The Benefits of Choosing One Wedding Videography & Photography Team in Ottawa

We’ve shot quite a few weddings with our photography and videography team in the city and I’ve found that the ability to provide both services for our couples a huge advantage when shooting throughout the day due to time efficiency and ease of shooting.

One of the main reasons we like shooting both photo and video together with our team is that we all know each other and only think about what’s best for the couple for BOTH their photography and videography memories in the end. I’ve shot with many great photographers over the years and their work is fantastic. But many have no video production skills. They are hired to do the best photography job for their client and themselves. This means that if they see photo opportunities they will use them and often won’t consult videographers if they would like to take time to shoot as well, they just keep going. This isn’t everyone, but many do this. When we shoot with a different photography teams, it’s our responsibility to make sure we talk to them on how we shoot and that we’ll be jumping in to direct the couples for action shots throughout the session.

Our shooting style is very cinematic and fun. We set the shots up and always ask the couple to perform simple movements, like dancing, light kissing/laughing, hand holding, walking etc. We like to keep the directions very simple. One reason is because our time is very limited and we simply don’t have enough of it to set up elaborate shots. Secondly, because we know that being in front of the video camera is more difficult than simply posing for pictures. Couples have to be dynamic and fun and if they are not used to being in front of the camera, which most are not, then we have to keep the movements simple so that they feel comfortable.

A specific video shot often takes longer than photography to setup, especially if we use sliders and steady-cams. This means that when the light is right to shoot a video shot we have to take it right away so that the light won’t change. When we shoot with our team we know this and always know when to prioritize photography and when to get ready for a video shot. We had an incident last year when a photography team was taking basic portraits in the shade and we told them we need to

move to a specific location because the sun was moving behind the building and if we don’t go now we’ll miss it. They kept on shooting a bit longer and then we finally left to go to the location nearby. I knew that the photography shots could have been taken later on because the light in the shade won’t change. Once we finally arrived to the spot (which was not easy to get to) a giant cloud rolled in and blocked the sun. We had to wait for it to move for over 10 min, which slowed all of us down. Plus at the same time then sun was fading away behind the building and we were hoping it wouldn’t fully disappear. We tried to take some shots in the meantime so that we wouldn’t waste time but for video we rely on natural light because we can’t bring large film lights to wedding shoots. But for photography all we need is some small flashes and we’re ready to shoot anytime. Luckily, the cloud moved away and the sun was there for 3 minutes and we were able to get enough for their music video. But we had to move really fast.

The biggest advantage to hiring one team is that we know how to shoot photography and video at the same time. We like to keep our photo shoots dynamic and direct you to have as much movement as possible. This way the stills feel more authentic and we can then shoot video at the same time to save time. Many photographers don’t know how to do this because they are just trained to shoot still images. But because we have a film background we’ve worked with actors on various projects we know how to set up the scenes to get as much out of them as possible.

There have been a few incidents where we knew what priority should have been but when working with other photographers we were simply not able to take advantage of it because we have to respect their working methods as well.

If you are considering both photography and videography for your wedding in Ottawa then take a look at our work at www.cesoirstudios.com to see if we’re a right fit for you. If your wedding is in another city then consider hiring one solid photo/video team to handle your entire wedding.