Who here offers Photo, Video, or DJ packages

[David Barnett]

I've seen a few of you write it now & then. I was wondering what your arrangement is for the most part. Are you husband & wife teams, or did any link up with (or shoot very often with) a photographer or a select few? I know Robert Benda here was a DJ/videographer, haven't seen him post much lately.

Anyone here ever do photography on occasion?

[Steve Bleasdale]

Yes David we do

[Chris Harding]

Most of our packages offered include photography and yes it's a hubby and wife team too. Very popular with couples as it is more cost effective than hiring two people for each media type using their own cars etc etc. I know Roger Gunkle in the UK does a lot of combined packages. We even have a husband and wife team here that do all three! The hubby does the photos and DJ/MC and the wife does video and then photos and video when hubby is the DJ

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi David,

My wife and I are joint partners in our business and both are able to shoot video or photography as a team or individually. I've been a videographer for 33 years and photographer for even longer and my wife for 14 years. Our main business has always been predominantly wedding video, although we both did photography outside of weddings because of the large number of wedding photographers already out there. We decided a few years ago that we should incorporate the photography side into our wedding business after a number of our video clients expressed dissatisfaction with their photographers.

It was a very good business move for us, as our most popular package now, is the combined video and photography package. We have also found that we are taking bookings much further ahead than we ever did with video only. We have also seen a steady increase in photography only packages as more people become aware of our work. Although we still do video only for couples that have already booked a photographer, we actually find it easier to do both ourselves as we are in total control. As my wife and I are both capable of carrying out solo combined packages, it gives us the opportunity to maximise our business income.

I should add that photography and video both require different approaches and skill sets although there is considerable overlap in many areas.

Roger

[David Barnett]

Thanks for the responses. Just sortof at a crossroads with this. I'd like to do something new, would love to do a hybrid photo/video package, but the amount of work (video) and pressure for great results (photo) just seems very high. I'd love to keep it at a budget rate but factoring both it, it gets beyond budget. Could be marketed to couples who "want both" but can't afford both. I'd need to bring an associate with me, and my photography skills I don't think are up there to do weddings, yet I'm not sure many 2nd shooters would want to handle the main work.

Honestly I'm going to see if I can get a few 2nd shooter gigs next year.. I see alot posted and if I could gain some experience, just explain who I am, my experience in weddings and that I'm looking to just keep busy & try photography, but am reliable ( I worked with a photog this year whose 2nd shooter 'thought the wedding was next week', then she showed up a few hours later, after the ceremony. Awkward). I also had a few looking for 2nds kinda last minute.

Then DJing. I admit its alot of pressure the day of, keeping the dance floor going. But it just seems fun to me. And I like traditional DJs, I feel it works playing the hits & classics. I had one at the end of the year who thought it was his turn to make it a nightclub/rave, playing EDM/Techno remixes & obscure songs no one over 30 has heard before, and this was early in the night before 9ish. Also I feel I have an advantage because I've seen more wedding DJs than pretty much all wedding DJs, since they don't work with or see others & what they do/don't. Also no post production, if I picked up just a few gigs here & there.

Just thoughts on where to go with this. Thanks tho

[Steve Burkett]

I've occasionally considered and even been asked if I could add Photography. To be honest, my style of video makes adding Photography difficult and I'd feel it would cheapen my work. That said, I do do Marryokes and film the Wedding, so similar impact. Mainly I am loathed to do it because I despise the formal photos and would rather quit Weddings than take on such a boring and tedious task. I love Weddings where the couple veto such formalities and just relax and have fun.

I'd question the wisdom of hiring someone to do the Photography. How is this doing something different. Feels like you'd be adding a Photography hire service. Given you couldn't guarantee the same 2nd shooter for every booking, how would you develop your own style of Photography.

As for DJ, could be easier add on to video, but an expensive investment to start with compared to Photography. If you have the personality for it, it raises you above many DJs I've worked with at Weddings. Post production on both video and photos would be a lot of work. I'm not sure how much time you spend on video post production, but unless you've had plenty of free time this year, could you incorporate the extra work into your editing schedule, even if you could on the Wedding Day itself.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Steve Burkett

Post production on both video and photos would be a lot of work.

Despite what some photographers would have you believe if you spend more than a day processing the images from a wedding then there is something wrong with your workflow. Likewise designing an album should take a couple of hours at most.

[Steve Burkett]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Despite what some photographers would have you believe if you spend more than a day processing the images from a wedding then there is something wrong with your workflow. Likewise designing an album should take a couple of hours at most.

I did work with 1 Photographer a long time back, who did the work whilst the guests had their meal. He used custom actions to tweak every image. Still it probably took him several years and/or loads of experience to work that fast to such quality, just as it did for me with editing. I'd be interested to know how long Roger and Chris spend on editing photos from download to finished product.

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Steve Burkett

I did work with 1 Photographer a long time back, who did the work whilst the guests had their meal. He used custom actions to tweak every image. Still it probably took him several years and/or loads of experience to work that fast to such quality, just as it did for me with editing. I'd be interested to know how long Roger and Chris spend on editing photos from download to finished product.

Hi Steve,

We would typically take 500-1000 photos on the day depending on number of guests etc. They would then be whittled down to remove the ones that didn't work, duplicates etc. We sometimes do that at the wedding if there are quiet times in the evening. The remainder are then cropped, processed as required and B&W, sepia, vignettes etc made of some that suit those effects best whilst also keeping the full colour originals. I would allow a maximum of 2 days for the bigger weddings, or if they had paid extra for the additional photo booth shots. Usually though for an average sized wedding say 60-80 guests, I would process photos in 1 full day. We usually deliver 400-600 although our contract guarantees a minimum of 250, but they are always delighted to get around double that. The photos are a mix of preps, ceremony, casual all day, groups and romantics, with sometimes the evening fun booth.

We also have lots of standard settings that we have refined over the years to speed up processing, but frequently individual tweaks are required. All photos are supplied on usb or data disc, but we never supply prints or albums unless they want to pay extra for them. It's so easy for people to do their own that most couples prefer to do it themselves rather than paying us extra for the same thing.

Roger

[Chris Harding]

We are much the same Steve .. between 400 and 600 images delivered on USB. Editing depends on the framing ..Colour and Saturation are normally very good on my Lumix cameras but if a picture is not framed accurately it adds to the edit time. My entire switch from doing live shoots as opposed to hundreds of short clips made into a video was mainly to save heaps of time ...it's way quicker to do a 2 camera live edit at each part of a wedding than contend with a week of editing. In the same situation we do try and "edit in camera" with stills too. I simply became tired of spending an entire week piecing together footage when I can do it while I'm filming!

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Steve Burkett

As for DJ, could be easier add on to video, but an expensive investment to start with compared to Photography. If you have the personality for it, it raises you above many DJs I've worked with at Weddings. Post production on both video and photos would be a lot of work. I'm not sure how much time you spend on video post production, but unless you've had plenty of free time this year, could you incorporate the extra work into your editing schedule, even if you could on the Wedding Day itself.

I was actually referring to DJs not having any post production, in that it would be nice to leave the wedding and just leave the wedding. I agree about DJs personalities (contrary to my DVinfo.net online persona I'm actually quite personable haha). But, I bet there's two sides to every story, and one can quickly become jaded with it. I'd definitely just be a traditional songs person, and I bet its tough on them having couples request you 'not be a traditional song DJ', as they feel its lame/cliche.Then, the dancing begins & ppl only wanna dance to the hits. Catering style to each couple, reading the guests, 1 wrong song choice or 1 slow song too many can empty the dance floor, it's gotta be tough.

As for startup costs, I mean, if you're a DSLR shooter & just switch over to stills then yearh But me, I'd need a camera body, which alone is $1000, so I don't think its that much cheaper than DJ.

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

My entire switch from doing live shoots as opposed to hundreds of short clips made into a video was mainly to save heaps of time ...it's way quicker to do a 2 camera live edit at each part of a wedding than contend with a week of editing. In the same situation we do try and "edit in camera" with stills too. I simply became tired of spending an entire week piecing together footage when I can do it while I'm filming!

Can you explain what you mean by this exactly? Are you saying during family/bridal photos you just keep rolling?

Steve Burketts right in that while a photog can open lightroom & whip thru the color correction, it took them many shoots to nail it, although I think LR has presets, still just having a knack for it. I too saw a photog do a bit of a same day edit during cocktail hour, and showed them to the B&G on an ipad during dinner. TBH tho, I felt it devalued their work, as the couple looked thru them a bit, then just put them down & began saying 'Hi' to people. You kinda need to protect the "Why" you charge your rates imho. In their mind they probably were thinking 'Wow, we paid $3000 just for a few hours work?'. Giving 1 or 2 photos (Best ceremony, Bridal party, B&G) would probably be better imho. It seemed like they gave them quite a lot.

Lastly, when I mentioned I'd hire a 2nd shooter I would definitely need to at first. I think it'd be too much to do it all myself. Plus I do shoot video during the photo sessions, family & bridal. I suppose I could cut that out from video, or do a stills montage, hadn't thought of that. But I could just hire a 2nd to shoot from ceremony thru 1st dance or something, for a decent rate. There may be some who are just tired of the business end or dealing with couples/marketing, or the late nights (Newly Moms). I could handle bridal prep, toasts, dance floor etc. On the flip side though I agree its just looking to become more work, more pressure, and will I be charging the proper rate for this?


Just thoughts.

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

Lastly, when I mentioned I'd hire a 2nd shooter I would definitely need to at first. I think it'd be too much to do it all myself. Plus I do shoot video during the photo sessions, family & bridal. I suppose I could cut that out from video, or do a stills montage, hadn't thought of that.

I don't think you can offer photo and video and then not video the bits that you are taking the photos for. When I said my wife and I do a joint photo and video package, I meant that we can both do solo combined packages where we shoot both photo and video at the same time. That means one person doing both at the same time.

To do that, you need to be competent in both skills and you need to have the right equipment to be able to work fast and efficiently. There are times during a wedding when there is more emphasis on one or the other, but you can't stop videoing whilst you are doing the romantic photos or the family groups because the couple will expect to have video coverage of those times. You can't just decide to grab a DSLR and start to do photos with no previous experience and vice versa. If you do that, the couple will end up with poor video and poor stills. It's not something that I suggest everyone should attempt, but given the right balance of experience, equipment and technique it can be very successful. The big advantage that I find in doing both is that in the time scales set out, I am in total control rather than fitting around a photographer, so I can set my own pace.

For most solo combined packages. we use 2 stills camera, 3 video cameras and two sound recorders. That is 1 Panasonic FZ1000 for 4k video, 1 Panasonic VX870 4k B cam, 1 Yi 4K action cam on remote stabiliser as C cam and walk around shots, 1 Panasonic FZ1000 for stills and 1 Canon 6D with various lenses when there is time for lens changing or extreme low light. Also a choice of several Sony voice recorders and a couple of Zoom H1s plus Lav and PZM mics. We also have a radio mic kit and a range of clamps and double tripod mounts and stands plus lightweight tripods for really fast set up and break down. Each of us has the same kit so we can take on two weddings.

Roger

[David Barnett]

Do you bring associates with you? Sorry, but how on earth do you carry 2 still cameras, 3 video camera, tripods, stabilizers around?

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

Do you bring associates with you? Sorry, but how on earth do you carry 2 still cameras, 3 video camera, tripods, stabilizers around?

Hi David,

No we don't use anyone else on solo shoots, although if we only have one wedding on we take the load off each other somewhat by both doing it together. For Solo shoots, the 3 video cameras, voice recorders and gimbal/stabiliser all fit into a backpack along with various clamps and a couple of mics and of course spare batteries. The 2 stills cameras and lenses for the DSLR go into another small camera bag and the lightweight tripod and lightweight stand are easily slung over a shoulder. So one backpack, one camera bag and tripod and stand can all be carried at the same time very easily. Of course they only need to be carried from place to place if the day is split into perhaps church and venue. When everything is in the one place, they are just brought into the venue at the start. For most of the day, only one video camera and one stills camera are needed, it's just the ceremony and speeches that need all three video cams.

I've filmed well over 2000 weddings over the years and can set up and break down very quickly, but to give you an idea, worse case scenario is church and separate venue. So I usually arrive 45 mins to an hour before the ceremony to get guest arrivals once I have covered the preps, but have on occasion only had five minutes to set up before the bride arrives if she wants me to record Dad seeing her in her dress. (We don't have the first look of the groom as you do in the US) So on arrival at the church, one of the FZ1000s would already be in the car attached to the tripod, so that is carried by me all the time, the B cam is either clamped onto a suitable pew, lectern or pulpit or if none is suitable on the lightweight stand. The Yi 4k will already be attached to the stabiliser and that will either be clamped somewhere, or mounted on the same stand as the B cam or on the main tripod on a clamp or double mount. It's usually clamped though at the back or somewhere else for a completely different angle. The stabliser is remotely controlled from my pad or phone so I can remotely pan and tilt it if I want during the ceremony. The camera setup is extremely quick as you can probably tell, by me using clamps and a basic stand. One of the voice recorders is put into the Grooms inside pocket and using a stereo lav picks up the vows and the officiant extremely well. Depending on the service, I may put a second mic and recorder on the lectern for readings, or close to a speaker of the PA system as a backup. If the ceremony start is imminent, voice recorders and B&C cams are put straight into record with both set at wide angle to give the best cropping opportunities from the 4k footage. If I am there earlier I will put them into record about 10 minutes before the ceremony. So the set up is very quick and the breakdown even quicker. Once the couple have left the church ready for the photos outside, I let them chat to the guests as they are coming out, which always takes a few minutes. I nip back inside, collapse the stand or just unclamp the B&C cams, and chuck them in the bag along with the voice recorders. It takes about 2 minutes at the most and as I always have one of the stills cameras hanging round my neck, I am out of the church again before the guests have made it out with plenty of time to organise stills.

A civil service is easier because there is no rush to get the cameras away as there is at a church.

Hope that helps you understand how we can get everything running smoothly with just one person and of course a lot of practice.

Roger

[Kyle Root]

In 2017 I moved into offering wedding photography to compliment my wedding videography.

I do not do combos though, they are distinct packages.

My core team consists of folks I've been shooting with for years, but we all do our own thing too. So when it comes to time to do a photo/video combo - always have to double check with everyone to make sure they are free that weekend.