Do I Need Two Photographers?

You might be asking, “Do I need two photographers for my elopement or engagement?”  Hiring one photographer to take your portraits can feel intimidating.  Now, there’s going to be two photographers?  What?  Do you really even need two photographers?  This blog is going to explain and show you what the benefits are of having two photographers.  You can see first hand examples and determine if you feel that two shooters are worth having or not.

Two Perspectives 

The most prominent benefit to having two shooters is having two different perspectives.  Many of the images in this blog will demonstrate this.  Your final gallery is a carefully curated and refined compilation of your day.  Two shooters doubles the amount of images to start, and quite literally allows a photographer to be in two places at once.  Multiple angles and perspectives provide great versatility to the overall quality of your gallery.

It’s important to understand just how many choices a photographer makes to take one photograph.  Not only are there various technical settings and lens choices, but also where to be and how to position the lens makes a lot of difference.  There aren’t even necessarily right or wrong answers pertaining to this concept, as photography is completely subjective.  What these various choices adds up to is the photographer’s style.  It is his or her very DNA as an artist.  This is where photographers vary.  If you ask 100 photographers to photograph the same object, you will get 100 images with both subtle and noticeable differences.  And that’s okay!  This is one of the most beautiful aspects of photography 🙂

Posing & Calmness

It isn’t just two perspectives that’s so nice.  A second photographer can help create and suggest new poses as well.  It takes a lot of pressure off of a solo shooter to have a second set of eyes and ideas.  Less stress on either side will translate into better photos.  Some moments happen in the blink of an eye and cannot be recreated.  For instance, a rainbow may only come out to play for 10 minutes or so.  It’s nice to be able to make the absolute most out of that situation.  Or what about a first look with a few tears shed.  It’s great to have these types of memories in multiple forms.

Communication is obviously key between photographers.  There are times when we assess a situation as it unfolds and are discussing strategy moments before an event begins.  Synchronicity and focus go a long way in these types of environments.  Oftentimes, two shooters are still in fairly close proximity to one another.  Let’s look at some images where the difference of spacing is larger.  We utilize walkie talkies so that even when 50+ yards away, that photographer can call in poses to the closer photographer.  This efficiency is very helpful.

Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Let’s compare photography to collecting chocolate chip cookie ingredients at the grocery store for a moment.  Let’s say you have a few things at home, but you absolutely need flour, sugar, and chocolate chips.  So you and your honey go on an excursion to the supermarket.  One of you can focus on going to aisle three and collecting these items (as well as vanilla ice cream).  The other one can think completely outside of the standard cookie.  That person can look around for macadamia nuts or walnuts.  Perhaps chopped strawberries and fudge can tie things together.  What about trying a batch with cinnamon and caramel just to try something new!  Now, when you’re pulling out your cookie tray from the oven, you have great variety in your assortment.  You see, photography is very similar.  Two shooters enables one of them to take chances at times.  If one photographer’s creative attempts fail, the other photographer can still hold it down fundamentally.

 

Dress Toss & Miscellaneous

There are many unpredictable tasks that can come up on the fly.  It’s nice to have a person available who can assist in other ways beyond taking photos.  Our most common example of this is the epic dress or veil toss!  Also, Kevin’s ability to officiate an elopement while Meg photographs is very useful.  But even beyond this, there always seems to be something that can use extra help.  Perhaps a car needs to be moved or a jacket needs to be carried.  Maybe your dog needs to be held back for some portraits or a child needs to be distracted.  A first look is a great time for two photographers.  The portraits of anticipation with the one waiting and the portraits of excitement with the one tiptoeing toward their love almost requires being in two places.

Do I Need Two Photographers for my Elopement or Engagement?

Hopefully, this information has helped you in some way.  Do you absolutely need two photographers?  Definitely not.  But do we believe it is largely beneficial.  You bet!  Other than boudoir, we do not offer our services individually.  The overall quality of our work is so much better with both of us.  While putting this blog together, we realize just how true this is.  There are literally hundreds of examples we came across.  Our perspectives are so different from one another, which is what you want in your photographers.  You can tell that most of the images in this blog are taken within a second of each other.  The best photographic moments come and go throughout every day like a lightning storm.  Here’s to fully capturing and enjoying each and every one of them!