We’ve all had those years where all of our friends and relatives get married. This year has been mine. I’ve been to nine weddings in the last 12 months. Weddings are always fun—who doesn’t love free drinks and dancing all night? Since I’m in the photo biz I’ve noticed a few trends that are going to change our industry as we now know it. And this applies to the entire industry, not just wedding photography.
A friend of mine, who will soon be married, saw a clip of a wedding on Vimeo containing video and stills with background music detailing the highlights of the wedding. It was really well done, and photographed like a Hollywood cinematographer might do it. The thing is, he was a photographer that added video as a secondary service to offer his brides. The first thing the future bride said to me? “I want that. Do I have to pay a videographer and a photographer?” she asked. No, you don’t. With HD video being an integral feature in virtually every DSLR made these days, photographers can do both to tell their story, and they can increase their fees, thus bringing more to their bottom lines.
Now, do you have to learn video, Final Cut Pro, and spend another 20 hours editing the video for your client? At this point yes, but many services will soon be popping up to help you, and I’m sure there are more than a few labs out there getting ready to offer high-end video editing. Is video the next digital wave? I really think so. And I think it’s coming sooner, rather than later. But that’s just me. A lot of people thought digital was never going to stick. They thought it was just a fad, and that all photographers would shoot with film forever. If I were a betting man I’d put my money on HD video. I could be wrong, but I just might be right. Time will tell. If you have any comments, questions or think I’m crazy, feel free to contact me at george@rfpublishing.com.
George Varanakis, Group Publisher & Executive Vice President