Time and time again I’m asked by prospective clients “Do your packages include a second shooter?” The short answer is, always. Here’s why.

Safety
I need to rewind this and explain that my camera shoots onto dual memory cards. In simpler terms, my camera creates two copies of your images automatically – yay! If one card were to corrupt I would still have that back up. Not only that, but I also back up the images to an external hard drive immediately after a wedding day and keep the memory cards in their own case until the gallery has been delivered. However, in the rare case that all of my back up plans were to fail, my cards were to get stolen, my camera fell off a boat on a wedding day, etc., I would at the very least have my second shooters images to fall back on. One other terrifying thought on this – in the case that your photographer couldn’t attend the wedding due to a variety of emergencies, your wedding day falls into the hands of the second shooter.

Variety
While you and your bridal party are busy looking at me, my second shooter is capturing Mom, Dad, Grandma, and venue details. You know, those things that only a second set of eyes can capture! Second shooters are able to focus on candids while I capture groups. They can get the rear shot of you and your dad walking down the aisle while I capture your partners reaction. All those cute side shots and sometimes even room shots, you can thank my second shooters for that! When I’m grabbing a snack but your college friend just ran and gave you a hug, have no fear, my second will be there.

Efficiency
This is a huge bonus of having a second shooter. If your photographer is working with a second shooter that they trust (I only hire seconds I trust!), then we are able to conquer two tasks at once. The biggest example of this on a wedding day would be during getting ready and bridal party photos. While I hang out with the girlies, my second shooter is able to conquer the guys. AKA less waiting time for all parties involved, and more time relaxing and celebrating one another!

Olivia’s Take
In all of the 50+ weddings that I’ve captured, I have never met a couple that regretted paying a little more to have a second shooter. The added value is immeasurable and if the worst case scenario were to happen, you can fall back on their images.