You’re getting married and starting to look into wedding photographers. You keep hearing the words “second shooter” thrown around, so let’s get into it!
What is a second shooter?
A second shooter is another photographer, who will come and help shoot your wedding. If you have a second shooter at your wedding it means you will have 2 photographers. The photographer that you hire will provide the second shooter. The second shooter will come help shoot your wedding, but all of your images will be edited by the main photographer that you hired. This ensures you get the max amount of photos and they will also look consistent.
What are the benefits?
1. You will get different angles of all of the big moments!
Here are some scenarios: The bride walking down the aisle vs the groom’s reaction to her coming down the aisle. The first look. One photographer focuses on the groom’s reaction and the other focuses on the bride’s. Same deal with the first dance. The photographers can stand on opposite sides of the room, so you have completely different back drops. One photographer can be zoomed in getting close ups and the other can get wide shots.
2. The photographers can be in 2 different places at once.
Aside from capturing different angles of the same event, the photographers can spread out to capture what’s going on in different areas. For example one photographer can get photos of the bride getting ready while other gets photos of the groom. While the main photographer is taking formal family portraits after the ceremony, the other can be at cocktail hour with your guests. And did I mention the dance floor? 2 photographers will capture tons of different moments happening on the dance floor. Not a single one of your drunk friends will make it out without documentation!
3. Extra Security
Twice as many photographers and twice as many cameras. Hopefully none of the following happens at your wedding, but if it does a second photographer will have you covered! If something happens and one photographer misses it the other will still have it. If a camera breaks that’s twice as many backup cameras. If one photographer is running late the other can cover. Never hurts to have extra hands(and cameras)!
4. They can help your wedding run smoothly.
A second shooter helps with more than just taking photos. They help the main photographer by holding lights and moving things around which helps get photos done quicker and more efficiently. They can also help communicate between the photographer, wedding, planner, and the couple, so that everyone is on the same page without having to stop what they are doing.
5. Best of all, You get more photos!
This one is pretty simple, but probably the best perk of having a second shooter. You will automatically receive more photos if you have a second shooter than if you only have one photographer.
So do you need a second shooter?
I always recommend having one if you’re budget allows. You will never regret having a second shooter. The only scenario where I’d say you might not need one is if you are having a very small(less than 20 people) wedding, but even then you may still enjoy the perks that come with a second shooter.
Bonus! Here are some gems my second photographer took while I was shooting the bridal party, seen in the background!
