Should You Get a Second Photographer for Your Wedding? Three Benefits of the Second Photographer Add-On.
Does your photographer offer a ‘second’ as an add-on? Have they mentioned it as a suggestion but you're not quite sure of the benefits or if it's really worth it? Here's three reasons your photographer might suggest doing this add-on and why it's something you should truly consider (and why I recommend it as a wedding photographer).
1. Help Ease Your Timeline & Total Coverage
A common reason for adding on a second photographer is to ease up your timeline. For example, if you’re choosing an 8-hour coverage option with your photographer and want to capture everything from getting ready to the dance floor, this can be quite difficult for one photographer to fit in. Especially if Partner 1 is getting ready at one location, Partner 2 is getting ready at a different location, and the ceremony is somewhere else.
Think of all the photos that happen just during getting ready. The friends hanging out, casual candids, poppin’ bottles and sippin’ whiskey, photos of hair and makeup, the girls in their robes, details shots, actually getting ready, gift giving (partner to partner and bridal parties), the bride getting the dress on, emotional photos with parents, first looks with the girls and dad, traditional group photos, and much, much more.
Having a second photographer means that one photographer can be with Partner 1 and the other photographer can be with Partner 2, taking all those photos at the same time. You can even have a second photographer for just a few hours at the beginning of the day instead of from start to finish. This can actually be very cost effective, allowing you to get a total package with fewer hours.
2. Get Way More Reaction Photos
Do you love the candid shots of guests and loved ones reacting to emotional moments throughout a wedding day? Because I sure do. Here’s something you might not think about when seeing those photos. During a ceremony with ONE photographer, that photographer is having to focus on the main moments that are happening at the head of the ceremony — the couple, the vows, the bridal party, etc. All the things they need to capture. So, their priority can’t be reaction shots of the guests sitting behind them. However, if you have a second photographer, their priority totally can be. This means that as your primary photographer will be getting reaction photos of the guests whenever they can as a bonus, your second photographer can be entirely focused on the audience — keeping a watchful eye, attending to the crowd, and searching the rows for smiles, tears, laughs and applause.
3. Get Better Angles
Throughout the wedding day, your photographer will typically move around as much as they can but will need to be in a ‘safe’ place to get the main moments. For example, no photographer knows the exact minute the first kiss will happen. Therefore, at a certain point during the ceremony, they need to plant themselves in the middle of the aisle and wait for the first kiss to happen. They can’t be off to one side getting reaction photos and risk missing the first kiss (can you imagine!!!). If you have a second photographer, they can be focused on getting every moment from different and interesting angles as your primary photographer is getting everything necessary.
Why does that matter? When you look at your gallery afterwards, having the same moments captured from different angles and perspectives makes a huge difference to the impact of your gallery and how impressed you'll end up being. Think about watching a movie, you can easily see five different camera angles within a span of 10 seconds. If you only saw one instead, it wouldn’t tell the story as well. It's something that also makes a difference when you look at your final gallery, which you may not even realize. Seeing special moments from different angles helps tell the entire story and allows you to truly imagine what that moment in time looked and felt like. It allows you to view it from the perspective of each one of your guests, as if you’re watching a movie.
I truly believe you can't go wrong with getting a second photographer. For the benefit of your final gallery alone, consider investing in a second photographer if your primary photographer offers one. You regret the things you don't do in life more than the things you do.