Photographers becoming videographers

From Kim Werther, Art Buyer, Palio

Years ago, it was always print photo shoots that would piggyback onto the larger TV/Video production shoots. Now, however, those days are fewer and farther between.

Because production budgets are getting tighter and HD-DSLR cameras have made producing video more accessable, agencies and clients have been hiring talent that can produce both.

The switch from print to video seems to have been gradually happening for many photographers in the industry. It makes sense to have one creative talent handle both print and video for a number of reasons. One is obviously the lower cost of paying one person instead of breaking up the shot into two different entities. The other is about having continuity between the two media.

I have had the experience of hiring a photographer for print and a director to shoot the associated video segments. We shot the print work first and then had a two-day video shoot set up. In the end, we paid the photographer a day rate to be at the video shoot to make sure it was consistent with the print lighting, etc., as well as a director and his crew.

On the other hand, we recently had a project come up where we knew up front that the client wanted both video and print. I had the challenge of finding a photographer that could shoot print and video.

Many photographers are crossing over into this realm, but it was a real challenge to find someone that could get the look we wanted in all of those elements.

We did finally find the needed photographer/videographer and the end product turned out beautifully. The client is extremely happy with the work on both and it was an easy process.  We dealt with one person for both video and print, which kept costs down as well ensure a more consistent outcome across both projects.

This is quickly becoming the norm when it comes to finding talent for print and TV/video. Why pay for two when you can pay for one person to do both?