better and also less pressure in a way, but in a way more to concentrate on & worry about (setup, angles, cards, Recording, battery).


As to the OP, one thing I don't think was mentioned, personally I find $1000 for a ceremony only to be a bit high. I've received an email from someone looking to have it shot, and I find those customers are typically on a veery tight/no budget, who just want it covered for documention purposes, like a deposition. However, like Steve said, often cheapskates are the pickiest ones. And if you give them a Ceremony only, with no intro/music/highlights, they might be a bit disappointed (Same thing with couples who ask for raw footage/no editing, they'll come back & say its not set to any music). Anyway it was a Friday wedding, and I think they offered $150?! I guess I can see that if they want a novice, but it was a bit in advance to where I could still book the date, plus it was on a Friday & I work M-F, so it was hardly worth taking a vacation day over. Going back to my point I think $1000 can get alot more than just a ceremony, and as others have said they wouldn't care or want it to be 4 cameras, and they wouldn't need 4 DVDs/BluRays. Personally I think BluRays becoming worthless & USB is where its going, so that way they still have a raw file of whatever formats next to convert it to. Also they won't need to contact me years down the road for another copy or the copy in a newer format.

David, I've done a couple of 'ceremony only' doc-edits for $500 and been happy. I usually have the edit done by the end of the same day, which is its own kind of bonus. Mostly, though, I think its because I've only done 2-3 a year that I'm OK with it.

I'm kind of with Steve Burkett about flexibility and such, though, mostly, you just have to believe in what you're selling. If you really only want to shoot single camera, then stick with it. I mention on my website how my packages aren't the only choice, and clients can ask me to make changes, but, mostly, I offer what I offer because its what I would want.

Well, I wouldn't not do a 'ceremony only', but I think the price point is the factor. $500 sounds about like the sweet spot to me. <$300 it just isn't worth it. >$700 I would do it, but I don't think many couples would want to spend that. And if they did I'd be a bit skeptical of their expectations as to final product.

I don't shoot single camera, always use a 2nd, a 3rd on occasion, either A6000 or Gopro. I'm mostly flexible on rates (drop a certain %) or hours (adding in an extra hour or two). I don't usually cut out the highlights, or add a marryoke or give a shorter edit. I find that more decisionmaking anyway & possibility of coming back with they wanted whatevers edited out.

There is a huge difference between what most of us use to cover a wedding and the so called "team" that has a second and third shooters, stedicam, slider and crane. I'm not condoning the use of 5 cameras Steve but rather the extra funds you have to come up with to pay your two assistants (and I even saw a guy that had a gopher as well!) You simply cannot compete with the solo shooter if you need a mini bus to transport your staff price wise so when we are comparing the two we are comparing people not cameras ...It doesn't cost you anything to run a few extra cameras unless you are hiring people to stand and watch over them. That's what we were comparing ..adding extra people to your package not extra cameras.

That maybe what you were comparing. I think Arthur was talking about multicamera and using anything more than a tripod and a single camera to film a Wedding, and I'm only guessing on the tripod. :)

Despite being a solo shooter, I can manage the slider and gimbal in nearly every shoot and I even employ the jib when I've got a shot that's worth it. I also have a 2nd shooter option which I get 1 or 2 a year. It pays for itself and is a useful addition to those clients who want it. I think what is and isn't possible as a solo shooter varies from person to person. Some Videographers feel strongly you can't film a Wedding without having at least 2 people, though I think they say that to justify their business decision rather than because it's true.

Being a single shooter has these benefits:

1- You are in full control of all aspects of the shoot/product. Never argue/disagree with shooters during
and/or after the shoot.
2- You get no surprises like shooters being late or lost, believe me it has happened often.
Unless, of course, you all travel together.
3- More equipment=more chances of malfunction ( Murphy's Law) and also more likely guests will stumble,
trip or run into/get hurt by gear especially jibs and cranes.
4- Unobtrusively goes out the window.Especially when there's 3 shooters.
5- Again, more time at the editing desk = less leisure time. Unless you hire an editor = go to #6
#6- Added production costs which lowers profits. See also #9
7- More cost to bride and groom for providing more meals ( they have brought that issue up often enough)
Unless their venue is at McDonald's.
8- The venue manager will love you ( perhaps even recommending you).
9- Don't have to reimburse tolls, gas, parking to shooters. It adds up fast throughout the year.
10- The priest, minister, officiant will love you too.

I know, I know
The video is going to look like crap compared to a multi cam/shooter production.

Merry Christmass and Happy New Year to all !

Arthur - your points can so easily be countermanded.

Multiple shooters are invariably charging more to cover the costs. I know a guy charges on average £2000 per Wedding, does approx 18-20 a year and has 2 shooters per Wedding. Couples paying that out aren't going to be too fussed over an extra meal. Photographers come in pairs all the time and the couple will pay for their meals.
Plus editing 18-20 Weddings a year must take a similar or I'd wager less time it takes to edit yours and mine 70 Weddings a year.

The big advantage of a 2nd shooter is

1) You can't be in two places at a time - you can't film Groom Preps and Bridal Preps at two different locations to the same standard.
2) Extra support.
3) Greater production value

Find the right 2nd shooter and there are clear advantages over a solo operator.

As for your Point 3; more gear means more safeguards. I have 4 cameras filming a Ceremony; if 1 goes down, I still have 3. What would happen if your 1 camera were to fail. Plus I've never had guests stumble over my gear. Most of my cameras are so small, I can mount them to a clamp. Tripods are placed purposely to avoid obstruction.

As for the Priest loving single shooters more. Well that depends on how you behave. A 2nd shooter working quietly at the back and a first shooter positioned discreetly at the front is going to be loved more than a single shooter armed with only 1 camera leaping into the aisle every now and then to vary his shots. This example comes courtesy of 1 such Vicar who told me how a single Videographer had behaved this way. I assured him my multiple cameras meant I didn't need to move. I've seen Venues and churches object to a single Photographer yet loved a 2 person team; it comes down to attitude, courtesy and behaviour, not number of people in my experience.

Finally I am oddly enough praised for being unobtrusive, despite my hefty gear. However I employ such gear leniently for certain shots. My own Jib shots tend to be exterior and interior shots of the venue; ditto my slider. Plus a DSLR on a gimbal is no more obtrusive than whatever camera you're carting around - I imagine not a DSLR.

Again back to an earlier post I made, of perpetuating myths to justify a position. I speak as a primary solo shooter, but that doesn't mean I can't see clear advantages of dual shooters. Not to say there aren't risks, but then what if I became ill, what if my car was to break down. There are business risks to a single shooter too, so its not as clear cut as you may like to think.

Oh and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too. :)

Solo shooter doesn't mean solo camera which is quite important. Steve has already said he can use extra cameras and extra gear without an extra person. We often will have 3 cameras where needed.

My issue has always been the 2nd shooter. I have tried and tried and despite them blabbermouthing about their 5 years at Uni and their incredible skills the bottom line is all the ones I have ever hired have sucked. Yes and some had incredible experience but still failed to deliver so I stayed solo !

We often do bridal prep of the guys and girls ..we simply do the guys first (they have an option to drop the suits if they want to afterwards) and then the girls. Never had an issue with doing the guys early either!

My feelings about 2nd shooters is simple ..if they are as good as me then why are they not working on their own already or are they just using me to get into the industry? Nope I can do without them thank you and not having a second shooter keeps my production costs nice and low which means more profit!

Ah, finally some fun discussion :)
I have shot weddings for 6 or 7 years solo with one camera only before turning to a multicamera setup and a few times working with a second camera operator so I do have some experience to know the pros and cons
1- You are in full control of all aspects of the shoot/product. Never argue/disagree with shooters during .
It's important that if you decide to use a second shooter that you work with someone who is a) professional or b) is your permanent shooter for every wedding. Professional shooters don't argue/disagree, they might present you with alternatives but in the end it's you who has to call the shots. If you work with the same shooter for every wedding each of you will eventually know what to do but still, there can only be one person leading and that's also the one who will be doing the editing. If you run into trouble with a shooter messing up then it's because you hired the wrong person for the job.
2- You get no surprises like shooters being late or lost, believe me it has happened often. Unless, of course, you all travel together.

You don't mention the largest disadvantage of shooting solo, what if you are late, lost, sick, get in an accident, do you have a equally experienced backup that can take over who is just a phonecall away? If you work with a second shooter you always have a back up that can take over.

3- More equipment=more chances of malfunction ( Murphy's Law) and also more likely guests will stumble, trip or run into/get hurt by gear especially jibs and cranes.
Using more then one camera during a ceremony is actually a better protection against malfunction, what if your main camera malfunctions during a important moment, can you switch to a backup camera in an instant? What do you do to cover up the part that you missed while you get your backupcamera (considering that you have one) Having multiple camera running simultaneously can save you from such a disaster. Important is again to shoot with your main camera as if it was your only camera, all other extra camera angles are just a added bonus for different angles or for safety reasons.
Jibs and cranes can apply to solo shooters as well if they have that gear with them, I at least never use it.

4- Unobtrusively goes out the window.Especially when there's 3 shooters.
When I was shooting solo with one camera only I had to move around more to get enough b-roll shots, having more camera's or even working with a second operator means moving around less so being less obtrusive.

5- Again, more time at the editing desk = less leisure time. Unless you hire an editor = go to #6
That depends, if you don't shoot more then needed it's hardly extra time added, even with a 2nd shooter if they know exactly what to cover.
#6- Added production costs which lowers profits. See also #9
Depends again, if you charge accordingly you make the same amount of money but your production value rises. You could do less wedding every year with 2 shooters while making the same amount of money as you do now shooting solo and in the meantime increase your production value so you can attract higher end clients that are willing to pay extra.
7- More cost to bride and groom for providing more meals ( they have brought that issue up often enough)
At least over here couples don't care, my last wedding 2 weeks back that I shot with a forum member there where also 2 photogs and the entire band (about 6 people) that came to perform live singing got a main meal in the evening, it's also not an obligation to feed us so if they would object I would just bring my own food.

8- The venue manager will love you ( perhaps even recommending you).
As long as you let the venue personal do their work and if you communicate in a professional way with the venue manager they won't care if you are with 2 or 3 shooters.
9- Don't have to reimburse tolls, gas, parking to shooters. It adds up fast throughout the year.
I just have one fixed price which covers all costs, I don't bother the client with a few euros parking costs.

10- The priest, minister, officiant will love you too.
They would love me even more if would show up with multiple shooters and camera's, that would mean we hardly had to move around to get all shots, priests only care that you don't walk around during their homily, it's usually the photog that gets the evil eye for not remaining still.

If you shoot solo with one camera and do 70 weddings a year or shoot with a team of 3 doing 20 weddings a year, if you charge accordingly you could make the same amount of money with less effort, like Steve said, I can easily make a counterargument towards solo shooting for every point you made, I would like to permanently shoot with a second shooter but I have not been able to find anyone in my own country that has the same gear and experience so I shoot alone, sometimes with one camera only because I like to challenge myself, usually with multiple camera's because it does give me more options and every now and then for fun with a forum member here who especially flies over from the UK to help me out and we never disagree or argue and at some moments he has even better shots then me :)

I usually work as a solo shooter, both for video, photography and for the joint video and photography package. I always use an FS1000 for 4k main camera, an HD cam as a B cam and a GoPro or clone as a C cam. If I am also doing the stills, I carry a DSLR aswell so that I can maximise my options. I also caryy 2 pocket audio recorders and a wireless mic.

Claire has exactly the same equipment for solo work. If we only have one wedding on, we will frequently work together, but this is more to lighten the work load than add more variety. It gives time to take the occasional rest and help each other with setting up and breaking down. We don't have a problem shooting both Bride and Groom's preps solo,as the girls usually take all morning whereas the guys are pretty quick. It is straight forward to break the time into appropriate slots without missing anything important. If we are doing photos, it saves a bit of time if one of us sets up the poses whilst the other takes the shots and we interchange very easily on that.

As Chris mentioned, finding an affordable and expert second shooter is extremely difficult and unreliable and a gopher, although useful, can be a liability if put on a camera. I am probably in a better position than most here, as my wife is highly competent in video, photography and every aspect of the business, so it puts us in an ideal position, but that is not a luxury available to everyone.

Roger

All things being equal two manned shooters yield a better video. But there are a few caveats some have been mentioned.

1. Finding one that is good, dependable and affordable. Yeah it stinks when you're editing and there is something wrong with the shot you were depending on 2nd shooter to get. I know some people use head sets to make communication clear.

2. It adds $500 to hire an experienced shooter for the day. Then at least $200 for the extra editing time. For a total of an extra $700+ nearly doubling the cost which many clients will balk at.

3. Two places at one time like groom and bride prep not possible. During the ceremony you can stay in position and not be distraction because you have the second shooter covering the other angle. At the reception you can have one person film the person giving the speech while the second does bride/groom/parent reaction.

There is so much going on and usually in short bursts of time that a second shooter is really invaluable. Unmanned cameras are fraught with many problems. You use as backup or something you cut to but are risky to depend on.

Look I get the whole solo deal I've done it myself but lets not kid ourselves that it's on par with multiple shooters. I just filmed a live event that really needed multiple shooters I missed a number of shots because I couldn't get into position I needed to be in. Now I'm going to have pay the price in editing to try to make it work.

I knew this was gonna happen. Anyway am I doing something wrong by shooting solo and booking an average 60+ weddings a year, with a $1500 fixed one package offering ?.
Yes, I do have backup gear in case of camera malfunction. I used my backup only twice in 30 years due to the video heads (as usual) clogging up. Yes, I missed a few key shots here and there because I didn't have a second shooter shooting. Yes, my backup gear is very close to me, actually it's in my pocket ( and it's not a phone). No, I am not running around being obtrusive at the venue or at the ceremony, I got to be a very good sniper type over the years. If I had a suit camouflaged with flowers you wouldn't even know I'm there. My clients at the price they pay and at my little fine print just above where they sign agree and understand that it MAY NOT BE a perfectly executed shoot as I cannot fully control the weather/people/attitudes/latenesses of makeup/hair lady/traffic/flat tire(s), people in the way or in the background i.e.. shooters/children crying in church/etc.etc. I make absolutely sure my clients understand that and that my only responsibility in case of a lawsuit stemming from a breech of contract as a consequence of unforeseeable or uncontrollable circumstance(s) shall be limited to the reimbursement of the total of the deposits paid. I only had to refund once as a result of severe dropouts on mini DV tapes with Sony VX1000 after which I licked my wounds and brought a spare.. That's one refund in roughly 2000
weddings since VHS days of 1979.
I am sure there is a place for single shooters like me in this business. When a client just cannot afford a multi cam shoot where else do they go.?

I knew this was gonna happen.
You mean that there are people that might have a different opinion as you? Welcome to the internet. :)

7- More cost to bride and groom for providing more meals ( they have brought that issue up often enough)
Unless their venue is at McDonald's.

My last wedding of the year I go to eat and there's only 2 plates there, and the 2 photogs are eating. It was in the contract for me to have a meal, it was pretty apparent the 2nd ate my meal. I wasn't that upset, they were good to work with. What bugged me tho is I had a 2nd shooter for that wedding (last one of year, plus I had one the day before so I was nervous about keeping up, didn't charge the couple but did ask if its ok), and their out time was after intros/1st dance/toasts. I paid them enough a meal wasn't a dealbreaker for them. I've mostly seen photogs do the same. No reason for 2 photogs to shoot dance floor footage imho. The lead seemed newer, and the 2nd was more experienced, so I think she was a little unaware of letting the 2nd split earlier in the night. Anyway they admitted that 'Oops, I think he took your plate' well duhhh! The venue did come by & gave me a plate once they confirmed they had some leftover. .

Oddly, my 2nd was a photographer I know. She had told me she went to Uni (Temple) for film & Video, but migrated into wedding photography. I think a big issue was lugging that much gear around. Admittedly she did a great job, esp for her 1st video shoot. Nailed alot of the groom prep shots, def had a good eye for composition. Just fwiw.

Arthur I'm almost always a solo shooter, it's fine. There's a market for it, and my rates surely don't warrant paying a 2nd person, and the couples know this ( i did it twice, for a photog friend who recommended me, and my last one of this year just to do it up). I've heard from a photog that "alot" of videographers are working in tandems now. TBH tho they were a pretty pretentiontious husband & wife team, seemed to be a bit judgemental of me all day.

Most of my weddings are multi camera solo shoots and if I am asked about the number of people I use, I simply state that one is usually sufficient but if it requires extra personnel, that will be down to me. I always suggest that they look at my work and the work of others before making any decisions.

To me it is of no consequence whether there is one or ten shooters, providing the couple get what they want within a price they are prepared to pay. I've seen great video from multi shooters and others that I would have been embarrassed to supply as a solo shooter. You set out your stall and it is up to the couple to make their choice.

Roger

Hey Arthur

You don't need to even concern yourself whether there is a place for you as a solo single camera shooter ..you have proved there is already purely by the number of weddings you have done.

Why on earth change your operation and style if it's working for you? What you do is simple and effective and it makes you money and brides keep booking you. As Murphy's Law says " If it ain't broke don't fix it"

I think we often forget that we tend to get wrapped up in new technology and get to the stage where we are giving some brides what we want rather than what they would be happy with. Sure if you can add a second cameraman along with 3 extra cameras and a stedicam and slider and make $3000 per wedding instead of $1500 it might be worth a look but again all the hassle might still not be worth it!

What you do works so keep on doing it

Hey Arthur
As Murphy's Law says " If it ain't broke don't fix it"
That's incorrect Murphy's Law is "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."

I don't get why people get so defensive. No one here is trying to convince people not to solo shoot if that's what they prefer. The whole point was to give the original poster guidance on packaging and what are the main factors that effect it one being amount of coverage and the other being manned camera operators.

I think we often forget that we tend to get wrapped up in new technology and get to the stage where we are giving some brides what we want rather than what they would be happy with.

Wedding Videography must be one of the few professions where to go above and beyond what is expected of you is seen as a criticism and not a positive. What I want is to deliver a Professional looking video that covers the key moments of the day from multiple angles, has good clear audio, well composed shots and which leads to a Professionally edited video the couple can enjoy in the years to come. Is there some reason you think my clients would not be happy with that. Sure some of my clients are pretty clueless on what a Professional looking Wedding Video can look like and I could exploit that to lower my standards, but is that how I really want to work.

I'm sure Arthur's approach works well for him. To me it's old school. A single camera works well for shorter videos, but the moment you're delivering uncut Ceremony and Speeches of say 40 minutes a piece, multicamera becomes an invaluable tool.

I've edited single camera videos, where during the Speeches, the camera had panned to a group of tables at the back of the room whilst the audio suggested a lovely reaction from the Bride to something 1 of the Bridesmaids had said. Of course by the time the camera had panned back, the moment was gone. Will the couple be happy with such a video, sure, but they never get to see what might have been to compare.

That said, no two clients are alike. We all talk about what Brides want as if it's a commonality shared amongst them all. Yet what a Bride wants differs from person to person. Yesterday's Bride wanted a Marryoke and no Reception coverage. Just Ceremony and Speeches and a bit of dancing. This contrasts with another Bride who wants a 3 hour video with everything included, with natural audio throughout. Another Bride who wants only natural audio in the Ceremony and Speeches and then music used elsewhere. Then I have couples who much prefer the shorter videos.

Any Business market requires diversity as people's needs are equally diverse and whether offering multiple packages or a single package, cinematic or documentary videos, you'll find clients are going to have a preference. Some will want you to keep it simple, others even if given as many as 4 Package options will ask for a 5th.

Hey Arthur you have proved there is already purely by the number of weddings you have done.

Arthurs keeps repeating how many weddings he does and what he charges as if that would prove his point, it only proves it works where he lives. If he would live in my country he'd have to lower his price to around 1000 and he would struggle to get or handle 30-40 weddings every year, forget about shooting weddings back to back because you are expected to shoot at least 16 hour weddings over here meaning you'd have maybe 2-3 hours sleep before you need to prepare for the next wedding, last wedding I did I had to get up at 4 in the morning and got home at 3 at night. Try to do that weeks in a row, the wedding market is a lot tougher around these parts.

Why on earth change your operation and style if it's working for you?
No-one here is saying he needs to change the way he works, only you imply we do. Arthur wanted to make a list of the benefits of being a single camera shooter but he turned it into a list of disadvantages of a multiple camera shooter instead so that's why he got this discussion started, it's only too bad he is not open to other opinions, there is no right or wrong here, just different ways of shooting and delivering a wedding and I know because I shot many, many weddings and I charge a lot of money for them ;)

Thanks Noa

Well I wouldn't like to shoot in Belgium that's for sure! 16 hours? seriously? I'm half dead if I have to go to 8 hours!! I guess if you have brides lined up and they are all happy with a quick shoot then that's what you need to do ...One simply couldn't do 70 weddings a year here either as most brides want the Saturday and I only get a sprinkling of Friday or Sunday weddings and they are often low budget, Arthur obviously has a great market where he is!

16 hour weddings ? That reminds me when I was starting out video shooting up in Montreal Canada.
Greek, Arabic and Macedonian weddings. Ever tried them.?
OK, typically I leave my house at 7am to get to the bride's hairdresser at 8 am. Stay with her till around 8:30 till the make-up comes. Leave after the make-up with her around 9:30. Arrive at her house for dress fitting, guests coming at her house,video with photog as she and family are photographed. Yes, she wants video of all that. Leave her house to go to groom's house. Same story there. Leave with the groom back to the bride's house ( Arabic groom picks up bride at her house and gets in limo for park photos/video. Now it's around 2 PM and we stay at the park till 4 PM. Arrive at the venue or church or ceremony place. Venue finishes around 2 am ( Arabic wedding has a guest photo lineup at midnight lasts over an hour). Greek weddings in Montreal especially from Crete do breaking plates way after midnight. Macedonian, forget about it, the don't stop dancing until they drop. Or you drop whichever comes first. And you better not miss any part of any dance.
Get home finally around 3 or 4 am.
How many hours ?? roughly 20-21 hours.
Many times a back to back Greek one Saturday and Sunday.
That's one of the main reasons I moved out.

I just can't see how you can do this every weekend, that would mean having a continuous workingshift of over 40 hours with maybe 2 hours sleep, that is physically almost not possible without a serious loss of concentration on day 2, you also would need to recover from that the following days.

No, not every weekend thank God, but there were many times that happened.
Compared to weddings that I took years back in Florida where you start like around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and the venues ends at 10 PM. On many occasions they would cut the cake as soon after the opening dance, do a few dances afterwards, toast and get done way before 9PM. Those were the jolly good days.
My typical wedding ends here at around 11 pm after an average of 9 or 10 hour day. I really don't do any bridal prep at her house and the only bridal prep I do if it is all in one place dressing at the venue. Happens often enough. Groom prep ? not any more regardless where he dresses.

No, not every weekend thank God, but there were many times that happened.
Compared to weddings that I took years back in Florida where you start like around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and the venues ends at 10 PM. On many occasions they would cut the cake as soon after the opening dance, do a few dances afterwards, toast and get done way before 9PM. Those were the jolly good days.
My typical wedding ends here at around 11 pm after an average of 9 or 10 hour day. I really don't do any bridal prep at her house and the only bridal prep I do if it is all in one place dressing at the venue. Happens often enough. Groom prep ? not any more regardless where he dresses.

I'm simply getting too old to do that kinda stuff. I need grandpa bedtimes not young teenager hours! We basically do a ceremony to end of first dance which is usually 3:30pm to 9:30pm (so around 6 bours) My kinda working hours! We do add bridal prep too occasionally but the thing that used to drain me was the extra hours between 9pm and midnight ...by the time the bride leaves and you film the limo driving away into the night and pack up and drive home it's maybe 1:30am - 2:00am so you are lucky if you get to sleep before 3:00am

Glad those days are over!!!