Why You Need a 2nd Photographer 

I spent a fair amount of my photography career 2nd shooting, whether its to shoot and learn from the best, or to help assist on a shoot so I can best serve my lead shooter AND first and foremost, the CLIENT! And Ive learnt a a lot along the way and decided to write up on what Ive learned and why its best recommended to the CLIENT, why they should have a 2nd shooter in attendance. Below are 5 reasons Why You Need a 2nd Photographer:

1)     Divide and Conquer.

The most obvious reason is, the Lead Shooter in attendance cannot be in two places at once. While the bride is getting ready in one room of a Hotel, the groom will be getting ready in a different room probably on a different floor of the Hotel. The Lead doesn’t have to run back and forth and that puts a lot of pressure on anyone on the day figuring out, can he or she get the shots within the time allotted. Let us photographers deal with the stress! ?

Another scenario could be that the Bride and Groom aren’t even getting ready in the same location! Now what do we do? Instead of making the Lead drive back and forth, they can best use his time and creativity, getting the most picturesque photos possible.

Finally, during the ceremony, while the bride is walking down the aisle with her lovely father, the lead will take initative and shoot the scene as they walk down. What about the groom crying his eyes out or having the biggest grin on his face, while he sees his beautiful bride for the first time? Have another photographer there to take the stress out of the photographer trying to get both shots at the same time.

2)     Help gather people for Family Formals

One of the most stressful points of the day for everyone is probably the family formals. Gathering immediate and extended family members of large amounts can be a daunting task for just one person. Then the lead has to make sure their camera settings are right. And then they have to pose them in such a beautiful way. What if its such a big family that the photographer has to stand up on a chair to shoot everyone. Then they have to get back down just to pose people.

If you have another photographer around, they can have be the one to gather people and pose them.

3)     A Different Point of View

Lets say you have the lead shooter shooting the ceremony from the front of the altar shooting the bride and the groom. By having a 2nd shooter, you can the 2nd photographer there to capture moments from the sides or even shooting what we like to call our VIP’s. While everyone is a VIP in my opinion(heh), these would be the parents, the grandparents. And 99% they show off some kind of emotions and I wish everyone else was there to see just how emotional this day can be! The photographer’s main job is to capture the necessary moments, in most cases are bride walking down the aisle, the ring exchange, the first kiss, etc. The 2nd shooter can capture opposing angles or even shoot some creative angles, like shooting the bride and groom from the pew(as If they were a guest)

4)     A 2nd Shooter complements the Lead(and Vice Versa)

While yes the Lead Main shooter will have the power or necessary say in what happens on the day, they may not the best at every single thing when it comes to photography. The best photographer is one who hires someone who’s strength can complement his weakness. While the lead shooter is a professional and the best as posing people, its would be beneficial to them, as well as the CLIENT that they have a shooter there to shoot candid shots. While the lead is off shooting the family formals, it would be beneficial to have a shooter there to capture the guests mingling.

5)     More Photos!

While yes, the Lead will more than likely have a number of images that he must hit to make sure their day has been worth it, having a 2nd shooter in place will guarantee they have hit their goal. To guarantee you get more shutter clicks, your second photographer’s job should be to shadow the groom while the lead will focus on the bride. Why do we truly do this? We are photojournalists and there’s 2 sides to every story!! The BRIDE AND THE GROOM!! So its our job to make sure we hit both perspectives, that way they can rest assure that they can look back on this day and remember every single moment for years to come.

So! Are you convinced? Contact KartheekPhoto and rest assure we will cover every single angle possible.