When it comes to photographing events such as weddings, second shooters and videographers are a great addition to your business offerings.
Not only can they enhance your deliverables and increase the quality of your work, but your clients are often looking for more coverage of their events.
Being able to offer additional coverage in the form of a second shooter or even a videographer will allow you to tell the story more thoroughly.
It’s also a great business move because you can offer bigger packages and increase your income from a single event.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits of second shooters and videographers as well as how to integrate them into your photography business.
I’ve been shooting wedding photography for over a decade as part of a two-photographer team, and over the past few years, we’ve added videography to our offerings as well.
As you’ll come to see, having a teammate reduces stress, increases creativity, and levels up your business.
Let’s dive into the concept of second shooters, their benefits, and how to pick one that’s right for you.
The Role of Second Shooters
In this section, we’ll talk about second shooters.
We’ll dive into what a second shooter is and how to get the most benefit out of implementing one into your event photography or videography.
Most of my examples and references will be specific to wedding photography but should apply to any event coverage where you might want additional support.
The main theme you’ll see is that a second shooter will help relieve stress and pressure.
This helps ensure comprehensive event coverage and enhances the quality and depth of the final deliverables.
What is a Second Shooter?
A second shooter is when you hire an additional photographer to help with event coverage.
The second shooter typically works alongside a primary photographer or videographer during an event or project.
Second shooters’ roles can vary but generally include capturing additional angles, perspectives, or moments that complement the primary photographer’s work.
In many cases, the second shooter assists a primary photographer, while in other circumstances, both photographers equally cover an event.
With two shooters, a company can deliver a stronger final package of deliverables.
While the quantity of deliverables might remain the same, the quality will increase because you can deliver the strongest images from a larger set.
Main Benefits of Second Shooters
There are a variety of reasons why you might choose to utilize a second shooter.
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One of the top reasons is to expand your coverage of events and be able to capture more of what’s happening.
For example, you can have one photographer with the bride during the getting ready portion of the day and one with the groom.
You can essentially be in two places at once.
Expanding on that, having a second shooter allows you to capture different perspectives simultaneously.
A great example of this is that during a wedding, you can capture the bride walking down the aisle and the groom’s face as he sees her.
It’s a moment that happens just once, and with two photographers, you can capture it from two angles.
If you’re just starting as a photographer, it can be stressful to know that certain events like weddings have moments that only happen one time.
A second shooter can give you peace of mind because, while you might miss the shot, you have a second angle to ensure you don’t miss the moment.
That backup plan can extend to things like technical issues and emergencies.
It can even just be nice to know that you can take a quick bathroom break without missing anything because your second shooter is there to capture it.
My favorite reason for a second shooter is that you can have one person focused on the safe and must-have shots while the other does something more creative and risky.
One additional reason for a second shooter is that you can increase your profits on your packages.
Since couples often want two photographers, you can charge more and thus increase the size of your package offerings.
What to Look for in a Second Shooter
When it comes to choosing your second shooter, I’ve been lucky because I’m part of a husband and wife team.
Technically, we’re both primary shooters equally capable of capturing an entire wedding alone.
Depending on your goals for hiring a second shooter, you’ll want to look for certain qualities.
For example, you might want a second shooter to reliably capture all the things you don’t have time for.
You can have them capture the wedding reception details while you’re focused on cocktail hour, or maybe they’re covering cocktail hour while you’re doing portraits of the couple.
Essentially, if you go through the previous section outlining the main benefits of a second shooter, you can identify what you want your second shooter for.
Then, you can decide if it’s most important that they’re professional and reliable or if they’re very creative with artistic vision.
Most likely, you’ll want your second shooter to have solid technical skills so that you can focus on the more creative shots.
I also appreciate having someone to hold a flash for wedding photography portraits and help wrangle families for more efficient family pictures.
You’ll want to be clear about your expectations and outline the plan for the day so that everything goes smoothly.
When you’ve worked with another photographer long enough, you know where they’ll be and what you can count on them for.
I think communication and teamwork are key qualities to look for in a second shooter.
It’s also nice to have someone that can help you stay cool in stressful situations.
The Role of Videographers
In this section, we’ll talk about videographers and their role in event coverage.
Videography is great for capturing movement, emotion, and specific speeches or sounds.
For example, when it comes to weddings, videography can capture the words said during vows and speeches in a way that photography alone cannot.
Additionally, videography can capture the movement of a choreographed first dance.
Videography has always been desirable for weddings, but ever since 2020, I feel like couples are more interested in the photo/video combo to ensure more complete coverage of their event for family members who can’t attend.
When it comes to conferences or corporate events, videography is growing in popularity because of the desire for video for marketing purposes.
There’s nothing like a nice sizzle reel to share on social media and increase the hype of an event.
Let’s dive into how to combine photography and videography for weddings and event coverage.
From there, you might want to consider second shooters for your videography offerings in the same way that we talked about for photography.
Videography and Photography Combined
I know from our experience working with various videographers that they can impact our job as photographers, our clients’ experience, and the overall coverage of the event.
Working with the right videographer can mean seamless integration when there’s consistency in the photography style and approach.
Conversely, working with the wrong videographer can mean competing for angles and getting in each other’s way.
One way to ensure the right collaboration is to have specific videographers that you partner with or even work with under your company.
All wedding vendors are on the same team with the same client to serve, but people might have different ways of achieving that goal or different styles of interacting with the client.
You might be a photojournalistic photographer who ends up working with a videographer who is more directive and intrusive, making photojournalism impossible.
Having a good partnership between photography and videography means that everyone makes compromises and decisions that help benefit the overall deliverables.
The above video explains more about how and why we shoot both photos and videos for our wedding clients.
Benefits of Second Shooters for Videography
Much like with photography, there are benefits to having a second shooter for videography.
I won’t repeat everything from that section since much of it applies here as well.
As you can imagine, you might want multiple angles of the same moment, such as the first look, like you do in photography.
Or you might want the opportunity to do something more creative and risky.
Second shooters allow you to be in two places at once.
Videography also has the additional challenge of audio, so you may want a second shooter to help ensure that multiple audio sources are working reliably.
If you’re more experienced, you can use stationary cameras set up on tripods to get multiple angles without a second shooter.
Additional Requirements of Videography
If you’re going to add videography to your offerings, there are a few additional skill requirements you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared for.
You must know how to use your videography equipment, including audio equipment and video editing software.
Then, you’ll want to determine how lighting and composition for video are different than for photos.
There are times when video shines and photos don’t, or vice versa.
Tips for Your Photo and Video Team
Perhaps you’ve decided to add a videographer and some second shooters to your photography team.
Let’s talk about what you can do to make the transition smooth so that the addition of more people benefits your photography and your business.
Below, we’ll talk through some business tips for integrating additional team members, as well as communication tips.
It’s important that expanding your team increases your profits and your final products. If you don’t benefit and it simply creates more hassle, it’s not worth the extra effort.
Let’s start with how to think about this from a business standpoint.
Business Tips
One thing you’ll want to do is adjust your pricing and packages to accommodate additional offerings.
It’s vital that you charge enough to pay your additional team members competitively, while also remaining competitive in the marketplace and getting more clients.
Remember that training a new second shooter every week will be more hassle than having one that you can easily rely on from shoot to shoot.
The more people you add to your team, the more hassle involved, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re increasing your profits accordingly.
Then, you’ll be able to market yourself and highlight the benefits of hiring your team over a separate videography company.
Whether you’re able to offer photo and video at a better price or just ensure that the final products will be cohesive, you’ll want to be able to explain the benefits to potential clients.
Communication Tips
Communication is key when it comes to working with a team.
You must coordinate everyone’s roles so that people are working together rather than competing.
This might mean that compromise is in order, so I find it helpful to decide priorities first and then use that to define roles.
For example, if there’s something that’s specifically important for the wedding video, you might give the videographer priority at that moment.
Bridal party and family pictures, on the other hand, are key for photography so if it’s distracting to have the videographer around during that moment, then you’ll want to give the photographer priority.
With second shooters, I think it’s helpful to divide up key photo responsibilities and be clear on what must-have shots each person is responsible for.
That way, you know that your second shooter is getting a specific shot, and you can focus on something different.
You don’t want to micro-manage everyone; you want to delegate responsibilities and then trust each other.
The less each individual has to stress about, the more they can focus on being creative.
Final Words: Second Shooters and Videographers in Wedding and Event Photography
A second shooter is more than just a body to stand around with a camera so that you can charge more.
By now, you can hopefully see how valuable having two photographers and/or videographers can be for event coverage.
When you’re a new photographer, it’s nice to have the back-up that a second shooter provides.
As you gain experience, you’ll appreciate being able to divide responsibilities so that you can take creative risks for your artistic vision.
Your clients will benefit from the foresight you put into how the photography or photo/video team is going to work together to capture their story.
Whether you’re covering weddings, conferences, or other events, putting together a strong storytelling team can significantly benefit not only your business but the experience and final products your clients receive.
Don’t just look for a second shooter; look for someone whose style or professionalism will enhance or compliment your own.
You might even take a look at your strengths and weaknesses to figure out what holes to fill.
Then, you can offer your wedding or event clients the best coverage you can and even better final deliverables.
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