5 Benefits of Having a Second Shooter at Your Wedding
Firstly, what is a second shooter? A second shooter is a photographer specifically picked out by your hired wedding photographer to assist on the day to ensure that as many aspects of your amazing wedding day as possible are deservedly captured.
‘Do I need one?’, I hear you ask. Well, no, its not essential to have a second photographer, as the wedding photographer you have chosen should be more than capable of capturing beautiful, forever memories on their own. However, there are some incredible benefits to having a second shooter that mean your once-in-a-lifetime memories are preserved forever!
You don’t even have to decide straight away upon booking me. As long as I’ve still got plenty of time to enrol one of the amazing photographers in my trusted network you can make the decision to add a second photographer to your package at a later date.
So, what are the benefits of having a second photographer?
1. A wider variety of angles captured
Padstow Wedding Photography at St Petroc’s Church
There are a few crucial moments throughout your day, particularly the ceremony itself, that are deemed essential to be captured. Most brides want to have photographic evidence of the emotional reaction of their partner seeing them walk down the aisle (don’t worry, if they don’t appear to shed a tear then we will stamp hard on their foot – just kidding!!), while simultaneously capturing the beautiful moment of themselves walking down the aisle arm in arm with their father before he gives her away.
Then there’s the guests’ reactions to capture during your vows, and you probably want a photo of the back of your wedding dress while you’re walking down the aisle.
Most couples want a discreet, unobtrusive wedding photographer capturing their day, which I pride myself on, but even if it was possible to capture all of these moments by myself it would mean a lot of running around and possibly causing distraction.
2. Enables both Bridal prep & Groom prep to be captured
St Ives Wedding Photography at the St Ives Harbour Hotel
If capturing both parties getting ready in the morning is important to you (the laughs, the nerves, the calm-before-the-storm with all your nearest and dearest) then having a second photographer is essential really. Especially if the groom prep is in a different location to the bridal prep. After all, a single photographer can’t be in two places at once.
Also, us wedding photographers are awesome at doubling up as buttonhole placers, tie fixers and general fashion advisers so it’s even worth hiring a second purely to keep an eye on the lads to make sure they are 100% ‘wedding ready’. Plus, you can see what mischief they got up to in the morning – bonus!
Even if having photos of the groom prep itself isn’t make or break for you, it’s always nice for the groom & groomsmen to have some photos at the wedding venue freshly groomed, along with photos of your guests arriving and eagerly awaiting your arrival. This sets the scene of your wedding day story beautifully.
3. Enables more aspects of your day to be covered
Cornwall Wedding Photography at Northcott Beach House, Gwel an Mor, Tregenna Castle
For example, while you are heading off for your newlywed portraits, a second shooter will remain with your wedding guests, capturing candid moments of them enjoying the drinks & canapes!
Speeches are another one! Some of the most emotional moments take place during the speeches and are definitely worth capturing. You might like to see your guests reactions of laughter and happy tears as well as your own. Also, it’s a good idea to take into account how many guests you have and table positions as it can be quite hard for us wedding photographers to manoeuvre around discreetly. Having two of us means we can stand in different positions/sides of the room allowing for more coverage without being a distraction, missing moments or simply having to block your poor Nan’s view for the majority of the time as we’re restricted to one position.
There will be plenty of other scenarios like this throughout your wedding day, where your main wedding photographer will be (discreetly!) following you around to capture the cute little newlywed moments, while a second shooter will be capturing candids of your guests enjoying your day alongside you. An additional wedding photographer will 100% be able to capture moments you are more than likely to miss while you are in your own little bubble of excitement!
4. Your Venue is Big with Lots of Different Areas to Utilise
St Ives Wedding Photography at Tregenna Castle
I love a big open wedding venue, but this can mean a lot of running around for your wedding photographer and trying to capture photos of all your guests can be challenging single-handedly. Having a second photographer helps to spread the load and make sure as many moments and details as possible go unmissed.
5. Dancing and Party Candids
Bude Wedding Photography at Northcott Beach House and Redruth Wedding Photography at Tricky’s Tolgus Inn
This is usually where the BIG fun begins and guests and yourselves tend to loosen up the most after a couple of drinks and you all let your hair down! Double the photographers = double the fun captured! Be prepared, also, to be whisked away briefly for some incredibly gorgeous Golden Hour & Sunset photos (depending on time of year), which I can promise you won’t regret, while my second shooter continues photographing the dancefloor action until you return!
All in all, having a second photographer means your wedding day story can be told way more effectively than simply having just the one wedding photographer. After all, your wedding photos are a lifetime investment. There is only one opportunity to capture each fleeting moment and the chance of capturing them is doubled when there are two of us!
I’d love to chat more about your wedding day and whether budgeting that little bit extra for a second photographer is right for you!