Wedding photographers

I say no it is not needed, or to say rather not needed by you but might be needed by the person shooting it.

Its basicly some help for the photographer - that you will be paying extra for. A very experienced photographer will have no problem shooting solo. There are only two things that I can not do solo. One is to be with the bride getting ready and the groom at the same time and the other is to be at both ends of the isle as you walk in.

Prep shots if they are both getting ready at the same venue then its easy to flip between them but to be honest there is not a lot to be had with the groom getting ready compared to the bride where I can also do flowers, shoes, dress, hair, makeup, bridesmaids then parents, and the car usually turns up early so I can also get a shot of Bride and dad with that before they actually go.

Then by cleaver timing and knowing the local back routes I can still catch up with the groom and lads at the ceremony venue or even the pub for the shots of him and the lads.

In a Church from the back I can get you and (Dad) as you walk in and also the groom looking down the isle at you as you walk past me . And from that position I can get a full view of you both taking your vows but a second shooter positioned at the top of the isle will always have to try and photograph around a vicar/priest. And be a distraction right behind you.

There is an argument to say that one can do the informals while one does the bride and groom shots. But how flipping long are they expecting to take doing bride and groom shots.

When couples come out of the ceremony there is time to let them relax and mingle with drinks - prime informal shooting opportunity so no need for two shooters.

So one doing informal and the other doing bride and groom - are they saying they are going to vanish with the couple straight after the ceremony ?

If I were new to weddings I might be thinking I need help and there are groups dedicated to just that "second shooters" its almost like an open market place where a main shooter can Hire a second shooter for £150-£200 - food included - your food that you will pay for.

We booked a single photographer, which we were comfortable with, however, the day before he asked if he could bring an assistant, who was just starting out and wanted experience, which we said was fine. I will be honest, we were so glad to have 2 as the shots the assistant captured gave a different angle and perspective/style, and we actually prefer a lot of her shots, she had a way of just capturing the moment more candidly and didn't look so posed and forced. It could be worth asking local colleges if they have any students looking to grow their portfolio as often they will only charge a small fee for editing time, but you get to have different style. if you can do it, i would say go for it as is nice to have the different shots

View quoted message

"It could be worth asking local colleges if they have any students looking to grow their portfolio as often they will only charge a small fee for editing time, but you get to have different style.

Problem is that you will not find a professional photographer who will allow you to hire a second shooter.

View quoted message I know a couple of People who did it and their photographer was fine with it, may not be for every photographer but if you don't ask you dont get and some may be ok with it so is worth a try

Our photographers work as a pair. I only got married a few weeks ago so haven’t had all the pics back yet (they edit and send a few the next day) but we love them! It was great to know that while I had one photographer with me taking pics of me getting ready, there was also one getting pics of hubby and people arriving at Church. Same for when we had our portraits - one with us, one getting pics of guests. It’s probably not necessary, but photography was one of the highest priorities for us, so in our case we felt it was worth it. In case you’re anywhere near Oxfordshire, I’ll recommend them: V&H photography. They were so friendly, and the few pics we’ve had already are stunning!

We only had the one photographer and it was fine - I think the only advantage is if you either want lots photos of both the bride and groom in the hours leading up to the ceremony or if you want pictures from different angles at the same time. E.g. I have a friend who is one half of a wedding photography pair and a lot of their grooms either play a round of golf or go to the pub before the wedding & want photographs of them & their ushers doing that, so the other photographer does that while she does the bridal prep. And they do a lot of weddings in old churches, so one of them will be up in the gallery taking photos while the other is on the ground floor. But having looked at all their portfolios, I don't really feel it's worth it. There are maybe a maximum of one or two interesting shots per wedding that would have been missed with only one photographer, and when you weigh that against the cost of having a second photographer it seems like a waste of money to me.

Our photographer package includes a 2nd photographer and personally I’m really looking forward to it! We both want the “getting ready” photos and also it means we can have several angles of the day captured

Hi, our photographers work as a pair and it was nice to get different angles/perspectives. We had a photographer at both ends of our aisle and it was nice to get both sides.

However there were some shots where one photographer took a photo and the other one was in our photos. Not a biggie for us, cos we've got plenty of photos from the day and we're actually finding it hard to narrow down for our wedding album and prints!

Depends how much of a priority it is to get "the" photos for you both and what the price difference is for the 2nd shooter. Personally I would get it if it was within my budget and liked their wedding photo portfolio x

View quoted message

If they have got each other in their shot then they should be editing themselves out. I quite often end up with video guys in my shot but I just edit them out like this

My photographer bought along a second photographer free of charge, it was a little bit last minute and we where a little bit concerned but it turned out great. the second photographer added another angle to the entire wedding. at first we thought it would almost be a waste of time but they both did an amazing job and where really great to be around too. I would always recommend everyone book a second photographer. I can't stop raving about him you should check out his work. https://www.cotswoldwedding.co.uk