Second shooter at a wedding - what is their role/brief?

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Gerry
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I know this is a generalisation question but what is the role of second shooter? is it to capture images from a different angle or to capture the more casual moments? :)
 
Another nice advantage is that if they're working together they can set their flash units up as master/slave for the shots where you want to light a bigger area (group shots, etc).
 
The role is to do whatever the first shooter asks for - you can't generalise beyond that because it will vary enourmously depending on the situation and the skills of the second
 
^^what Pete said.

I'd also add it depends on the wedding as well. I may want you to cover things where I just can't be in two places at once. More then anything I need you to be capable of working on your own
 
boyfalldown said:
More then anything I need you to be capable of working on your own
Click to expand...

That

When i used to second shoot with ben I usually did the groom and groomsmen shots while ben was off doing bridal prep -during the ceremony he'd focus on B&G and i'd position myself to get the mother of the bride shedding a tear etc - then while he was doing B&G walk i'd circulate round and do other couples.

During the speeches he'd focus on the speech giver and i'd get B&G reaction , and so forth.

I also had to be prepared to switch hit - ie to cover anything he missed, or on one occasion to shoot the whole ceremony solo because his car broke down on the way from the brides house.

More than anything the second shooter needs to be competent, calm, and unflappable... they may not have that much experience of weddings (itis afterall how many of us start out) but they need to know their camera backwards and be capable of getting great shots without having their hand held

Itis emphatically not a case of standing behind the first shooter like an uncle bob and getting the same shots from a different (and less flattering) angle
 
A wedding I went to had a husband and wife photog team. The bloke was doing all the traditional shots, while the wife was skulking about getting candids, it worked well I thought.
 
big soft moose said:
That When i used to second shoot with ben I usually did the groom and groomsmen shots while ben was off doing bridal prep -during the ceremony he'd focus on B&G and i'd position myself to get the mother of the bride shedding a tear etc - then while he was doing B&G walk i'd circulate round and do other couples. During the speeches he'd focus on the speech giver and i'd get B&G reaction , and so forth. I also had to be prepared to switch hit - ie to cover anything he missed, or on one occasion to shoot the whole ceremony solo because his car broke down on the way from the brides house. More than anything the second shooter needs to be competent, calm, and unflappable... they may not have that much experience of weddings (itis afterall how many of us start out) but they need to know their camera backwards and be capable of getting great shots without having their hand held Itis emphatically not a case of standing behind the first shooter like an uncle bob and getting the same shots from a different (and less flattering) angle
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking time for detailed reply. Thats kind of what I thought it would be but obviously each one is different
 
Hi Gerry,
I have been second shooter on 3 weddings for Damien (slimbert) and can say how he/we worked. Damien as the primary, shot the most important images, bride to the altar, the formals, etc. in the church I positioned at the back of the guests and shot candids, reaction from guests etc. just as you say, to shoot from a different angle/perspective.
There was no point me shooting similar shots to Damien, so when a certain point in the proceedings was reached, I was more of an assistant than second shooter. Holding off camera flash or led light on the couple for their first dance. Iain
 
Iain that's pretty much what I thought.

Got first wedding on Saturday - really looking forward to it although really nervous
 
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