Bridezilla Makes Example Out of “Pro” Wedding Videographer
Read and learn:
Madeline Eggplant
1312 Open Way
San Hose, CA
Dear Bad Wedding Videographer:
Let me begin this entry by saying that I LOVE great wedding videographers. I adore the finished product of well filmed and edited wedding videos that can capture the magic of a wedding, like the video Mrs. Emerald posted from Still Motion. A talented, professional videographer can immortalize a wedding day into a treasured keepsake for years to come.
Unfortunately, the Eggplants hired the OPPOSITE of a good wedding videographer- which was you.
Like every wedding, we placed cameras at the event for friends to grab and take their own photos. When they were developed you were in a fourth of the photographs! I’m attaching the photos to this letter so you can really see how bad you were.
Exhibit A your first offense: Don’t wear white if you’re a videographer/photographer!
When I opened the hotel room door to welcome you on the morning of my wedding, I was horrified as you took off your dark coat to reveal a gleaming starch-white shirt. At that moment, I knew that you were not a skilled or experienced videographer. We’ve all learned in second grade science class that black absorbs light and white reflects it. All professional videographers and photographers will show up to your wedding wearing dark colors so that they are less obtrusive and do not reflect light. Obviously, if you are going to hold a camera, carry a HUGE lamp and be near the bride and groom all day… don’t wear white!
Exhibit B shows your second offense: Don’t stand at the altar if you’re not part of the bridal party!
What the heck are you doing?? I understand the need to get the shot, but you’re standing in the bridal party lineup like one of the girls! I should have lent him a pink dress and heels. At least you would’ve blended in better. The above picture is also a good example of “Don’t Wear White.” If yuo were wearing black, you would’ve barely noticed him.
Exhibit C shows your third offense: Don’t film key wedding moments from obvious places!
When Mr. Eggplant showed me this photograph, I was at the Honolulu airport, waiting to board the plane to Kauai. My initial shock turned to distress, and then crying. Yes, bridezilla came out after the wedding was over. I am embarrassed to admit that I bawled at gate 37 of HNL international. All I could imagine were visions of your round little head appearing in all of our wedding photographs. I was so upset until Mr. Eggplant gently reminded me that our wedding photographers were very skilled and they would not let an obtrustive videographer like you ruin our wedding pictures.
Other offenses from you included:
1. Getting up front and in the faces of everyone making speeches and toasts at the reception. It was very distracting, especially with his blaring white light shining in the eyes of all our speakers. He was so obtrusive, walking circles around everyone. And from what I saw, he wasn’t even holding the camera steady.
2. Standing in the way of our photographers while they were shooting. Erwin actually came up to me at the wedding to ask me if he could get in front of the videographer to take his shots. I gladly said yes.
Had I known that you would’ve been a hinderance, I would have gone completely without you rather than hire one who was so obtrusive. My experience is a shining example of the motto, “you get what you pay for.”
Now let me just say, I have not received the video footage back yet. Perhaps when I do, I will change my mind about having you film any of our friend’s weddings. However, Mr. Eggplant and I have received the Chinese banquet pictures back and we’re both convinced we both could’ve done a better job with our eyes closed.
Well, I hope that my experience has revealed the benefits of hiring a professional videographer. As you can see, an amateur one can actually do more harm than good. So if you’re in the market for a videographer, by all means, please hire a good one, even if it costs some extra money.
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I wonder how the videographer maneuvered around all of those guests with cameras acting like the professional photographer? Let the pros do their job.
BTW many pros aren’t wearing black anymore so they can blend in with the guests due to limitations put on them by churches and venues, as well as poor treatment. If you look like a guest, then these people are nicer to you and you can do your job better.
If she’s such a pro, why didn’t she know she could just crop the guy out of the photo for a better composition anyway instead of crying? Get it together and let people do their job. Complaining before she even gets the video — glad she’s not my client. At the first sign of a nasty attitude, I would have been booked on her wedding date for sure!
Obviously this bride wanted to pay cheaply for a videographer and she got what she paid for is right. Brides like this want champagne and caviar on a cheese and crackers budget. The videographer in that picture above is holding a crappy camera with no monopod or tripod – what do you expect? Of course it’ll be crap.
Try prioritizing your budget to include a videographer that costs more than the limo rental next time.
I’m so happy that we have never had a bride like this. She sounds like an absolute nightmare. Photographers and Videographers work very closely with each other throughout the entire day. It would be an absolute miracle if we didn’t show up in the background of a single photo or the photographer didn’t end up in a second of our video. This bride obviously had unrealistic expectations. I’m sure her reception area was dark which would need a light for the toasts in order see the individual. You don’t hear her complaining about the photographers flash? Still Motion is an amazing company and produce wonderful quality wedding films, but I think she would find they would be much more involved the day off than this guy was. They shoot with 5 people! I don’t think that hiring a cheap videographer was the problem. She is the problem.
I am a videographer myself and I understand the process. But as the bride described it very detail it looks like the photographr is not in the way of the videographer from her say. I am not saying he should be appering in the shot but the way i see it the photographer looks like setting up the videographer as faliour. He has leg and eye to see which angle he can shoot to find out not to include the photog in the image. The videographer might spend more time than he should spend edditing out the photog from the seen as well.
I am sorry if wrote same coment as anyone else. I just wanted take it of from my chest.
you cried when you saw exhibit c? really? granted, i never film from behind the altar like that, but honestly, that is so easily fixed it’s not funny. bridezilla is correct.
I really wish I could see the finished product, I don’t think she knew what kind of video she wanted or understood what a good shot may require. I think this videographer should have explained this to her. I work as an assistant to a high end wedding photographer and his clients and their wedding guests often trust us and our ability, we may get in the way but they know it’s to get a good photo or clip, she simply shouldn’t have hired someone without knowing anything about them. Still Motion for instance probably makes some of the best wedding videos in North America but, I would bet they’re far more distracting considering the footage they get. I imagine two or three people, at least one of which is constantly running around with a steady-cam following all the action. It’s a compromise she failed to acknowledge, you can either get cousin Dave to stay nearly invisible off to the side with his handicam on a tripod and get a very dull documentation of the day or you can hire a cinematographer to offer a little distraction but turn your day into a piece of art.
This is a good heads up, the couple should really always have an accurate expectation of what the experience will be like. Although the final product could be amazing, this videographer didn’t take the time to communicate with the couple enough prior to the wedding to discuss boundaries and exceptions. As a result this bride hates his this guys guts because he trying to get good shots.
Anyway to try and keep things short, communication and trust are key!
I think this bride should have checked into this person’s references. If she really liked to have her wedding filmed professionally she should have asked around and not pick someone just on price, which she might have done. I’d love to know how she found this person and how much she paid.
It’s really funny how she actually points out the company Still Motion by name, an extremely pricy company that make amazing films. Why didn’t she simply hire them? Didn’t want to spend good money on a video guy but would shell out 3 times more for a photographer? OR is this just one huge ad for them?
this Bride will not be Married for very long …As she will soon find
every little fault with her Husband too ! Real or not they will be in her head getting in the way !
Heh, that last paragraph should say:
I think photogs need to be understanding of this and try to learn more about working with VIDEOGRAPHERS to make sure you BOTH capture the day in the best way possible.
My typo. My bad.
Overall a good article and helpful for newbies. However, I take a little bit of an issue with #2 under the “other offenses” section. Stick with me here.
My own style, and what I communicate to my clients, is that I try to have a steady shot throughout the day. I am on tripods always, but fold it up into a sort of monopod to get high shots and to move around from spot to spot (which gives me a handheld feel at those times if needed).
During editing, I usually choose the static shots, editing out extraneous movement (we use 2 cameras during the receptions as well and cut back and forth to minimize any shakiness or movement that doesn’t fit well).
Ultimately YOU need to figure out what you want for a video. If you want a video that is steady as opposed to frenetic and moving a lot, then you can’t have a photographer moving in front of the video camera. Now obviously, if the photog is taking shots of you and I go and stand in front of his shot, that’s just wrong. But also wrong is a photog who positions himself in such a way that the videographer is blocked from a shot, OR, positions the couple away from the video.
I have been at weddings where I am setup to capture a first dance and I have the couple in my sights, the music starts, the dance begins, and then the photographer moves away from me, DIRECTLY OPPOSITE and starts shooting pictures. First, he’s in my shot, second, the couple immediately faces the other way giving him a good shot and me with the back of heads.
Now, I can move to the other side, one camera at a time, but if he inevitably, moves again to capture a better angle, or various angles, this can create big problems for me. A photog can get a shot from anywhere and it doesn’t matter if they move around, you won’t see it int he finished photos. For a videographer, if you move, you have shaky movement and you can see it in the footage (unless they are smart enough to edit it out). Photogs have more freedom in this way.
I think photogs need to be understanding of this and try to learn more about working WITH photogs to make sure you BOTH capture the day in the best way possible.
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