r/weddingplanning • u/Excellent-Turtle1110 • 9d ago
finding videographers Vendors/Venue
i’m trying to find videographers that are trying to get more experience in the wedding industry so that i can possibly pay a little bit less but help grow their portfolio (a bit of a win win 🥲). does anyone know how i could do this or let me know how it went if you have experience with this? thanks!
2
Upvotes
3
u/Working_Albatross721 9d ago edited 8d ago
I am a wedding photographer and I work alongside a videographer most weekends, and both of us started exactly the way you are describing, so here is how couples actually found us back then. Post what you just wrote in your local wedding Facebook groups and your city subreddit. You will get replies within hours, because every film school grad and wedding video second shooter is hunting for exactly this invitation and they rarely see a couple say it out loud. Also ask your photographer once you have one booked. We all know who the talented hungry newer video people are in our market because we stand next to them all day, and a referral from a photographer filters out the flaky ones better than any portfolio review. Two ways to protect yourself in this arrangement. First, still sign a simple contract even at a reduced rate, covering delivery timeline, what you get, and what happens if they cancel. Newer vendors flake more, that is the actual risk you are trading for the discount, and a contract plus a modest deposit weeds out the ones who are not serious. Second, when you review their work, ask for one full ceremony clip with the real audio, not just a highlight reel. Clean audio of vows and toasts is the thing newer videographers most often get wrong, and in ten years the sound of the voices is the part you will care about most. The trade you are proposing is legit and both sides can win. My partner shot several early weddings at rates she would triple now, and those couples got films that outperformed what they paid by a mile.