What Your Photographer NEVER Captures, And Brides Almost Always REGRET.
Odds are, THE LIGHT BULB MOMENT won’t hit you for quite some time. And the cruel irony is, the infamous light switch won’t even appear until after the wedding day has passed. It simply comes down to this: “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
But that’s ok, right? You’ve hired a professional photographer. You tell yourself: “They’ll be capturing all the moments of the wedding day” … that is until you find the light switch.
WHY PHOTOGRAPHS AREN’T ENOUGH
This is a photo of my Dad. He’s 74 years old and a pretty cool guy. In the photo to the right, you can see him smiling away. You can see the lines on his face and grey hair coming through.
The problem is, this photo doesn’t really capture who my dad is. It’s just what he looks like. If you could just meet him, shake his hand and experience how he acknowledges you. You’d hear the energy and excitement in his voice. You’d notice how he holds himself and you’d feel a certain dynamic about the interaction.
If you spent 15 seconds with my Dad you’d experience who he is. The photo of my dad is great but there’s so much more to him than that. This is why video is so important.
Video not only captures a frozen moment. It captures the entire dynamic of who a person is.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHOTOS AND VIDEO IN 40 SECONDS
Now I know this comparison seems a little unfair. Jim the groom got all emotional and struggled to say his vows. You could hear it in his voice – something photos simply can’t capture. BUT THAT’S THE POINT. There are certain parts of a wedding day a photographer simply cannot capture in the same way video can.
A wedding day is not a one-dimensional affair. It doesn’t happen in silence and the wedding party, family and friends don’t play statues. It is dynamic, alive and a very real experience.
“but wedding videos are long, cheesy and I’ll never watch it anyway.”
Have you ever listened to someone attempting to play the violin? It’s not very pretty, in fact, it’s kind of painful!! But when the violin is played with true skill it can be one of the most beautiful and moving instruments you will ever hear. You just have to find a good violinist!
It’s no different with video. It requires real skill to tell a strong story out of candid unscripted moments. There’s no cheating the system here. Hire someone cheap and you’ll confirm your own bias. The film will be boring, cheesy and you’ll never watch it again. But hire someone who really knows their craft, and it may well be the very best thing you spent your wedding budget on.
One day you’ll have kids and they’ll ask: “Mum and Dad, what were you like on your wedding day?” You’ll likely pull out the album and show a collection of still photos from your day.
But just like the photo of my dad above (who you’ll likely never meet), your kids will never get to see how truly in love you really were.They’ll never see the energy in how you moved or feel the nerves as you began to speak your vows. They’ll never hear the cheer as you walk back down the aisle, and how truly awesome your dance moves actually were!
As time marches on our memories begin to fade. We look through our photos and embellish what we can. But we slowly forget the young, love-struck romantics we once were, and what our wedding day was really like.
Don’t wait until AFTER the wedding to have THE LIGHT BULB MOMENT and realise what you’ll never get back.