Do I need a second wedding photographer?

I only offer two packages to my couples. The first is me all day on my own and the second is me with a second shooter. Both offer all day coverage from morning preparations through to the evening party time. With that in mind, one of the most asked questions I get when I first meet with a couple is “Do I need a second wedding photographer?”   I’ve tried to outline a few points below, but ultimately it is your choice and it depends on what you want capturing on your day.

What Are The Benefits of Having Two Photographers?

 1. The most obvious benefit of having two photographers is having both the bride & groom’s preparations covered in the morning. A wedding is a story of two people after all and having both mornings photographed helps make this story more complete. My single photographer package has me covering bridal preparations, and unless the groom is getting ready in the same venue, it is near impossible to capture both sides without missing some key moments.

2. I can only be in one place at any one time and whilst I may be photographing a beautiful moment over one side of the room, there could be something equally important happening over the other side. Having a second photographer maximises the amount of moments captured.  Similarly, even when we are photographing the same moment, two photographers can take the shot from different angles and capture more reactions and more of the story. Take walking down the aisle for example, often it is only possible to capture the bride coming down but with a second photographer, he/she can focus on the groom’s reaction too.

3. It goes without saying that having two photographers means there will be more images delivered at the end. Now I will go on record and say that you won’t get double the images if you picked my two shooter package, the way I edit and the way I instruct my second shooters to capture the day means that they won’t shoot as many as me and will focus on certain areas allowing me to do my thing. You will however, get at least 40% more images than if you take me as a single photographer.

Are there any disadvantages of having two wedding photographers?

 1. At smaller weddings, once the morning preparations have happened and the ceremony is over, having two photographers at a smaller reception may seem a little overkill. I can’t deny this, and on occasion have found that my second photographer is twiddling his thumbs a little, or we are trying our hardest to get out of each others photos. This is one of the reasons that my second photographers will leave a little earlier than myself at most weddings, as having two of us on the dance floor can get too much. Although there’s isn’t much we can do about this at smaller weddings, I still think the payoff of having morning preparations covered is worth it.

Here’s a few FAQ’s that usually follow ‘Do I Need A Second Wedding Photographer’?  

1. Will having two different photographers mean the images won’t be consistent?
In short, no. I pick from a pool of second shooters that I believe fit with my style, or at least can adapt to how I want a wedding photographed. On top of that, when the photographer leaves for the day, I take their cards and the editing is all done by myself, in my special style. The look of the images will be the same and you wouldn’t be able to tell who took which photo.

2. Who will be my second shooter?
I only use professional wedding photographers as my second shooters. There’s no interns or apprentices looking for experience. Because of that, I tend to pick my second shooter as close to your wedding as possible. If I did it too early, I’m stopping that photographer having the chance to get their own wedding or running the risk that they have to cancel.

3. Will The second Shooter be there all day ?
As mentioned above, they will be with the groom as early as they want them to be and usually stay until just after the first dance, leaving me to finish the night off on my own.

With all the above said, I don’t want you to worry if you decide to just go with my single photographer package (me). I’ve photographed countless wedding on my own and can guarantee that you will love the results. I do everything I can to get the different angles and capture as many moments as humanly possible. I live and breath wedding photography and will do all I can to capture your day in my special way (that rhymes, point to me).