I wrote this blog post on facebook a little while back, and it seemed to be popular, so it’s only fair it gets shared here for everyone else to read. Here’s my thoughts on having two photographers rather than the one. Hope you enjoy! – Glen
Always have a backup plan
So here’s another tip for brides: Always have a backup plan. Or at least choose vendors that are smart enough to have that covered for you. There are some great reasons to hire a second photographer for your wedding, and I want to explore them a little for you now.
For us, Lionheart Photography, it doesn’t come any other way, we always have 2 photographers working together on a wedding day.. so let me explain why. I (Glen) am only one person. I can’t be everywhere at once. I can’t see behind me, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head (yet). Having two photographers working as a team during those important moments such as your ceremony, means we’re telling the best version of your story.
An example might during the Ceremony where I’ve got a close up shot of the Groom giving his wife a first kiss, I’m zoomed in on them and capturing the emotion of that moment, but my second photographer has a wide shot of the same thing, maybe off to the side, and they’re showing the first kiss happening in the environment, all the guests watching and cheering, the bridesmaids smiling and groomsmen clapping.
Having a second photographer allows you to see more of the story of your most special day.
See more from the day, from a second perspective
Secondly, there’s always the chance of sickness or injury, or maybe an accident on the way to the ceremony. We may wish we were, but none of us Wedding Photographers are actually super-human.
Having a second photographer capturing your wedding offers that backup so that the show can go on. Sounds a little dark, but if you have 2 and something goes wrong one can’t make it, there’s still one left. But one photographer minus one means you’ve got.. a terrible problem.
Thirdly, having a second photographer around allows me to have backup gear on the go at all times. Sure, most photographers have backup gear in the car.. so do we.. but we also have it with us since there are two photographers right there with camera bags over our shoulders. So that means no running to the car if a piece of gear malfunctions.
And yes, I have had a camera die on me before. It wasn’t a big drama, I just stole Fiona’s off her, while she slipped off to the car for a backup – the couple didn’t even know we had a speed bump at all.
Don’t miss out on those important moments
Fourthly, we do crazy stuff with our camera settings all the time, or working with off-camera lighting equipment, and that means I can’t as quickly turn around and shoot that crazy stuff that the groomsmen are getting up to behind us without changing a few settings.
Having off-camera lighting (flashes on light stands), or operating a popup photobooth, can mean I am confined to a certain area of the dance floor for example, but my second shooter, well, that’s what they are there for – They might be handling the candid shots, while I’m taking care of the portrait group shots.
Plenty of photographers out there have had very successful careers from shooting solo, and as they say, not having someone else in their way, but in my opinion, they just haven’t developed techniques to work as a very well oiled machine like we have. We believe in giving our clients the best we can.
Having a backup plan in place is sort of like safety in numbers… in case of any zombie apocalypse sorta thing I suppose.
And we are storytellers after all. Having a second photographer does allow us to best tell your story.
THANKS FOR READING!
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