Do you need a second shooter for your wedding day? 

This is a question we get asked a TON, so we decided to put together a blog post about why a second shooter might be beneficial for your wedding day! As wedding photographers in Maui, we have seen so many different types and sizes of weddings, with differnet timelines, values, and more! So we’ve seen all the different ways bringing a second shooter onto your photography team can impact your day! 

If you’re planning a wedding and have started looking at wedding photographers, you’ve most likely heard about the option of a “second shooter” by now! If not, it’s basically an additional photographer that works with your lead photographer on your day! 

Here are some of the awesome benefits a second shooter can bring to your wedding day!

1. They take on photographing different parts of the day so the main shooter can focus on fewer things! This is SUPER helpful with creating more space in the timeline, and allowing more coverage of each time frame in the day. Example: your main photographer could be taking family photos, and then your second shooter can be at cocktail hour! So instead of your main photographer having to do family photos, and then rush to just catch the tail end of cocktail hour, you can have them seperate so both times are fully documented! OR: If you’re eloping or having a wedding with less formalities, your main photographer might be shooting your portraits up close and getting all the details, and the second shooter can be far away getting those wide epic shots. Which gives your main photographer more time and space to be creative if they know the second is covering the wide shots for them!
2. They capture a different perspective! Not only do they have a different eye and brain to capture things differently, but often they will also be standing in a different location or using different lenses to create images your main shooter couldn’t see! Example: While your main photographer is capturing your vows during the ceremony, your second shooter might be taking a photo of your mom or grandma wiping away a tear. OR: During your portraits you can have two totally different photos from the same moment! These two photos were taken one by the main and one by the second shooter!
3. Seconds can help with the logistics of getting ready locations! This can help you out so much if you want both you and your partners getting ready time documented! Your photography team can split up during this time so that both times are captured since they are both so special! Example: Instead of having to sacrifice time in your coverage, your second shooter can be shooting your partner putting on their wedding clothes, and the main can stay with you! This way the main photographer doesn’t have to rush to a different location to get both!
4. The second photographer can be really helpful with things like, carrying gear so instead of making 2 trips they can make 1, organizing family photos, grabbing your main photographer water because in order for them to function at full creativity they need to stay hydrated! This will make your timeline run way smoother if there is another set of hands to help with these logistics!

So now that you know how a second shooter could benefit your wedding or elopement day, we really encourage you to think about things like, size of your wedding, amount of coverage you’d want, logistics of locations, if you value different perspectives, and what parts of the day are most important to you! It is really beneficial to look at those factors and then you can make the decision about whether or not you’d like one! 

So while we don’t have a 100% yes or no answer, since the answer is dependant on how you answer those factors above. At the end of the day, a second shooter is going to be another talented photographer documenting your day, so that’s always a good thing! 

We’d love to help you out if you’re still on the fence about this, so comment below or send us an email and we will be happy to help! 

-xx Taylor + Allie