Why is photography more popular than video?
- Thread starter roxics
- Start date
combatentropy
Veteran
ahem, it's spelled narcissism. Seriously, I don't understand anyone wanting to watch themselves that long, either. I have heard that some people get the wedding video to see the other people who were there, many of whom they seldom see, some of whom they may never see again (like a great-grandparent).
Unfortunately, most wedding videos I see are totally couple-centric.
Cary Knoop
Veteran
The future generations after they have their own children would want to see the video!
Videos are living records not only for the present but also for the future!
alaskacameradude
Veteran
If I was getting married today, I would not pay for
a video, but I wouldn't pay for photos either......for
much the same reasons as you talk about. Not fond
of the selfie craze, photo booths or any of that kind
of thing where people want to show everyone how
cool they are, or how rich, beautiful, handsome, funny,
or whatever it is they seem to be trying to show.
But you have to remember, the wedding is about the
bride, it's her day. Or as one guy once told me
'I didn't want to pay thousands of dollars for a wedding
video we would probably never watch again. But my wife
really wanted a wedding video, and she didn't care if it
costs a lot.
So we compromised and got an expensive wedding video......'
rob norton
Veteran
Wedding videos are for people who couldn't attend, guests may check it out, and for the bride and groom to see the event because it was all such a blur on the day. And of course you need a wedding video because how else are you going to show people you spent $20-$100K on an extravagant wedding that could've gone towards starting a small business or helping your kids?
Have you seen a wedding photographer's "checklist"? What a joke. Like puredrifting said, who cares about the 500+ photos? Chasing a large album is a grave mistake in my opinion - you should be paying the pros for those 1-4 pictures that stay in your house forever, contributing to your happiness on a subconscious level. So if I had to choose I would say goodbye video. If I were a stills wedding photographer I would offer a package of no more than a dozen photos, and turn them into large prints of the best quality. Wedding photographers are also partly props, no different to an impressive wedding cake - a box that is ticked in assessing how "legitimate" an event is.
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
Well all I know is the brides I shoot for LOVE the videos! They even love the teaser videos. They share them with family, friends, and anyone they can find on social media. They watch them over and over and over with their husbands, bridesmaids, moms, coworkers. They laugh, and boy do they cry! Even their husbands get teary-eyed. And when they are long gone, their grandchildren and great grandchildren will be able to experience their ancestors getting married. To them, it's priceless.
The landscape is changing.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Damn, the dotted red line fails me again. I'm a writer, I know how to spell it but I am a lousy typist!
puredrifting
Major Contributor
I was married in 80s. Someone was shooting a bit of the ceremony on one of those prehistoric RCA full sized VHS camcorders. I saw the video clip once, it was cute, my wife was nervous and said "Uh, huh" instead of "I do" when the officiant asked her if she would take my hand in marriage, you could hear the crowd laugh a bit, it was funny. But I saw it once, I don't even have the video and I cannot recall who shot it or who has it and I don't need to see it again. We have one bad snapshot of us from the entire wedding, taken by a friend, that's it. Guess I am just unsentimental, that we only have one bad still photo of our wedding day doesn't matter to me or my wife. As far as relatives, I won't be around, what do I care if they can't experience my wedding day from half a century or a century ago? I am obviously cut from different cloth than people getting married today. I think I would rather get a root canal than be forced to watch anyones wedding video, my own included. Even my kids, when and if they get married, I am not going to encourage shooting a wedding video.
Hah, a friend of mine had that. He even attempted to get into the pro business with it. When it looked that big, handling it was no small feat.
It has to be said though that the video vs. stills wasn't in the same league then. VHS was just so poor compared to a 35mm film done right. Nowadays, shoot 4K and then compare it to the 24-50 MPX stills. Stills win but not by much.
you and I...we might just be platonic soulmates.
Michael Thames
Carbonite Member
The mid-wife who deliver my son at home made a video of the birth...... my son to this day won't watch it.
I don't think you are cut from a different cloth than people today, it's just that there are preferences. Some really value wedding videos and many do not. I produce them for a living, and I'd rather take an ice pick to my eye than watch my own or my parents/relatives.
I've had couples and friends repost theirs over and over again. Just depends on the person, and I think it's always been that way.
I was talking to my dentist about that, how we have to shoot whimsical shots of couples kissing in forests and she just thought it was the wackiest thing.
Different strokes, and all of that.
combatentropy
Veteran
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
Well then again, there are some people who don't like horror movies. And some people who LOVE them. There are people making a fortune off shooting wedding videos, so clearly there's a market for them. To each his own.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Definitely, I have a ton of respect for those who create quality wedding photography and videos, it's really freaking difficult to do well. I was the photographer, as a wedding gift, to a relative (they divorced a month after the wedding ;-) I am a pretty good stills/portrait/travel/fine art photographer and shooting good looking stills at a wedding is crazy difficult. Luckily I have never had to produce a wedding video but it seems as if everything (logistics, stress, high emotions, restrictive venues, consistent lighting and sound challenges, needing to be in three places at once all of the time for an entire day) conspires against creating quality video, yet some people can do it. Hats off to them, that's impressive.
