The benefits of having a second shooter
What is a second shooter?
A second shooter is another photographer who comes along to the wedding to work alongside the main photographer. They are always hired by the main photographer, so you can’t book a second photographer separately to your main photographer. The main photographer will still have all of the main responsibilities on the day, the second shooter is there to fill in gaps and cover parts where the main photographer can’t be in two places at once. It’s actually a really nice job to be a second shooter, you can be creative and get alternative angles without so much pressure. At the end of the second shooter’s coverage the main photographer will take all of the shots that they’ve taken and will edit them alongside their photographs so your gallery will have a consistent edit.
Why have a second photographer at your wedding?
I provide a second photographer as standard for weddings. With many photographers this will cost you around 3-500 quid extra (which is completely reasonable as it takes a lot more time to cull and edit a wedding with twice as many shots taken!), but I prefer to take the hit myself and not charge for it as this works best for full documentary coverage and the way I work. I much prefer having a second photographer with me so it’s a win/win for you and me!
There are so many benefits to having two photographers, here are just a few:
The full day documented
Many wedding days start with the couple being at separate locations, before the ceremony there are two sides of the story to tell. Having two photographers means you can both have a photographer with you, whether it’s for an hour or two of prep, a drink in the pub before the ceremony, or even if you don’t want the second prep covered the second shooter can start when guests start arriving, there’s always more story to tell before the ceremony. If you only have one photographer you won’t get to see the anticipation and goings on before the ceremony begins. When I look back at weddings I’ve photographed on my own it always feels like something is missing as two people are getting married, not just the person I’ve spent the morning with. I present my galleries in time order and I find it really interesting seeing what you were both up to at the same time, it’s funny when it turns out that both of the couple were doing the same thing at the same time, it happens quite often!
Two viewpoints
During your ceremony I’ll usually stand at the front for the best view (as long as the registrar/vicar allows this). Having two photographers means you can also get a viewpoint from the back. Some venues have restrictions on movement (plus I wouldn’t want to cause distractions by moving around much during the ceremony) so it isn’t always possible to capture different angles with just one photographer. There is the occasional registry office that will only allow/have room for one photographer so I can’t guarantee this at every venue, but 99% of the time I will stand at the front and my second shooter will stand at the back. This is also a huge bonus during the speeches as we can cover much more, with less movement so we blend in better.
A lot more documentary images
If you’re having any formal group shots my second shooter will still be able to capture candids whilst I’m doing this. It takes time to do group shots and if I’m on my own I often feel I’m missing some of the best photo opportunities, but there’s no need to miss them if there are two photographers. I love going through all the images afterwards and seeing what my second shooter has captured, things I wouldn’t have seen myself and seeing the day through their eyes too.
It puts my mind at ease and allows me to be more creative
Wedding days can be very busy days with lots for me to look out for, so having a second shooter takes the pressure off me a bit, knowing there will be lots of extra candid shots as well as mine. If I know I have a second shooter capturing candid images then I can take more time to be more creative with my own shots. If I can go into a wedding feeling more relaxed knowing there are two of us photographing then I can produce my absolute best work. If I’m on my own I’m more likely to shoot less creatively for the sake of shooting a higher volume of ‘safe’ images to ensure everything is covered.
Finally…
This has never happened but in the extremely rare situation that something were to happen and I were to get held up on my way to the ceremony then my second shooter would already be there, so they could take the front and your ceremony would still be covered. An occasion springs to mind when it was extremely windy and a tree fell and blocked a road close to where I was photographing a wedding so quite a few of the guests missed the ceremony. Thankfully I was already at the venue before it happened, but I still had a panic about what could have been!
All of the images on this page were taken by second shooters (mostly Karl, Scott & Patrick). Here are some more second shooter images that simply wouldn’t exist if I were working on my own -
Who are my second shooters?
Over the years I’ve built up a team of experienced second shooters who I hire based on their location. Often my husband, Scott second shoots for me. He’s a very talented photographer but he also runs his own business (a music studio in Lincoln) so he isn’t always available, therefore we can’t quite say we’re a husband and wife team! As my weddings are all over the UK I tend to know people in many areas of the UK. I only ever hire professional wedding photographers and they all photograph their own weddings too and do second shooting on the side. Many wedding photographers will start their careers by second shooting for free but I only ever use professionals so you won’t ever get a newbie. I don’t want to risk your memories to save a bit of money. I also only use photographers with a similar style and who are excellent at capturing candid shots as this is exactly what they will be doing on the day. I always edit their shots alongside mine so the style remains consistent throughout.
How long do they stay on the day?
I’lll always chat to you about what time you’d like the second photographer coverage from so there isn’t a set time you have to have a photographer from. If you’re a bride and groom then the second shooter will do groom prep, or if the groom doesn’t want prep we’ll discuss them starting when guests begin arriving. If you’re a same sex couple then we’ll discuss who goes where. If one side involves longer coverage then I’ll do that one (which is the reason I always do bridal prep in a heterosexual wedding as there’s usually a lot more going on to cover). I usually find that coverage up until the end of the speeches is perfect to have the second photographer for, sometimes we can get in each other’s way on the dance floor so I’ll usually just play it by ear on the day and have them finish shooting whenever feels appropriate. Every wedding is different!
I also do second shooting myself to fill in gaps in my own diary.
There are some weddings where a second shooter might not be necessary. If you have fewer than 50 guests as well as no more than 6 group shots then I can likely handle it on my own so I do have a package for these smaller weddings, still with full day coverage. You would have to sacrifice having one side of the morning prep covered though so I still recommend having two photographers to get both sides of the story.
There are many wedding photographers who prefer to work on their own without a second photographer, there’s no right or wrong way. This info is just to highlight why it works best for me, the way I work on the day and my style. We are all different so there will be the perfect wedding photographer out there for you, no matter what your preference is!