This blog post is designed for my couples who ask me whether I think they should consider a hiring content creator. Whether or not you need a content creator will reflect your values and vision you have for your wedding (and post wedding experience). Please note that this is my honest and non biased opinion on the matter if you choose to hire a content creator I will work with them in a very professional capacity 🙂
As content creators (CCs) will often state, we are living in a time and culture where people are craving authenticity. This naturally extends to couples wanting authentic wedding photos and video, with more spontaneous and candid moments captured. This desire for authenticity has partly given rise to the modern day content creator.
We do however also live in a fast paced culture of immediate gratification, where waiting for something can be seen as an undesirable burden. It’s like as a society we’ve lost sight of the value of having to wait for something. The anticipation of first viewing your wedding photos, for example, can make for a much more rewarding experience when you do get to view your photos.
If you look at most content creators websites, one of the things they push is a quick turnover time, often so couples can post content to their socials immediately after their wedding. But is it really worth sifting through hundreds of Iphone quality wedding photos immediately after your wedding, or is it better to wait a teeny bit longer so your first experience of wedding photos can be the carefully crafted and beautifully edited images?
Besides, the process of waiting for preview photos and videos usually isn’t very long (sometimes I’ll deliver preview pics after a wedding sooner than the content creator)!
By now you have probably guessed my angle on this topic. But to clarify my thoughts on whether couples need a content creator I’ll address some claims I’ve seen on content creators websites:
CCs capture the spontaneous moments where photographers have more of a structured role.
Granted, whilst content creators would capture genuine moments, your wedding photographer or videographer is likely to capture more authentic moments.
There will of course be some structured moments throughout the wedding day, family photos for example. But there are also a tonne of non structured moments that happen, especially with a well thought out timeline (more on this later). The more spontaneous moments are by far my favourite to capture and I capture heaps of these moments in all the weddings I photograph.
CCs strive to capture the raw emotion and beauty of the wedding day and are committed to capturing timeless and beautiful moments that will be cherished for years to come.
Yes, but so do your photographer and videographer. Only in a professional capacity with much higher quality photo and videos. Statements like this seem to be plucked right out of photographer and videographers websites. If you’re looking at booking a photographer or videographer and they don’t appear to capture lots of raw emotion and beauty, then you probably shouldn’t be hiring them.
Wedding content creation is for couples who don’t want to miss any moments of their day.Â
It’s a myth that any human being is going to be able to capture every single moment of the day. And nor should they. What your photographer or videographer should do is capture a beautiful narrative throughout your day that captures you and your partner’s connection, plus the love you have for your guests. A good photographer or videographer should be able to capture all key moments plus plenty more throughout a wedding day, but to a much higher standard.
CCs work side by side with photographers and videographers (and do not replace) in order to bring your memories to life.Â
Just think for a moment, at your wedding ceremony you have a photographer and videographer (or possibly two videographers). Then add another person into the mix. The authenticity you likely desire by wanting to have a content creator will likely ironically be lost as your wedding day will start to look (and feel) like a production with this many people documenting it.
Every ceremony I’ve captured where there is a content creator present, they have been by my side a number of times throughout the ceremony and not so much in the background (as many claim to do). I believe this one of the biggest considerations you should ponder if you’re considering hiring a content creator.
From experience it can be quite confusing for the guests, especially the older generations, when there are so many people documenting a wedding day. I’ve had an instance where the couple requested I capture a set of grandparents and their friends. When I approached the grandparents they politely told me “the other photographer has already captured this” (i.e. the content creator had already captured this) inferring they didn’t need another photo. There was a lot of confusion that ensued from this and is one example of the types of issues that can arise when different companies are hired to capture a wedding day.
CCs provide you raw files and footage of your wedding day
This is coming from a purely photography perspective, but there’s a reason photographers don’t provide couples with the raw files (unedited images). Not only is it providing couples with an inferior product, but it’s a lot of work (for couples) to be sorting through all of the raw files/footage. As a photographer, a big part of my craft is in carefully curating a gallery of varied images that capture all aspects of the wedding day. This shouldn’t be the couples job! We should be making couples’ lives easier, not harder.
I had an experience working with a content creator whereby they provided the couple with 50+ images of the couple in a single pose during their portraits session. I felt really sorry for the couple – the first impression they had of the beautiful moment I set up and captured was having to sift through hundreds of almost duplicate iPhone quality images, when their professional quality images was only a small few days away.
CCs are less concerned with picture-perfect poses and lean more towards genuine expressions of love and joy.
Honestly, these days so many photographers aren’t enamoured with the picture perfect poses and in fact above anything value moments of spontaneity and joyful connection. If your photographer doesn’t fit the description above then again, perhaps they are not the right photographer for you.
Traditional photo / video is highly organised, ensuring all key moments have a designated time. therefore leaving little to chance (and therefore a lack of spontaneity).
As a photographer who has photographed over 400 weddings, I can wholeheartedly say that I believe the key to a successful wedding is having a solid timeline. Structure definitely has its place when it comes to weddings. In fact, having a structured day can free up time to make sure there is plenty of time for spontaneity!
The weddings where I have seen couples stressing the most are the more unstructured weddings. And the spontaneous moments that occur in these situations aren’t often what the couple want on their wedding day, if you catch my drift.
Now more than ever, I’m encouraging couples to have less time set aside for portraits and more time to spend time with their guests at cocktail hour. This allows for my genuine connection between the couples and their friends and family, plus of course more spontaneous moments to happen.
The Solution
Okay, by now it should be pretty obvious that I believe you don’t need a content creator for your wedding day. However, if you do feel the want for more genuine moments captured it would likely be more cost effective to have your photographer get a second shooter. The other benefit of this is that all of the images will be edited consistently and will look much better if made into an album. While I don’t think you need a second shooter, I do believe this a better option for couples who want it all.
And whilst you may want that day after reel to post on your socials, is it really worth the cost of a content creator? I’m seeing couples starting to get creative with making their own content. For example, one couple recently pulled together all the guests videos and created their own highlight reel for free!
Ultimately, I think you are better saving your pennies for an epic honeymoon, or let’s face it, in the times we are living in, use your dollars towards a home loan (or paying one off).
