There are loads of photographers who will say the opposite, but I firmly believe that you don’t need two photographers at your wedding. It has advantages in certain situations, but it also has some downsides.
One photographer got so annoyed about my article that they wrote this to me:
As a wedding photographer based in Nottingham, who’s shot almost 200 weddings, I wanted share my thoughts on having a second photographer to help you to decide if the extra expense will deliver what you want, and help you to decide if it’s something you even need in the first place.
Here are my top reasons why you don’t need two wedding photographers. I’ll also bust a few myths, too.
1) You Are Planning a Wedding with Fewer than 200 Guests
Unless your wedding has a crazy number of guests and runs over two days, with the bride and groom getting ready an hour apart, there’s no reason you need a second wedding photographer.
During the wedding planning stage, I ask my couples who the most important people to be photographed are so that I can prioritise getting candids of them.
Most couples want group shots. This guarantees that I’ll have photos of the most important family members and friends.
During the reception, Brides and Grooms often work their way around the venue chatting to their guests – this is the perfect opportunity to get candid shots of your guests.
Then of course there’s the dance floor, which means capturing your guests having a blast, even the camera dodgers!
Basically, there’s no way a good photographer is going to come away from your wedding without having captured many photos of the people you care about most.
Typically, the weddings that I shoot have between 80 and 120 guests, and I’ve never felt like coverage is being compromised.
If your wedding has a large number of guests, and if you want to have bride AND groom prep covered, a second photographer could be a good option for you.
2) You Don’t Want an Entourage
In addition to photography, you might want videography as well (about one third of my couples have videographers).
Videography complements photography because motion and sound can be captured. But can you imagine having a photography duo AND a videographer (some of whom have assistants too) at your wedding? And don’t even get me started on ‘content’ creators 🤣
Unless you enjoy having an entourage, you might find it intrusive.
My couples love to plan relaxed weddings, and the last thing they want is to feel camera-aware all day. They don’t want to have their weddings turned into an extended photoshoot.
With a good wedding photographer, you won’t even know they are there for most of the day.
3) You Want Your Wedding Photos To Look Consistent
When you are looking for a wedding photographer, you’ll want to find someone whose style you absolutely love and connect with. You need a photographer who can provide you with images that fit with how you want your day to be remembered.
You are choosing a certain someone who creates a particular look and feel.
If you have a second photographer, their style will be different from the lead photographer’s. The end result will be that your wedding story and album will lack consistency in terms of style (who else can take photos like the ones below but me?)
I’ll say a bit more about this in section below.
Myth 1 – Having a Second Photographer Means More Photos and that’s Always Better
You’ll have more photos because you’ll have two wedding photographers, but more photos do not mean your wedding story will be better. It may have the opposite effect.
When did you watch a masterpiece of a film like the Godfather and think ‘Oh, I wish it was it was 30 min longer it would have been SO much better’.
Or if you like good music- it’s like listening to Darkside of the Moon and wishing that there was some filler material in there – madness!
Do you seriously need 5 different photos taken from different perspectives of each one of your friends from Uni? Only one photo of them (if any) is going to make it to your wedding album right?
Adding an extra set of photos to your story can actually take away from the experience of viewing your wedding gallery as a whole. If there are photos in your gallery that you are just going to skip through – yawn.
You just don’t need 1000 wedding photos. What are you supposed to do with half of them? Let them gather digital dust on a hard drive never to be looked at again? You only need to see the photos that best capture the story of your day.
Part of the work of your wedding photographer is to curate the work. Every shot that they deliver to you should make you think, ‘Oh, I want to see that one again!’ Good photographers will always focus on quality over quantity.
Myth 2 – We Need Two Photographers Because We Want Bride Prep and Groom Prep Captured and Variety in Coverage
While it’s obvious that your wedding photographer can’t be in the same place at the same time, it does not mean that one photographer can’t capture moments that you consider important to your wedding story.
Most of my couples want groomsmen prep and bridal prep photographing. You might think that two wedding photographers are needed for this. If you’re not getting ready 10 miles apart from each other, it is possible to capture both parties getting ready with good planning. It’s really easy to do if you are both getting ready at the same venue, too.
During ceremonies, I nail all the key moments, and I move discreetly to capture a wide variety of perspectives.
The same thing goes for your wedding reception; your photographer should be confident to move seamlessly about the room, catching ‘candids’ of guests wherever the action is happening (or about to happen).
One downside to having two wedding photographers here is that they may get in each other’s way. If their movements are not completely coordinated all the time, there will be instances when it’s just not possible for the lead photographer to frame them out of a shot, so they’ll become an inadvertent photobomber.
What that means for you is that they may not deliver a certain shot, or you’ll have a photo with the second photographer hovering on the scene.
(Personally, this always happens at several points in the day whenever there’s a videographer on the scene. No matter how well we communicate, sometimes we’ll accidentally get in each other’s shots- it’s just the way it goes when you’re working in such a fast-paced environment like a wedding!
Myth 3 – We’ll Get Two Good Wedding Photographers For Only a Little Extra
It can be a bit of a gamble.
Most second photographers are sourced by the lead photographer very close to your wedding date, based on whoever they can find at the time (usually via an online forum).
Will they be competent photographers? Most definitely! No professional photographer is going to hire a second shooter whom they are personally not sure about. But I have heard stories from other photographers who have found working as a second photographer a bit of a nightmare.
However, you are taking a risk because you:
1) might not know exactly who’s going to show up to your wedding and
2) may not have seen their work before until after your wedding day!
Exceptions- Some Photographers Work as a Duo
None of these concerns holds if you choose to book a wedding photographer duo. And there are lots of them to choose from.
Book A Wedding Photographer Who Nails it Solo Every Time
You might want to book a wedding photographer who can capture the full story of your day in an unobtrusive and relaxed way without the additional cost of a second photographer.
I’m Nathan, and I’m an award-winning documentary wedding photographer. I shoot weddings throughout the UK for fun-loving couples who don’t want to have their day turned into a photo shoot.
You might like to check out my portfolio: VIEW PORTFOLIO
If my photos make you smile, I could be the right photographer for you – CONTACT NATHAN
