The benefits of having a second shooter in your Wedding Photography package
Second shooters are a fantastic option when booking your wedding photography. In this blog I want to highlight some key points that make second shooters the unsung hero of all wedding photography packages. Don’t tell the second shooter I said that though, it’ll go to their head.
It improves the primary photographers performance
Having a second shooter will not only benefit you, it will also help out your primary shooter. Having a second shooter allows the primary shooter to relax a bit more and focus on the task at hand. The second shooter will also carry extra gear, lighting equipment and batteries. This means as a duo, your photographers don’t have to return to gear bags or cars to get more equipment which leaves them more time to cover the event as it plays out.
Don’t be fooled, while the second shooter helps the primary relax, they won’t take their foot off the gas! - Shot by Kevin Hennessy
A different perspective
Myself and my second shooter will always work the room from different angles. I focus on the bride, while the second shooter will focus on the groom. We also shoot reactions from guests and close family from our respective angles. This gives all of your photographs a different perspective, including all the important bits captured from two different directions!
The exact same moments, just seconds apart captured from two lovely unique perspectives!
Another body to keep your day moving
The second shooter can be deployed on many other tasks. They can deliver gifts between hotel rooms, retrieve the grooms suit from the car (yes, that happened!) and even fetch a gift for the bride on the morning from the local town (yes, that happened too!). Having a second shooter there gives you another person to send on little errands so you can chill and enjoy your day.
More yield = more value
With a second shooter deployed, the amount of photographs you receive will increase dramatically. In the majority of cases you will double the amount of photographs received!
You get more coverage
As I hinted above, you get to tell the story from both sides. With a single photographer, they will have to travel from room to room to get to the bride and groom while they get ready in the morning. Time spent travelling, whether a short walk or drive, between locations is time away from shooting. This reduces the yield of photographs and leads to some moments being lost to time. With a second shooter it’s not an issue. The primary focuses on the bride while the second shooter focuses on the groom. Your story can be told in full!
It’s great to receive your photographs and see how your partners morning went!
A refreshing mix of images
With a single photographer, even if you love their style, all of the photographs will be the same. With a second shooter their own style will bleed into the finished product. The primary will do all of the necessary processing, so the photographs will be consistent, but with two different “eyes” there will be a lovely mix of photographs at the end.
An interesting moment captured in both images. Second shooter: Sean O’Riordan
Are there any downsides?
There can be doubt when booking a second shooter. Typically you pick a photographer because you like their style and as a result may worry about the second shooter. But every photographer will carefully curate the work of their second shooter, it’s important that their style and quality of work is similar as all of the processing will be done by the primary photographer. This means there’s no inconsistency between shots and you won’t be able to tell which photographer took what!
So there we have it. All the benefits of having a second shooter at your wedding! If you were undecided, hopefully this blog will help you come to a decision.
As always, thanks for reading.
