Great, you’ve decided you’d like to hire a videographer to bring your video ideas to life, but now you’ve got the difficulty of deciding on the correct videographer to hire for your business. 

Hiring a videographer could make or break the video idea that you have. If you hire the wrong videographer, you will be wasting money on a video that is nothing like the idea you initially had and is far less likely to be effective for use on your website or on social media. 

Here are 5 things you should consider or ask when it comes to choosing who to hire as a videographer…

Agreeable editing time allowance  - Agreeing on a suitable edit time after the filming has taken place is essential to ensure that it is possible for the video you have requested to be produced.  If you have requested a complex video and the videographer has informed you that they only have the capacity to spend 1 hour completing the edit, it’s unlikely that your edit will be reflective of your desired video. 

Discuss locations/setups -  Some videographers may have restrictions on the number of different locations/setups which could restrict your video idea and cause issues with communicating key messages. Before the shoot, ensure that the number of locations/setups is clearly communicated. Additionally, if you require the use of a drone for footage, also communicate this ahead of time so that this can be factored in and the videographer can research local restrictions ahead of time. If you are planning on conducting interviews or collecting testimonial videos, ensure that everyone is aware of when and where they need to be and ensure they are on time to avoid delays.

Your content usage rights - Ask the videographer from day one about your rights to use the content they are producing. Some videographers may have restrictive rights that mean you may not be allowed to share your video anywhere for commercial use. If you are paying for a video shoot and edit, you expect to have the right to use the content anywhere you like, any good videographer will allow you full rights to use the video once complete. 

Related Article: ‘What Are 5 Ways Videography Will Have A Huge Impact On Your Entire Business?’

What type of equipment they’re using  - Don’t be ashamed to ask the videographer what equipment they will be using, even if you have no idea about technical filming equipment.  Ultimately, you want to ensure that you are not paying for a videographer to turn up and film high-quality videos on their phone. Whilst phones can produce some good content, it’s not great for businesses and would reflect badly on your business. 

Videographer specialism  - You might be surprised to learn that not all videographers shoot the same type of content. Some videographers specialise in wedding videos, commercial videos or cinematography. Whilst all of these videographers will have the ability to produce great visual content, it may not be in the correct style format that you require. 

Therefore, it is essential that you decide on the type of video you want beforehand so that you can show it to them and see if it is something they are able to make, likewise, watch some of their previous videos to see what they usually produce. 

If you have asked all of these questions and are happy with the videographer then you should not have any problems with the video once it has been produced.