It makes perfect sense that people wish to keep a record of their most precious day. Wedding photography has been popular for as long as the average person has had the capacity to hire someone to take snaps, but videography is still a growing field.
A wedding video is a really precious thing to own, and in the modern age it can also be shared digitally to ensure everybody can see what an amazing day you had. In 50 years time, people can still look back on their awesome memories.
In this guide, we're focusing more on the career opportunity that this presents. An estimated 14.7 billion GBP is spent on weddings in the UK every single year, and there are over 250,000 weddings annually. That's plenty of potential customers for wedding videographers and photographers.
What The Job is Like?
So, what is it like to be a wedding videographer? Before considering going out and getting all of the qualifications to be a videographer you might want to think of other aspects such as a wedding photographer salary and the sort of commitment the job entails.
- Weekend work. A huge percentage of weddings are at the weekend, which means you won't get many weekends to yourself, especially during the summer.
- High pressure. This is somebody's wedding day, a day they plan to treasure forever. There is a lot of pressure on you to get everything right and ensure that you create a video they can be proud of.
- Long days. It is probably that every aspect of the day should be documented, so you might be there from early, before the ceremonies, trying to get the best shots of the bride preparing, all the way through to the last dancers leaving in the evening.
- Fast-paced. There's always a lot going on during a wedding day, these are rarely days where you can simply chill out and grab the odd video, you need to work hard all day.
Knowing how much wedding videographers make a year is difficult, especially as a huge percentage of the videographers out there are self-employed. So, it depends on how busy and in-demand you are, the rates you are able to charge, and how much you work.
A lot of people who work in wedding videography or wedding photography have also trained in other areas, and as so much of it is weekend work, and you can plan your own diary, it may be something you can do alongside a role as a commercial videographer, editor or cinematographer during the week.
As you can tell from the above, it can be a very varied career. You might have times in the summer where you are working seven days a week, with shooting videos, planning, editing, and delivering, and then other times in the year when the industry dies down a little and you have far more time to yourself.
Skills Needed to Become a Wedding Videographer
So what skills do you need to be a wedding videographer? This is clearly not something that anyone can start doing in a matter of hours. You need some training to be a videographer, or even videographer qualifications.
Key skills for the role include:
- Excellent camera knowledge and an understanding of equipment. You'll be using a lot of different equipment in order to get the best possible results, and a knowledge of lenses, lighting, and camera operation is vital.
- Audio knowledge. Many of us have seen those shaky videos where all you can hear is the wind blowing into the microphone. Without a good knowledge of microphones and audio you won't be able to capture things like speeches properly.
- A knowledge of cinematography. This is different to videography and covers things like the composition of a shot, lighting and colouring.
- Good planning skills. From ensuring you have all the right equipment on the day of the shoot through to discussing what clients need, and managing your diary, planning skills are crucial.
- A calm head. Things can go wrong. On a day of such a big event like this it is always possible that something might change or not go to plan, and the best wedding videographers know this, and are able to adapt.
- Communication skills. From talking to people and telling them where you'd like them to stand, through to communicating with the venue and the happy couple.
Training to become a wedding videographer can be tough, and it doesn't always give you the sort of knowledge that you need. Nobody can simulate the experience of a wedding day, so it is worth working closely under the tutelage of someone who has been there and done it, either as an apprentice or by attending one-to-one tuition.
By working with one of the many videographers that we have on our site you can learn about multiple types of videography and what they entail. Working with real, industry professionals can provide a wealth of knowledge.
Training to be a Wedding Videographer
This is a really difficult topic to cover. There are so many different routes into the industry. While a lot of the wedding videographers out there will have attended some form of film school or video production course, there are also those who have received training on the job.
There are a lot of media and film courses, and you can even begin your journey to becoming a wedding videographer in school, with media and film courses now available in GCSE and A-Levels. Universities including Surrey also offer degree courses for those who wish to expand their knowledge.
One thing you'll notice about these qualifications though is the fact that they don't focus on weddings. Very few courses do. While you can build your understanding of cameras, editing, and more, you won't be totally prepared for the world of weddings after education.
Training with a professional who has worked in the industry and honing your skills with them as your tutor can be one of the best ways to prepare yourself, along with working for a wedding videography company to learn what it entails.
Build Your Portfolio
As with most visual arts, the most important thing is the portfolio. This is what you will put online for people to discover your work, and it is also the way that you will pitch for clients. It's very unlikely anyone will hire you if you don't have a portfolio, which raises a challenge if you don't have a portfolio already.
Some tips for building your portfolio include:
- Offering your services for free at somebody's wedding. This is a way to at least show that you can do the job, and while it won't get you paid, it gets you vital experience.
- Shoot a friend's wedding. Similarly, if you know someone who is getting married you can learn on the job by taking video at their wedding.
- Create a "faux" wedding video. This is surprisingly common. You can get a small cast together and create a small showreel-type video without needing to worry about the pressure of it actually being a wedding. If you have friends that still have their wedding dresses then even better!
Finding Work in the Wedding Industry
If you want to work in the wedding industry then it can be very difficult to break in. Becoming a wedding photographer or videographer is tough, but there are reasons why so many people stick it out and try to reach a level of success. It can be a flexible job that pays well and gives you a chance to be creative.
You will need a website, possibly business cards, and attending wedding fairs and events will certainly help you to network and meet people.
There are roles within companies that will give you a salaried job, but these are harder to come by than freelance work. The world of weddings overlaps with the world of business.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
