Is a second wedding photographer necessary?
When planning a wedding, one of the common questions that we get is; is a second wedding photographer necessary? The straightforward answer would be yes. From our perspective, a second photographer not only offers a second angle but also offers the opportunity of being at two places at once. For example during the getting ready photos, while the lead photographer is capturing the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready along with all the wedding details, the second photographer can be in the grooms room with the groomsmen getting all of their excitement and gift exchanges and anything else that is happening there.
Once we move onto the ceremony, the second photographer helps once again by adding a second angle to the entire scene. Going back to not being able to be at two places at once, while the lead photographer may be in the front of the processional, the second photographer can be in the back capturing the emotion that’s happening back there.
Additionally, during the actual ceremony while the lead Shooter can capture one side getting the bride’s reaction, the grooms reaction can be captured by the second photographer from the opposite angle. Along with candids of very important family members and friends. Once the ceremony is over, typically the lead photographer will be taking family and wedding party photos. At this point, the second photographer is usually at the reception hall doing details of the room along with getting candids of guests and group photos of guests. More often than not without doing a first look it is impossible to capture all of those details and all of those guests since during this time the lead photographer is typically photographing important photos (family, wedding party, bride and groom).
And once the reception hits, once again the second photographer becomes extremely valuable because during first dance while the lead photographer may go for a creative wide photo, the second photographer can go for a more normal and safe photo or go for a very close up of the bride and groom. The beautiful thing about this is that if the lead photographer is going for something creative and the bride and groom go for a dip or a spin move, the second photographer is there to capture that. They will be complementing one another to make sure they get the best coverage.
By planning accordingly while one photographer is covering one important portion of the day, the other photographer can cover another equally important portion of the day from a different perspective! Even during the exit shots, we can always double up on that to give you two different views of the same story!
We hope this helped you out and gave you some insight! If you have any questions or wish to get in contact with us, feel free to send us a message!
