Photo-Video hybrid coverage has been gaining popularity in the past five years. Fewer guests at weddings meant that couples could spend more on other services. Maybe couples thought there needed to be more ways to document the day. Simply put, we are now more used to social media in video format. But I should explain what Hybrid Coverage is first.

Photo-video hybrid coverage is when a photographer documents both photos and videos simultaneously. Depending on the size of the wedding, it is usually done by one photographer or with a second shooter.
You may have many questions now, so let me discuss the pros and cons of hybrid coverage.

Cons

• Shorter Video (not a documentary style)
• Choosing moments
• Less variety in shots

Pros

• Shorter Video
• Similar style of shots and edits
• Cost Effective
• Single person or small team

Let’s go through them one by one:

1. Why does the shorter video have both pros and cons?
   • First, the highlight videos we produce at Eugene Kim Photography are between 3 and 5 minutes long. This is a perfect length.
   • You should consider how long the videos are when watching something on YouTube. Unless it’s something you sit down to watch to learn or focus on, they are usually less than 6 minutes. There’s a reason for this. Compared to movies over one hour and 30 minutes, six minutes may sound very short; at this length, people, and probably you, too, will not watch the video repeatedly. This is something I learned when producing bigger-scale videos 15 minutes in length. People, the wedding guests, and even the couple themselves got bored. At first, I thought it was my lack of production skills, but even other videographers, very well-produced videos who charge upwards of $10k just for the videos, were not getting the viewership. Couples love it when they watch it for the very first time, but often not more than that. So by keeping the video average just under four minutes, many couples show it to friends even on their phones multiple times a day.
2. Similar styles of shots and edits in the pro section and less variety of shots can also be categorized together.
   • On the wedding day or adventure wedding day, I have a double harness with two camera bodies on me at all times. Both cameras take high-resolution photos and record videos in 4K. One camera will have a wide-angle lens, and the other will mount a lens for tighter shots. This allows me to take photos and quickly switch to video to capture that moment. That means you will get a similar look in photos and videos that connect well with one another. They will have similar tightness to the shot and camera movement and similar edits. This is very important to me and my clients because it connects photos and videos. You can scroll through the photo gallery, and some photos will trigger you to want to watch the video. This, I feel, is the complete way of telling stories.
   • On the other hand, if you hire separate videographers who are not associated with me, they would produce a completely different look on videos. Just because they are more likely to have different cameras, different lenses, and different edits. So, the connections between the photos and videos will be lacking. Having said that, the benefit of adding different angles and different video equipment could add more cinematic looks, such as using multiple cameras from different angles.
3. Choosing moments is one of the cons I listed, and here’s why
   • As a one-person team, capturing everything in photos and videos is sometimes impossible. If there’s a moment I have to capture, I will do so in photos, as I am primarily a photographer, and couples book me for photography.
   • Having said that, I captured every moment the couple wanted, even as a one-photographer team. I do this through questionnaires and consultation calls before the big day. Knowing the couple more and listening to what you value on your wedding day allows me to focus on those important things. And I have a few tricks up on my sleeves to get around to get all the necessary shots I need.
4. Cost Effective is a big pro.
   • I don’t know about you, but I am big on great value. If the price is cheap but delivers something not so great, that is not very cost-effective. Because more couples watch highlight videos more often than a typical documentary-style video that is over 10 minutes long and costs upwards of $5000 with the full edits, I can say the highlight video is a great value.
5. Single Person or small team
   • This may not apply to everyone. But I have been to many weddings where couples or other married couples tell me they love that I have a small team. I have heard from other married couples at weddings that they hired a photography team and a videography team that totaled 7 persons: two on the photography side and five on the video side. Honestly, that is the most I have heard. The couple went on to say both photo and video work was okay, but in almost every shot, one of the seven people was in it. They joked there might be more photos of those seven people than themselves. Sorry, I went off from the topic slightly. That would be the other end of why I do not want such a big team. Most couples who book me as their wedding photographer are similar to me in that either they are introverts or quiet and shy.
   • Before the wedding, the couple usually talks to one photographer and/or one videographer, so if they bring their team on the wedding day, whom the couple has not talked to but want to treat nicely because they are photographing and filming you throughout the day, you get stuck in this middle ground of awkwardness of not knowing them, but wanting to be nice to them. They may approach the couple and ask questions the main photographer or videographer has already asked. So naturally, photographing and taking videos of them become less natural, too.
   • With me doing both photo-video hybrid coverage, we brainstorm together, we get on the same page of all the little details, and I will be in charge of your day. Many couple’s testimonials say they felt like I was just a friend on their wedding day, taking amazing photos and videos. This is only possible because we spend much time together before the big day. Many reviews also show their guests didn’t even know I was doing photos and videos. This means I was not intrusive about their special day, but I captured all the amazing moments.

So, should you do photo-only or photo-video hybrid coverage?
Not because I am a hybrid photographer, but I would always recommend hybrid coverage for one reason. Highlight videos hit differently to photos when viewing for the first time after the big day. Highlight videos will add emotion to it with nice background music, moving subjects, and other people in the background to make it more real. Whereas photos create long-lasting memories. When you look at the photos, even five or ten years later, you should still be able to smell what you smelt, maybe all the lovely flowers surrounding you, hear the laughter of guests or bridesmaids, and cannot forget the partner’s eyes. If you are doing an adventure wedding without any guests, having both videos and photos will tell fuller stories to all your loved ones.