When to Hire a Second Photographer for your Wedding Day!

I have been photographing Weddings for almost 10 years, and I have actually photographed tons of Weddings on my own as one photographer.  I also have a lot of weddings I shoot with the couple of second photographers that I love working with.  I only work with second photographers that shoot at the same quality of work that I shoot at.  I know some photographers will let anyone who is just learning how to use a camera be their second photographer, but I love knowing that if my second takes pictures, it is one that I will gladly deliver to the client!  It can be helpful to ask a little bit about this when you are hiring your wedding photographer.

Brides and Grooms often ask How do we know if we need a second photographer for our Wedding?

Here are the reasons you might want to Hire a Second Photographer for your Wedding Day:

If you have more than 200+ Wedding Guests

If you have a large number of guests AND want to see lots of them in your photos, then you may want to hire a second photographer. If I am on my own photographing a wedding with a lot of guests, I really focus on Bride and Groom, and then some immediate family and Wedding Party. I of course still capture other guests as well, but there are too many guests to capture everyone.

If you have a tight Wedding timeline

If a venue only gives you an hour or two that you can arrive before ceremony or if the Groom is getting ready at a different location, then it can be helpful to document both the Bride and Groom getting ready with two photographers. When the couple is both getting ready at the venue, then it is easy for me to set-up a schedule beforehand where I can take some formal photos of the guys while the Bridesmaids and Moms are getting dressed and return to photograph the Bride getting into her dress.

If you LOVE photography!

If photos are one of the most important things to you and you want as many as you can get!  In my experience, there are usually about 30 percent more images when there is a second photographer.  It is possible to have some different angles, such as one photographer can photograph with a wide angle versus a Zoom lens. The second can also try to get reactions from the crowds more, and just look to try more creative angles as well.  When I am shooting on my own, there is more pressure to capture the must-have shot first before trying a creative or different angle.

Finally, a couple reasons why you might not want to hire a second photographer. If your wedding budget is tight, a good second photographer can often cost $100 an hour, and that can really add up for an 8 hour wedding.  Also, When couples hire two photographers and two videographers (you need two videographers for that cinematic feel!), there becomes a lot of people documenting the wedding day, and we have to work to stay out of each others shots, as well as not create a wall blocking views of the guests during important moments in the reception.  Good photographers and videographers are aware of this and do our best to prevent this!