Without stating the obvious— we’re going to state the obvious. The photographers capture still images, while the videographers capture video and audio. That distinction is actually quite profound when you’re thinking about documenting your wedding day! While videographers and photographers have very similar duties before and after your wedding day, each part of it differs slightly.

Pre-Planning Your Michigan Wedding

Before your wedding day, there’s tons of pre-planning that happens— it’s half the fun! Traditionally, your event planner and photographer may assist in the making of your itinerary, but because the videographer often is booked toward the end of your planning process, most details are already set in stone (but if you book Mid-July early on, we’re happy to help!)

Simiarly, since your photographer is the one capturing the family photos, your videographer has little involvement in planning those portraits.

In general, your Michigan wedding videographer does very little in pre-planning directly with you! Don’t be fooled, though. There is plenty to be done before your big day!

Responsibilities On The Big Day

On your wedding day, the photographer and videographer are practically glued together! They travel together, capture together, and often become best friends together! We’ve made a lot of friends along the way.

Getting Prepared

Prior to the Ceremony, toasts, and dances, the videographer also must take care of the audio capture— a task arguably more important than the video itself! The on-site prep for the Ceremony could take up to 20-30 minutes, so be sure your photographer and/or event planners build in enough time for the videographer! High quality audio is extremely difficulty to capture, but will make-or-break your wedding film.

Capturing Your Day

Like mentioned before, your photographers might capture things like family portraits and the signing of the marriage license, while your videographer may prioritize capturing establishing shots or aerial views.

During the Ceremony, Toasts, and Dances, the videographer has an extremely serious responsibility to capture, without mistake, your entire ceremony. It’s no easy task! We only have one shot, after all. Your photographer, on the other hand, might float around looking for unique angles and creative opportunities— their capture during these times may look more casual, but is just as serious.

Who’s in charge?

During your portraits time, the photographer usually takes charge in directing you, your (future) spouse, and your bridal party into photogenic poses. The responsibility of direction is both critical and time-consuming, so as videographers, we usually take the backseat to let the photographer’s vision come to life. We direct too! (just not as much).

When the videographer directs, it’s supplemental to the photographer’s needs— you’ll want to think of the photographer’s directions as “poses”, and the videographer’s directions as “movements”. Videographers need movement, action, and activity to make your wedding film come to life!

Delivery of Photos & Videos

After your amazing day, both videographers and photographers retreat into their dark basements to chip away at the terabytes of data and thousands of files captured at your wedding!

Just like each workflow is different, the deliverables are too!

Your photographer likely will deliver dozens, if not hundreds of image files, either by flash drive or cloud storage. They may even offer to deliver physical albums, framed portraits, or other printed copies for keepsakes.

Your videographer probably won’t have as many individual files to deliver, since everything they captured is wrapped into a couple of films for you to watch. Mid-July Media does a 100% online delivery for Michigan weddings, but we do offer physical copies and keepsakes as an add-on! Often, our couples receive the full-length recordings of the ceremony, each speech/toast, and each dance, plus the 5-7min cinematic highlights, and a teaser trailer!

Need a Videographer?

Mid-July Media is an expert wedding videographer in Michigan— we’re based in Grand Rapids for West Michigan Weddings, but we’ll travel anywhere in Northern Michigan (like Traverse City, Petoskey, or Marquette) without hesitation!

Drop us a line, and let us know what you’re looking for in your videographer!