Inside Secrets Photographers and Videographers Don’t Want You to Know

Many engaged couples are excited to get married, that’s why planning a wedding and hiring vendors can be frustrating, especially if the wedding is 2-3 months away. Many have ended up with a bad wedding because the outputs were not good or the photo and video vendors ditch the event at the last minute.

If you’re just getting started, here’s a piece of advice: when looking to hire a professional photographer and videographer for your wedding, plan ahead, ask questions from your married friends, and search online for advice. Avoid suppliers who accept double or multiple bookings on the same day. Ask them first if they are available on your wedding date to officially shoot your event and if they will accept other wedding bookings.

You see, many wedding photographers and videographers accept multiple bookings. The owner of the business will just show up in your wedding for a short period of time so that you would see their presence. But is the main person behind that business working hands-on on your wedding? I think not!

Some suppliers only show up after your wedding reception just to save all videos taken in the wedding, to receive the final payment, and to pay the less-experienced freelancers they hired to cover the event.

Below are the following things that you might get from a supplier with dirty tricks:

Quality of Work

With a supplier who accepts double bookings, there’s a big chance that the quality of the final output won’t be consistent with the quality expected from that person behind the brand. For the video, the audio will be out of sync or there will be no audio for the best part of the event. Some just shorten the background music just to finish the output early because they were slow or made some mistake with the creativity. Why do this happen? It’s because they are novice freelancers hired to do the work.

For the photos, most don’t offer same-day-edit services so the editing output will be the same but the most ugly part is that the composition and creativity is really, really poor.

Why video suppliers accept double or multiple bookings

Many established video suppliers and freelancers have the same output, especially on the same-day-edit video, because it’s easy for them to copy the style of work. For the full-highlight coverage, that will be a different story. The owner will be the one to compile and edit all of it. And oh, some of them outsource the job so they can finish it early and deliver on time.

Another reason they might accept double booking is because the client’s budget might not match their best rate. They will only be on the wedding if the client books the highest package rate.

Photo suppliers also accept double or multiple bookings

This happens to businessmen with photo studios. They have low rates and hire a non-professional photographers or hobbyists who do not care if they’re earning small as long as they can add something new to their portfolio. The chances are, good work quality is slim, many photos are out of focus, or the compositions are really bad, and creativity and originality is non-existent.

Signing a Contract

When signing contracts, make sure you note in the contract that he/she, the business owner, will be the one to show up and work on your wedding. And it should state that you need a certain amount for refund if the official photographer/videographer does not show up.

Final Advice

If you’re on a budget, don’t hesitate to ask questions and never book the supplier without knowing who they are. Always keep in mind that you must not hire a wedding supplier who accept double or multiple bookings recklessly.

Keep on searching until you can find someone with great portfolios for an affordable price.

Another important WORD OF CAUTION: there are photo and video suppliers out there who will accept the downpayment and will ditch a client’s event. This isn’t a joke, it’s REAL!

If double and multiple booking issues from a supplier are not a big deal for you, then it’s up to you. But everything that I have shared to you above are true.

Conclusion

As a professional photographer for 3 years and an established network of other suppliers, I have learned that a lot about the dirtiest tricks and inside secrets of the wedding industry.

I’m not saying that everyone is a bad supplier, most of them are good. I’ve also learned that some professional photographers have an awesome team, that’s why they accept double or multiple bookings. Because those people behind the owner, they have been working together for a very long time and thus can be highly dependable to deliver the same quality of service. They know what to do and the same goes for the editing process of every photo/video.

The most common vendor who accepts double bookings are married couple tandems, because both have the same level of output and the same understanding about their craft.

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If you find this article helpful and are getting married soon, book me for your wedding and I’ll help you get the best supplier for a reasonable price. I will refer you to a videographer who doesn’t accept multiple bookings.