WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE WAY TO DRESS FOR A WEDDING?

When a bride and groom come to meet with you in the hopes of hiring you to do their wedding video, what kind of impression are you making? What do you think their expectations are when hiring professional videographers? In 33 years in the business doing wedding videography, I have seen "professional" videographers dressed in every way you can imagine. I have seen men and women videographers dressed in jeans and t-shirts and sneakers. I've seen them wearing sloppy shirts hanging out of their pants with beat up shoes or long hippie looking skirts with sandals or sneakers. I remember one wedding video company where both the videographers were wearing black jeans and black t-shirts like that was supposed to look like some kind of uniform. They stood out like sore thumbs. At another wedding I saw a video company come dressed in Bib Overalls smeared with oil is as if they changed the oil in their car or truck. It's understandable that we need to be somewhat comfortable and able to move freely in order to do our job but it's also important to remember the occasion and the venue. The bride and groom and all their attendants and family members go to a lot of trouble to dress up and look their best. If you're presenting yourself as a professional, you should dress like a professional, especially if the wedding is taking place in a church. Sure, some weddings are much more casual and informal but that shouldn't change the way you dress since you're there to work as professionals, not grease monkeys. Make the effort to look good, it will leave a good impression on your clients and that's important when you consider many jobs come from referrals by word of mouth. It also shows that you take pride in your job as a professional wedding videographer. 440-845-2122, J&J Video Productions-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cuyahoga County Ohio, wedding videos-Parma Ohio

PHOTOGRAPHERS & VIDEOGRAPHERS MUST LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER

As a bride and groom plan their wedding, there are so many things to consider. Everything from the type of service to the colors for the wedding are carefully planned. One of the most important parts of wedding planning is capturing the day to look back on and enjoy together, especially since the Wedding & Reception goes by so fast. Today's brides and grooms often choose to have both a wedding photographer and videographer to capture the day. As two professionals, they are expected to work seamlessly together without being a distraction or disturbing the ceremony. Sometimes this isn't as easy as it should be. As someone with 30 years of experience in both wedding photography and wedding videos, I can tell you that I find photographers are often at a loss when it comes to working with a videographer. Although many wedding photographers claim years of experience, based on what I see, I have to wonder. I've seen photographers bring in reflectors and slave flashes that won't do any good because they're too far away. Some photographers run around the church looking confused like they don't know what to do next. In most churches and other venues, there is plenty of room for both professionals to get good positioning and good angles. A short conversation before the service starts goes a long way to understanding how they each like to work. As the wedding videographer, I like to introduce myself to the photographer and explain my position during the wedding. If the photographer stays beside me we can both get the straight on shot. This should be common sense. Another issue I've run into is the photographer having a problem with video lights. This is mostly an issue at the reception, especially when the house lights are turned down. If the photographer knows what he's doing, he or she will know that his or her flash will override any video light. I have had so many wedding photographers ask me some real silly questions about flash and lighting. A photographer with his or her camera set up correctly will have no problems, but so often they don't have a clue. It shouldn't be necessary for the videographer to explain how it works, and there doesn't need to be any problems with two wedding professionals working together. Having worked with some world class professionals, I can tell you that the difference is obvious. I don't even know those photographers are there. We can work together beautifully and it shows. 440-845-2122, J&J Video Productions-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cuyahoga County Ohio, wedding videos-Parma Ohio

GUEST BLOGGER- WEST SIDE KENNY N J&J Video Productions-Cleveland Ohio pulls out of THE HOT LIST COMPETITION!

We invite Guests to join our blog with comments. Here is a letter I received From "Kenny". He is in no way affilated with J&J Video Productions. Anything he posts is not necessarily a refelection of J&J Video's Opinion or do we endorse it. Any comments that are made are in compliance with the CDA. Our opinion will be posted after the blog. J&J Video Productions and 3 of it’s other companies have pulled out of the competition 2 weeks before the end of the contest. City Voter Inc. runs the Cleveland Hot List and HOT LISTS and A-Lists in several cities across the United States. At the time of its departure all 3 of the companies J&J Video Productions owns were in the number 1 position. J&J Video’s management will not say why it pulled out of the contests which they would have easily won. There have been rumors of mismanagement, voter problems and manipulations. Many other top flight companies have pulled out of the competition as well. When the owner of J&J Video was asked why he pulled his companies out of the competition his only comment was “The results do not reflect the publics’ voting”. If a company the caliber of J&J Video pulls out of the competition after 4 straight wins, this does not bode well for the City Voter HOT LIST COMPETITION. I sure hope that prospective brides and grooms DO NOT Rely on the 2015 results because they in most cases will not be talking to the Best of the Best rather they will be talking to a Johnny Come Lately who has little or no experience. West Side Kenny. COMMENT BY MANAGEMENT OF J&J VIDEO PRODUCTIONS-CLEVELAND OHIO. This e-mail was received on March 22, 2015 beofre the results were published by City Voter.Com..Comment "NO COMMENT"

Photographers and Videographers Have to Work Together at a Wedding

Today most brides want to have a professional photographer and a professional videographer to capture all the activities and excitement of their wedding. Both services are an important expense for brides and grooms to consider in thier budget. Wedding photography and video, while sharing the same subject matter, are completely different in how they document the day. To the bride and groom, one is not more important than the other. In our experience, some photographers get all upset and agitated when they show up at the church on the wedding day and realize they'll have to work with 2 videographers trying to get the same shots at the same time. We always make it a point to go to the wedding rehersal to get an idea of the setup, lighting, and flow of the service. We never see photographers at the rehersals so when they show up, they act surprised that we'll be working right there with them. Videography and photography are shot in a completely different manner. When we are doing video for a wedding, we set up our cameras so we can get good, clear, close shots and sound of the entire service. There is plenty of room for the photographer to shoot right beside us, as well as move around freely to get good close shots. We usually have to explain how we work, but the photographers are often sure we are going to ruin their shots and our cameras and tripods are going to be in every photo. We even had a photographer tell us how we should shoot the entire wedding from the back of the room because that's how other videographers do it. We do not do what other video companies do. That is why we win most of the competitions we enter. With over 30 years of experience, we can assure the photographers that they will get beautiful pictures.

SHOULD YOU BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO A WEDDING & RECEPTION NO!

I know, I know your children are a part of the family. I have been in the video business for 32 years and I love kids BUT a wedding ceremony is a sacred service and should be treated as such. I have seen kids of all ages from 2-13 running wild in a Catholic Church playing tag. This game went on for 20 minutes while the seating was occurring. They were on the altar, running the isles and really had no clue as to how annoying they were. This is the PARENTS FAULT for not stopping this behavior. Screaming kids during the services is a real sore spot for the ministers, priests and rabbis. The parents do nothing to stop them. Kids get bored really fast during wedding services. This is the way kids are built. I did the same thing when I was a kid. They have an extreme amount of energy and they have to blow it off. Rarely have I seen a child who was part of the actual bridal party act up because they are being supervised. Non supervision is a recipe for this type of behavior. During the actual service it is usually pretty calm except for the 2 yr olds and babies occasionally crying. Ahh the reception. The way it works in that the people arrive about an hour before the introductions and dinner. During the cocktail hour the kids can run wild, really wild, up to crawling on to the DJ’s platform and playing there. Now it is becoming extremely dangerous. I have seen a drunk adult fall into a DJ’s booth, knocking over a tower speaker.Uunfortunately the speaker landed on the guys chest and landed him in the ICU with several broken ribs and both lungs collapsed. He did survive. Can you imagine a kid being crushed by this speaker. It would be horrible. I had a kid run into my flood light which the bulb runs at about 3200 degrees. The unit fell on him, lucky for him the back of the light landed on him and was bruised but not burned. Had it been the other way his skin would have been instantly seared off. This filament is hotter than molten iron and the whole front of the light is over 2000 degrees. There are too many reasons to keep your children home. It is NOT because we are child haters. It is because they can injure themselves critically. I have seen this as well. A 7 yo kid ran into a disabled lady, knocked her over and she was rushed to a local hospital with a fractured hip. She never recovered. Of course kids want to be a part of the festivities, but for their safety children under 13 should be taken to a baby sitter. Parents if you do bring kids to a wedding please restrain them from making the church and the dance floor their private playground.

WHO IS THE BETTER VIDEOGRAPHER, COMPANY A OR COMPANY B??

Who is the best anyway?? I want to know! First of all that is a good question. How do you pick the best video production company for you. Here is the thing. A lot of video companies brag about their equipment as being the best out there. Is this true or not. It is to him/her but is it really. The bottom line comes down to you the consumer, who do you want to do your job whether it is a wedding or a multi-million dollar production. There is a ton of things to consider. One is the buget, is one to expensive and the other isnt? Lets set something straight here. One time I was reading a publication by a well know videographer. He was telling the world that his format was the best that there is. I saw that article and took him up on his assertions that his format was the best on earth. Sony came out with an article that expressly stated that their format was by far the better choice. We are talking world class video here and not something a bride and groom would be interested in. What this all comes down to is the interview with the videographer. Do you like him/her? Are they capable of shooting your wedding? Are the samples showing you everything or just montages of pictures and no real action? What does the wedding part look like? What is their repuatation like? DO NOT TAKE ANOTHER COMPETITIORS WORD FOR ANYTHING!! If he/she bashes another company, end the interview. A real pro will say I do not know him or I have never seen any of his work. Bashing is the worst of the worst. If that is what they need to do to make themsleves look better...run for the hills! What matters most is what you think, your buget and just how comfortable you are trusting the best and most important day of you lives to him/her. Please visit us at http://jandjvideoproductions.com for more information. professional video productions, shooting a wedding video, wedding videos, wedding videos-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cuyahoga County Ohio, wedding videos-Parma Ohio

WHY J&J VIDEO PRODUCTION-CLEVELAND OHIO LEFT NOVA ( Northern Ohio Videographers Association) Part 2

My ruse was working well. These guys as rule are not the brighest blades in the drawer. While this was going on the 2 chief hanchos decided that they were going to officialy give up the reigns to NOVA. The month before they had nominations. The 2 newest mmembers were chosen and the Vice President and President nominees were in place. A little collusion there??? They use a hand vote and all members in attendance EXCEPT ME raised my hand. I did not know anything about these guys. I had been in the group for a few years now. This seemed awful suspicious. I outwardly challenged the dues issue. This group was doing nothing, half the meetings were cancelled. They had been collecting dues $75.00 from each member for years. I questioned them on where the money was. The incumbents openly said that there was about $4000.00+ . What the hell are they collecting dues for? I requested a vote on the dues, again a raised hand vote. I was the only one who voted NO!. I had no intentions on paying the the dues. This group was and is a joke. I also questioned them about the decorum. There were never any notes taken, never read old business, new business and they never read minutess. There was never a treausers report..NOTHING. The only thing I enjoyed was the company of some of the more intellegent members. The ruse was going on during this period. I was finnally outed by a real experinced guy in the group. All of a sudden I had no access to the facebook pages. So that sealed it. I did not do a thing to get on their good graces to get back in. I still have access to their posts and all I see are posts to buy/check out/or sell some of the members junk. It was just a huge waste of time. Please visit us at http://jandjvideoproductions.com for more information. professional video productions, shooting a wedding video, wedding videos, wedding videos-Cleveland Ohio, wedding videos-Cuyahoga County Ohio, wedding videos-Parma Ohio