One of the things I get asked during a new bride consult is "so I don't really think I need two photographers there, do I?"
Well, technically, no, but it is a perk and something that I think you would appreciate more when the day is over and all you have are the photos.
As the main photographer my job is the stay with the bride during the getting ready period. If I'm alone I have to divide my time between the bride and the groom and I end up missing moments with each of them when I'm not there.
During the ceremony itself, my job is to get the bridal party and the bride coming down the aisle and to get the reaction from the groom as his bride is coming down the aisle. My second photographer gets the pleasure of hanging back with the bride before she walks out. Some of those moments between a bride and her dad before they walk out are priceless.
During the formal photo session, my job as the main photographer is to set up and pose the shot, but my second's job is to act like a sniper and get those candid moments between the couple that might be missed because I'm busy with posing and lighting. There's also a difference between the angles I take and the angles she/he takes and a difference in the lighting. The lighting difference between what I do and what my second does is a whole blog in itself. I'll share that with you in a whole separate blog as well.
During the reception my job as the main photographer is to keep an eye on the bride and groom as they mingle with guests. The second shooter goes table to table to photograph your guests mingling with each other. We try to get a photograph of everyone who comes to your wedding. When the guest list tops 300 or so that can be really difficult to do with just one photographer.
When the reception is large and long it can be difficult for one photographer to handle the excitement of it all.
It's also nice to have a back-up in case something goes wrong during a moment. I've had my flash batteries suddenly die during a bouquet or garter toss and it was nice having another photographer there to depend on catching the shots I just missed.
Some brides think two photographers circling around a reception is too many. There does come a time when one photographer alone is sufficient. I usually make a judgement call toward the end of the night. When it looks like we have photographed all the guests and we're mostly sitting around waiting for the exit, I may send my second photographer home for the night.
But for those key moments of the day, it's nice to have two of us there to capture everything.
All the images you just saw were taken by my second and would not exist without him or her there.
Lisa On Location Photography
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