Be careful, don’t be fooled at your wedding.

Choosing a wedding videographer is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your wedding.

And yet, it’s also one of the easiest places to get fooled.

Today I’m getting straight to the point.
Because this one fires me up.

Documentary photography.
Or photojournalism, they call it.

HA.

Suddenly, every photographer and videographer is a “documentary artist.”
They love throwing those words around.

On Instagram, on their websites, in their inspirational speeches.

“I capture the essence of the moment without interfering.”
“My style is pure, untouched by artifice.”
“I tell real stories without altering anything.”

Lies!

Then I run into some of these “artists” at weddings, and I see what they
actually do.

And what they do… is follow a script.
But not the script of the wedding.
Their own.

Photo 1, then 2, then 3…
Same shots, same angles, same edits.
Every wedding looks the same.

Sure, by pure chance, they might catch a spontaneous moment or two.
But mostly?
The same old thing.

Because their goal isn’t to tell this couple’s story.
It’s to feed their own “artistic style.”
And then there are “the shy ones.”

The ones who think documentary-style means hiding behind a potted plant.
Who don’t say a single word all day.

Who, if they could, would film everything from a telescope across the venue.
Like they’re not even there.
…

Neither approach works.
A great videographer adapts to the wedding’s energy.
To the people, to the moments, to what’s actually happening.
They know when to step in, when to step back, when to stay silent, and
when to guide things a little.

Because yes, sometimes you do need to “intervene” to make something
better.

And if you know what you’re doing, that doesn’t make it any less real.

What actually kills authenticity?

Doing the same thing over and over again.

And voilà!

That’s it, folks.

I’ll leave it here today—got things to do

If you want to see how I approach real weddings, you can watch my wedding films here.

@sergiobakker