The Short Answer
It depends on your requirements. do you have 80+ guests and want to have getting ready pictures. Then yes, 2 wedding photographers mean we can be in more than 1 place at a time, one of us with the groom and one with the bride.
If you have a smaller 40 person wedding and just want pictures from the wedding ceremony onward, then 2 photographers might be overkill.
Bridal/Groom Prep
I do my best to make sure no emotion goes uncaptured during the day. However, I can’t get away from the fact that I can’t be in more than one place at a time. This is especially true when the bride and groom are getting ready in different locations.
Often I find that at least one of the couple will be getting ready at a hotel or at their home. Having Anna shooting with me, means I can drive out there to capture the bridal prep for example, while she is free to shoot the groom prep and prepare for guests arriving.
Having 2 wedding photographers means the groom/bridal prep just flows more smoothly and no one is rushing around or even worse, missing key shots!
Ceremony
During the ceremony, if I have Anna shooting with me, I will camp out at the front of the room, where I can get pictures of the couple and guest reactions. Anna will typically be in the isle getting pictures from the front, to capture a totally different perspective.
If we are solo, we typically need to move around a lot more to make sure we get all the angles. This comes with the drawback that if your grandmother decides to shed a tear when I’m up the other end of the room, then I’m not ready to capture that key moment. If I’m camped out behind the couple facing the guests, then I’m ready for any little emotions that crop up, when they crop up.
Having 2 photographers during the wedding ceremony, means we can be less invasive and distracting as we aren’t moving around as much.
Group Photos
Typically after the ceremony it’s time to round people up for group photos. We do our best to round everyone up quickly, because we know everyone is dying to grab a drink!
It’s a little less vital to have 2 photographers here, however it does help things move more smoothly. Typically my second shooter (Anna) will be helping round people up and if we have a set list of shots, she will be organising that while I concentrate on taking the pictures. Then once the main shots are out the way, Anna will be available to take requests from people who want pictures together while I’m freed up to go with the couple for a mini couple session if they want one.
Couple Session
Having 2 photographers isn’t really necessary for the couples session itself. However, it goes back to being in 2 places at once. While I’m taking the couple away to a nice picturesque place to capture some more intimate moments, Anna can be back with the guests, making sure nothing gets missed.
Speeches
Having 2 wedding photographers during the speeches isn’t really necessary for smaller weddings. However, at larger weddings it does help us make sure nothing is missed. While one of us is concentrating on the main table, the other will be looking back at the guests to capture fleeting reactions.
Reception
During the reception, you only really need 2 wedding photographers if its a larger party. Again it just means we are able to split up, typically one on the dance floor and one of us will go round other guests.
If you have 80+ guests, then trying to capture every guest, while making sure you don’t miss grandad cutting shapes on the dance floor after his 6th whiskey can be tricky. With both of us shooting, it means we don’t compromise on either and arent running around like a headless chicken trying to capture absolutely everything. This just results in better quality pictures in the end!
Why we are different
Typically a wedding photographer with a second shooter, will have a newer, less experienced photographer as their second shooter. The second shooter will typically be given some SD cards at the start of the day and hand them back at the end so that the main photographer can edit all the pictures together.
Anna and I however, are a husband and wife team who started this business together. Because of this we know each other and have built our processes together, so we know where each of us should be at any given time and what each of our jobs are at a certain time.
Rather than have a random second shooter, turning up with different equipment that may or may not shoot in a similar style to the main shooter. We are perfectly in tune with each other and have the same vision of what needs to be achieved.
Conclusion – Do I actually need 2 wedding photographers?
I hope by reading through this it will help you make that decision. It comes down to the scale of the wedding and how much importance you put on capturing every detail.
If you have a smaller more intimate wedding, with us shooting half the day, then one of us can comfortably capture this without compromising. As soon as you step up to a full day of wedding photography, things would run smoother with 2 photographers. Especially if you have 80+ guests where it starts to become a necessity rather than a nice to have.