Nizar & Hannah

Nizar & Hannah | March 3, 2023 | The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore

Being a wedding photographer for the past seven years, I’ve had couples who approached me to enquire for wedding photography and videography. As most of you already know, here at Jacob’s Artography, our speciality lies in documentary wedding photography.

Having a collection of wedding images and video recordings from the ceremony and reception is considered invaluable by many couples. Like any other service provider, wedding photographers and videographers can be quite expensive, especially when there’s a limited budget, leading some to doubt whether or not their services are truly necessary. If you could only choose one, which would you hire? Here’s my take: A photographer is staple. A videographer is an add-on.

When deciding between a photographer and a videographer, there are some things that you may want to consider. Such as how often are you going to watch the wedding video? Which would be easier to share with family and friends: Photos with them in it or the entire video clip? Sure, you can take screenshots from the video, but will the quality be as good as those taken by a photographer?

Personally, I’ve never been to a wedding that didn’t have a photographer but have attended weddings that didn’t have a videographer. If you have been following me, you’d know by now that I had just gotten married and here’s a little fun fact, I didn’t engage a videographer for my wedding. Instead, my wife and I decided to prioritise photographs and we splurged on photography.

Going back to business, often times, I’ve toyed with the idea of including videography services into the wedding packages. However, it just didn’t sit well with me, knowing that I’m not the one behind the camera. Firstly, it isn’t ethical. Secondly, the work may differ from my creative thought processes.

Another key point to why I do not outsource videographers is that I’ve yet to find someone who thinks like me. In my opinion, when you are working together with someone, especially for something as crucial as a wedding event, the thought process has to be similar and we’ve got to be in sync with one another. When working styles clash, the end product of the photographs and the videos will appear to be disconnected and that is something I wouldn’t want for my clients.

Call me biased, but I think photography takes precedence over video because of how timeless photos are. Photographs will be used more to remember the day, show the day, and represent the day.

Cheers!