Choosing a wedding photography package can be overwhelming. There are so many variables from photographer to photographer, package to package – it can be hard to know what’s best for your wedding day, and your budget, when presented with so many options! One of those variables is whether to hire a second shooter (also known as an assistant shooter or second photographer). Do you really need two photographers on your wedding day?

Maybe you’re here because you’re recently engaged and trying to understand how to figure out which photographer is for you as you look through their package options. Maybe you’ve hired a photographer but you’re considering adding a second shooter to your wedding day photography services. Or maybe your wedding photography package came with a second shooter and now you need some help understanding what roles the second shooter will play in your big day – and maybe some help explaining to your family or friends why you’ll be having TWO photographers instead of just one!

There are tons of great reasons to hire a second shooter. But fear not – we’ll also explain when NOT to hire a second shooter, so you get a balanced view of whether it’s right for you.

Capture Moments in Two Different Places at Once on Your Wedding Day

Unfortunately, wedding photographers are only human and can only be in one place at a time. While we work really hard to never stay too still and get as much of your day as possible, it’s usually impossible for us to capture EVERY part of your wedding day with just one photographer on duty. That’s where a second shooter comes in! We’ve found that this is the most compelling reason to hire a second shooter (and rightfully so). Consider everyone at your wedding and where they are at any given moment on your wedding day. The bride and groom will each be getting ready before the ceremony – usually in separate locations. While waiting for the ceremony to start, you two are also often in separate places and also away from the guests being seated at the ceremony site. After the ceremony, guests usually head to cocktail hour during the family portraits and wedding party portraits (and will quickly start placing bags on tables, eating the carefully-laid hors d’oeuvres, taking name cards from the display, etc.). With one photographer, you have to lose out on one or the other from each of those examples.

A second shooter’s primary job is to capture whatever the primary photographer isn’t able to capture – so while the main photographer is spending time with the bride and bridesmaids getting ready before the ceremony, the second photographer can meet up with the guys getting ready. While one photographer is capturing the ceremony location details and guests coming into the ceremony site, the other can hang out with the wedding party as they wait for the ceremony to start. While the main photographer is taking the time to capture perfect family portraits, the second photographer is heading over to the reception site to get details of the cocktail hour and reception before guests show up and start disturbing the pretty scene, and get photos of the guests mingling before the reception officially starts.

This ties perfectly into the next reason to hire a second shooter…

Document More Photos of Your Wedding Guests

Your main photographer’s job is primarily to focus on you throughout your wedding day. You getting ready, you saying your vows, you having your first dance as husband and wife, you mingling and dancing with guests. This is not to say that a good wedding photographer won’t capture photos of just your guests during the day – it’s absolutely part of our job too! – but when it comes down to it, our focus is on you and creating photographs that reflect your memories of the day above all else. Adding in a second shooter allows that scope to broaden. With a second shooter, one can focus on the bride and groom’s first dance while the other snags that beautiful shot of the father of the bride tearing up in the background. While one is capturing the exchange of vows, the other might notice the expression of wonder on the face of the flower girl. While one is capturing you greeting guests at Table Seven, the other might be accommodating a group shot request from your college best friends. Having two photographers means having someone available to your guests without sacrificing photos of all those sweet moments you personally experience during the wedding day.

Increase The Likelihood of Getting the Perfect Shot

Let’s face it – wedding days go by fast. Wedding timelines never have enough cushion, people run late, and a lot of the most sweet, important moments are so very fleeting. Your first kiss as husband and wife, the tear you wipe away during your vows, your dramatic spin during your first dance, your mom laughing as she dances with your dad at the reception… there are lots of moments that we all want captured on our big day. While every wedding photographer works their hardest to catch all of those moments themselves, the fact is – we’re human. We’re working with little machines that sometimes might not focus correctly, or freeze up because we were shooting too quickly, or Uncle Joe stepped in front of us to catch the beautiful moment on his iPhone. You know what makes this less of a problem? Having two of us! You’ll have two professionals at two different angles (even if only slightly different angles) working together to catch each of those important but quick parts of your wedding day so you have peace of mind.

Add Angles That More Fully Tell a Story

Having one photographer is perfectly fine and acceptable when it comes to capturing the story of your wedding day. That said, having multiple photographers can add unique angles to your day that your lead photographer just doesn’t have time to cover. In a tiny church, it may be impossible (or prohibited by the church coordinator) for your lead photographer to get photos at both a side angle and the main aisle. This may not be a big deal until you realize that the main aisle is NOT a great place to catch the father of the bride giving her away, the bride and groom receiving the Eucharist during a Catholic wedding ceremony, or a close-up of your expression during the exchanging of vows. Maybe your ceremony site has a great balcony or choir loft – and it’s impossible for your photographer to get a good photo of your big kiss from the center aisle and also be up in the loft getting that dramatic wide shot as it’s happening. Consider also your toasts – at a time when we photographers want to avoid attracting attention away from the speaker, we don’t like to move around a lot. Having two photographers means having two people to catch a good angle of your speaker, and another to catch your faces as you listen to their speeches.

This is especially important when you expect to create a wedding album to showcase your beautiful photos. Having multiple angles adds interest to the pages and gives new perspectives to the same moment.

Give Assistance to Your Photographer to Both Get Creative and Reduce Stress

Believe me when I say that your lead photographer works hard, with or without a second shooter! We’re usually on our feet for all but ten minutes of the day, constantly aware of what’s going on around us in case we’re needed, and always have our customer-service attitude on so we can pleasantly work with you and your guests no matter the situation we’re in. That said, doing it alone is even more exhausting and even more stressful, and leads to less room for creativity. When we know our second shooter has a solid, clear shot of a great moment, we feel free to get those fun creative shots that you see in our portfolio and want to make your cover photo on Facebook; we can experiment and have fun, or send our second shooter over to an unexpected cool angle when we know we have a great spot ourselves. Or we can have the second shooter put down their camera and act as an assistant – lifting your veil to make it look like it’s blowing in the breeze, holding a branch lower so we can shoot through its golden leaves, hiding behind you with an external flash to get a fun night portrait with external lights. The second shooter isn’t just another photographer on your wedding day – it’s someone there to serve you and your lead photographer to help make sure your day goes as smoothly as possible and that your photos turn out as beautiful as your day deserves, whether that means they have a camera in hand or some lighting equipment instead.

When Not to Add a Second Shooter

All of the things above are true and sincere and I’ll admit – I would prefer that my clients go ahead and add a second shooter for their wedding regardless of any other factors in their day. That said – you can definitely have a great wedding photography experience without a second shooter! If the bride and groom are both getting ready in the same general location (different rooms of a farmhouse or hotel, for example) and your lead photographer can bounce between the two fairly easily, then a second shooter isn’t necessary – just be sure to build in enough time for them to transition and capture everything if you want photos of both parties getting ready. If your ceremony site doesn’t have restrictions on movement, your lead photographer can capture all those needed shots by themselves. And if you build in enough time between the ceremony and reception, you may even be able to send your lead photographer to cocktail hour, or the dinner setup before guests start entering to prep for the start of the reception – and maybe enjoy some of cocktail hour yourself while you’re at it! If you’re on a budget, deciding not to add a second shooter is a very reasonable decision as long as you’re comfortable with knowing that your photographer will only be in one place at a time and your variety of angles and whatnot may be a bit more limited.

Will Adding a Second Shooter Double my Number of Photos?

In short – no. Not even close. While you might think two photographers means twice as many photos of your wedding day, your photographer does not want to give you that many photos that are practically duplicates! The fact is that the second shooter is there to be a backup, and to provide great supplemental photos that tell your story. You won’t receive all of the second shooter’s decent photos and frankly, you don’t want that many photos! Trust your photographer to provide all of the best angles of your day, whether it comes from the lead photographer or their second shooter.

What Should I Ask My Photographer About Their Second Shooter?

If you’re considering adding a second shooter to your wedding photography services, there are some important questions to ask your wedding photographer! The last thing you want to do is upgrade to a second photographer and end up disappointed in their professionalism and quality of work. Be sure to ask your photographer how they find their second shooters; if they work with anyone regularly; what sort of experience they require of their second shooters; if their second shooter(s) are paid for their work the day of the wedding; and if the second shooter is required to have their own insurance. For the best second shooter experience, you want to ensure your photographer hires fellow professional photographers with a couple of years of experience and who would carry their own insurance and expect to be paid for their time (because there are photographers out there who try to get others to second shoot “for the experience”). If you’re not comfortable with any of your lead photographer’s answers to these questions, talk to them about your concerns and then either save your money and keep just your lead photographer without a second shooter or consider other photographers who can satisfy your wedding day needs.

Who Gets Hired to Second Shoot for Beauty of the Soul Studio?

We only hire photographers based in Northern Virginia (or who live local to the wedding if it’s further away). Our second shooters are fellow wedding photography business owners who use second shooting as a way to fill in wedding dates that they don’t have booked, or are “permanent second shooters” who have years of experience photographing weddings as second shooters but no interest in running the show themselves because of the cost and pressure. They always hold their own insurance, and use professional cameras, lenses, and lighting gear that match the quality of our own photos so we can provide as seamless of a gallery of photos as possible for our clients. We also only hire people we get along with, and who get along with our clients! We never continue working with anyone who presents a bad attitude or who acts unprofessionally during the wedding day, or who expresses negativity behind the scenes – no matter how good their photos turn out afterward.

Do you have any questions about second shooters and whether hiring one is right for your wedding day? Drop a comment below or contact us directly – we love answering your questions!