One of the most frequent questions that I get, often not even expressed out loud, is, "Why should I hire you to record my wedding?  I could do the same thing with my friend's camcorder for the cost of four or five video tapes!" 

It makes sense to hire a videographer for many of the same reasons you hire a professional photographer even though you have a perfectly adequate still camera at home.  The time, talent, and technology involved transform a simple video into a work of art that will be a pleasure to watch repeatedly.

• Professional equipment

To capture the best possible pictures of your wedding we use professional 3 CCD cameras that offer outstanding picture quality and much better low light capability than consumer grade camcorders.  See the Equipment page for more details.

• Professional sound

Your vows will be heard clearly.  The on-camera microphones on consumer grade camcorders will capture the boomy, echoing sound of a church PA system, if you are lucky.  If there is no microphone close to the bride and groom the consumer camcorder will capture their lips moving...and that may be all.  We provide two wireless microphone systems so you can clearly hear the bride, groom, and officiant (person performing the ceremony).  In addition, two digital recorders are available to capture the sound from special music or readings during the ceremony.

• Experience

Although I certainly will not claim to be perfect and even the best equipment is not 100% perfectly reliable,  it is easy to tell the difference between Funniest Home Videos and CNN.  We use professional tripods and other means of stabilization to keep the pictures steady and try to compose pictures to avoid common amateur mistakes such as backlighting and poor white balance.

• Digital Non-Linear Editing (NLE)

This computer based system is probably the key difference that separates our videos from home movies.  When people are surprised at the cost of our service, usually they do not realize that it takes many hours of work on some of the latest computer and software technology to produce a smooth, interesting video.  Combining two or more video sources and up to five sound sources requires professional software and many hours of careful editing.  The payoff, though, is a video that is both interesting and entertaining, a video that you will be proud to share with your family and friends and won't feel obligated to fast forward to prevent boredom.

• Time available for editing

I edited my first wedding on a home computer several years ago and it took me over 100 hours and six months to finish the final DVD.  If your time is valuable, hiring a professional to do the editing makes sense.

• No hassle for invited guests

Let your friends and family relax and enjoy the wonderful celebration that you have planned!  Many people are willing to videotape your wedding if you ask, but often these people feel like they are not part of the fun and are almost always nervous that they will make a mistake that will cause your video to be lost.  Please take the time to compare one of our videos with a home movie of a friend's wedding.  We would  be glad to send you a complimentary DVD for you to preview.