Photos from a wedding can show off its beauty and vibrance. Video from a wedding can transport you back after decades have passed. This week, we’ve brought on Dryden and Emily Glod from wildandroam.co onto the podcast to help answer all of your questions about both photography and videography. They were such a wonderful couple to chat with, and we have some great takeaways to share with you!

Does Wild + Roam do photography and videography at every wedding?

Wild + Roam: We started with just video and we realized pretty soon that video was kind of bottom of the totem pole or booking low on the totem pole. That’s when we decided to bring in photography, which really took us to the top. Now most of the weddings that we do are photo and video.

What type of equipment does Wild + Roam use?

Wild + Roam: We are very minimalistic when it comes to our equipment. We have one Pelicacn, one travel backpack, a camera backpack and then we put our tripods in our checked suitcase with our clothes. I (Dryden) don’t carry lighting for weddings for video. I don’t really like using lighting for weddings. I just let the DJ do whatever the DJ wants to do, and our cameras work pretty well. The DJ works really hard to create that atmosphere and the couple worked really hard to design the atmosphere, so the last thing I want to do is come in and make it look like a professional studio.

What are good questions for couples to ask their photographer/videographer?

Wild + Roam: Whenever we get this question, I think about all the technical things. 

• Do you offer drone footage?
• Are you licensed to fly that drone?
• How do you guys choose your music?
• Do they have dual SD cards in case there is an issue on the wedding day?
• How will they store your photos and keep them after the wedding?
• How many hours does the package include?

On a more personal level with the photographer/videographer, have a meeting with them and try to be observant. You’ll be spending your entire wedding day with them from start to finish, and you want to make sure you really enjoy being around them.

How much time is needed to get a good shot/video for the special dances?

Wild + Roam: You can make 30 seconds work for a video, but for me, the ideal is about a minute and a half to two minutes because it’s not too long where we are all standing there, we’ve gotten all the shots we need, but it does give me a little time if everything starts and they choose a different part of the dance floor than I thought they were going to stand in. Now I have to move all my tripods to have a better look at them, a better angle. Or if the lighting ends up changing last second, having like 30 seconds to adjust and then about a minute, minutes and a half to capture the stuff is perfect.

How long should you hire the photographer/videographer?

Wild + Roam: We do all-day coverage, so we’re there all day, no matter what for about 12 hours. If a photographer is there for 6 hours there will typically be enough photos to capture the day, but for a video, the less and less time you cover, the harder and harder it is to tell a full story. If I’m not coming for the whole day, it’s like doing a disservice to my own work and to them.

Should you do a fake send-off for photos?

Wild + Roam: My two things with a fake send-off are one, it stops the party and most people still don’t know what they are. So people think its an actual send-off. And two, if you are doing a fake send-off, you’re just doing something to get pictures of something that never really happened. It’s not really the story of your day, you know, we talked about really wanting to capture things who they are. You’re getting a bunch of pictures doing something that you’re not actually doing. 

Many times people will do this because the vendor they hired only shoots for 8 hours. We recommend finding someone who will be there for at least 10 hours and someone who really values what a special day your wedding day is. Your vendor should plan to be there for the day, not rush to get a fake send-off in because their hours are up.

Why is video so valuable?

Wild + Roam: If you are on the fence, we encourage you to stretch the budget. Find where you can finesse the budget around and go for it, you won’t regret it. At the end of the day, the biggest way I always describe it is my nonbiased opinion is that they are both equally valuable for two completely different reasons. 

I’ve always felt like a photo does a great job of capturing the beauty and the art of a wedding day that most people couldn’t see. You would need an artistic eye to see all the details and it helps you go back and relive it and go wow, you know, that was so beautiful. I would never have seen it through this lens. 

The video is the only way to actually go back and relive the day, where you can actually go back and put yourself back in your own shoes 20 years ago and relive it like it was yesterday. For e, I would far rather have something that I could go back and relive 20 years from now than have beautiful pictures. 

If you can’t make room in the budget for full video coverage, see if you can at least make room to have the ceremony recorded. 

As always, you have to do what’s best for you and your fiance, but after this conversation with Wild + Roam, we hope you can see the benefits of having both a photographer and a videographer. During your planning discussions, talk with your soon-to-be spouse about what you want to have in years to come for wedding memories. Check out Wild + Roam’s Instagram, TikTok, and website to learn more about what they do, and just for some great entertainment. If you are looking for DJ or wedding planner support, book your free consultation today!