Weirdly negative title for us huh? “Why NOT to hire Fine Art Photo/Video” when we market ourselves as a Fine Art Photo/Video team. Well- after many years in the business we’ve had to face the hard truth that our form of imagery isn’t the best for every single client out there. Some folks want heavily stylized imagery, some want dark and dramatic, some are looking for whatever it is that Arianna Grande did at her wedding. We have to admit our style doesn’t work for every single couple and we wouldn’t want to push you into something that isn’t exactly what you want.
Read on to see some of the hard truths of the photography and videography world, and hopefully pick up a few tips on finding the right style for you. As a bonus- we’ve included images from a recent wedding that breaks all of the rules we’re about to describe- so you can see how we work with conditions outside of the ideal!
1. You have a really dark venue.
We can pull off a darker space- but you need to know in advance that it will require a little outside help, especially for video. The Fine Art Photo and Video style is all about bringing bright, illuminating light into imagery. It has soft contrast and a uniform look that comes off clean and bright but also ethereal. To do this- we need lots and lots of even lighting. If your venue is super dark, we will need to bring in extra lights to place around- and for some people, this kills the vibe they are going for.
If you’re still looking for some options on venues- we have lots of suggestions and would love to help you out!
2. You have “hot” colors.
Furthermore, if you intend to have really bright wedding colors (think hot pink or lime green) it can be tough to translate into Fine Art imagery. We seek out uniformity in our shots, and in doing so- these really stark contrasts can be jarring. In post, we will likely need to bring the saturation or vibrance of loud colors down to keep things consistent- and we don’t love doing that. We want your imagery to be as true to life as humanly possible.
BUT- this CAN work if we are careful. Let’s say you have a really beautiful deep pink you want to use- but that doesn’t fit into this idea we’re portraying here. That’s fine- if we can “step down” the color by using coordinating hues- it looks perfectly fine! Hot pink + blush + pale pink + white makes a perfect palette for fine art imagery.
3. You want us to leave you alone on your wedding day.
The imagery you see in our portfolio doesn’t often happen by accident. Lots of those shots are coordinated and involve us posing you- even the “candid” ones you see. Take our images of bridal parties walking for example- these aren’t just the groups moving from one place to another. It’s us forming what we call “the flying goose formation” and walking backwards to get them. These types of shots mean that we will need dedicated time with you throughout your wedding day. We do these very quickly and all in all you can expect to be one on one with us for a grand total of about 2 hours (broken up into 15-30 minute chunks) on your wedding day.
We can walk you through this step by step if you have specific questions and want to know more about when to and when not to hire fine art photographers and videographers. Let us know if we can help you in any way.
With love and lots of additional lighting,
Becca & Mandy
