an ode to second shooters everywhere

I'm sure you've heard everyone tell you, "oh yea you need two shooters!" But let me SHOW you why. (That's Tim there below, my hubs and second shooter)

Listen, people are going to tell you that having two photographers at your wedding is best. You will hear this and they can tell you their own reasons why, But! I'm a visual person, as you know if you read this blog regularly, and I like to show people why and how a second photographer (shooter as we call them) is beneficial to your day!

Let me take you into one wedding day. It will be easier to examine this with one couple. Tim is my consistent second shooter. The reason I made sure I told you consistent was for an important reason. Tim is with me at every wedding I do. Do you know what this equates to? It means that at every wedding, he already knows what my every cue means without me even saying a word. He understands my (most often) jumbled directions and he falls right into place of doing exactly what is needed at that point in the day. You don't get that with second shooters who shoot with you every now and then. Sure, it helps he's my husband and can read me like a book too, but you get the idea!

Because he works with my same equipment and set up at every wedding, I trust that I can send him into a reception space and set up the lighting while I'm photographing. But beyond having an extra set of hands and assistance on a wedding day, second shooters provide the primary shooter with alternative shots that switch of the final images composition, depth of field, direction and even the look of the pose. To show you this, I have pulled examples. 

All of the images below are from the same wedding day. These will show you two images side by side that were taken at the EXACT same moment, but one was shot by me and one was shot by Tim. You can see how having two shooters provides variety to the shots, but also allows for moments to be captured that otherwise wouldn't be seen. For example, you will see a cocktail hour moment captured by Tim next to a reception space photo. This is because Tim photographs cocktail hour while I capture all your details. Two birds with one stone, folks! You will also see the couple's reaction to a speech next to the Father of the Bride recording it. You can't see those two moments at the same time if you have only one photographer.

I think you get my point. I'll let the images below show for themselves :)