Okay y’all. I get this question ALL. THE. TIME. 

“Should I add a second photographer? Is it worth the investment? What does the second photographer add to the day?”

YES, YES AND YES. Add a second photographer to your wedding collection, it’s worth every penny. And I don’t mean, have your uncle Bob there as a second photographer. Leave it to the professionals to bring a second photographer to your wedding day. One that we choose, trust and work well with. Uncle Bob needs to attend, as a guest, leaving it to the paid professionals to capture every moment of your day!!

So, here are my top three reasons (in depth) of why it’s important to have a second photographer at your wedding. (Honestly though, there are more reasons than just 3!) Get ready, because for once there are more words than photos in a blog post. 

1. The first reason why having a second photographer is essential! Second angles of EVERYTHING. For example, let’s say you choose to have a first look. If you were to only choose to have one photographer on your wedding day, you would then need to decide which angle is most important to you during the first look.

Here are the options. 

A. You (the bride) walking towards your groom and tapping him on the shoulder. 

B. Your grooms face as he sees you for the first time on your wedding day.

C. Your face as you tear up watching your soon to be husband, soak in your wedding day beauty!!

No one should have to make these choices. While I am working to capture each and every angle, I just can’t be in more than one place at a time!

Choosing to opt out of a first look? Okay, fine, I won’t argue it. But if this IS the case, then all of the more reason to add a second photographer. By choosing to not have a first look on your wedding day, all portraits will have to be done post ceremony.

This means that we will be scrambling to grab photos of your family, your bridal party and bride and groom photos during what is typically a one hour “cocktail hour”. Opting out of a first look also means having to skip your cocktail hour. And inevitably, that means I won’t be there either. So who will be there to take photos of your guest mingling, snapshots of your beautiful and delicious appetizers, group shots of your college besties and reception detail shots before the room gets bombarded with guests?! The second photographer. That’s who! 

Another important second angle of the day is of, you (the bride) walking down the aisle, arm linked with your dad as he gives you away. The lead photographer will be capturing this happening from the front of the aisle of course, but who is going to capture how stunning your open back dress looks from the back as you walk down the aisle towards your groom?! The second photographer.

Okay whew! That was a lot of info! On to number 2.

2. So, we’ve covered the second angle reasons. But here’s another reason why the second photographer is important.

My second photographer is the one that I send to capture the groom and his guy friends getting ready (while I, the lead photographer is capturing the girls)! Now, some people would argue that the guys getting ready photos are of little importance to them. Which, okay, I get it. Wedding days are all about the bride, lets be honest. But as a past bride myself, looking back at my handsome groom getting ready with his brother and my brother in the same room, helping each other and looking pretty darn good while they do it, I treasure those photos! I treasure the photos of my husbands mom helping iron Jake’s shirt, and my brother helping to tie Jake’s tie. Silly, I know. But I’m thankful for these photos looking back. As your lead photographer, I can bounce back and forth from the grooms room to the brides room and do my best to capture both scenes, but what if the groom is getting ready at a different location? Impossible. 

3. Lastly, if there is any reason that I can convince you to add a second photographer to your wedding collection, it’s that you are getting married ONCE in your lifetime. In a couple of years that small investment be far more worth the photos that you have than the photos that you don’t have. I can assure you of that! Also, having that second person there to run and grab your bouquet, help carry your dress, help organize your bridal party, family photos, grab group shots and reception details,  etc… is worth every little penny!! I promise, promise you, you will not regret the investment. 

 

Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about. These shots were taken during the first look. While I was getting this angle of the bride walking towards her groom…

My second photographer, Valerie, was getting the grooms face. And I mean, come on, that face is priceless.

Another example, and perhaps my favorite ever. While I was capturing a requested family photo on the left, a moment was unfolding around me that I wasn’t even aware was happening. My incredible second photographer was another set of eyes and was able to capture this precious moment– the brides parents gifting their new son in law a present, welcoming him into the family. And the best part of the photo? The bride, filled with so much joy, watching in the background. 

Worth. Every. Penny. 

And while I could give you so many examples, I’ll end with this one. My angle on the left. My second photographers angle on the right. You tell me which one is most important. 

As a wedding photographer, I know all the in’s and out’s of this business. And I feel that its my responsibility to make sure that I share all of my knowledge with you! I hope this helps all the brides out there who are on the fence about adding a second photographer! It’s something that I can promise you will not regret spending money on!