Tips for Second Shooting: Part 2

Following up on Monday's post with more tips I have picked up while second shooting! Get caught up on the first two tips here.


Tip #3

Communication is KEY.

I probably over communicate on wedding days BUT it is just so important especially when second shooting. I always make sure I know what the main shooter requires of me and wants me to capture - this helps me know that I am delivering exactly what the main shooter is expecting from me. For the ceremony, I like to talk for a couple minutes before it starts and plan out where each of us is going to shoot from and also what lens the main shooter wants me to use. It makes my job easier knowing exactly where I should be shooting from and also what type of shots I should be trying to capture. Throughout the day I am constantly asking: "What do you need me to do?" "How I can help?". I might get super annoying but at least I know that I am helping in ways that are actually helping the main shooter!

I second shot for Modern Pixel Photography so much this past year that Mike & I had a system worked out for lots of situations, including the ceremony, so we did not need to communicate quite as much after a few weddings. But, we still would have a quick chat before the ceremony to make sure we were on the same page or make changes if there was something unique about the ceremony.


Can you spot Mike? He's way over on the right side!


Tip #4

Capture Complimentary Images

The main shooter doesn't need a bunch of duplicate photos - the same angle & composition - from the second shooter so I try to always grab a slightly different angle or composition that will compliment the main shooters photo and add variety to the photos.

The easiest way to make that happen is by standing to the left or right of the main shooter and capture photos from there - just make sure to stay out of their shot!


Mike's angle:



My angle (after they shifted poses but stayed in the exact same spot as the above photo):



To give the main shooter an even larger variety of photos - you can capture different aspects that make up the main image. Focus on just the faces or their feet or maybe, like below, the bouquets.



Another way to capture a different image, if you cannot shoot from a drastically different angle, is to use an opposite lens from the main shooter. If they are using a wide angle lens then I try to use a longer focal length to get a lot tighter of shot or vice versa. My general rule is to never have the same lens on my camera at the same time as the main shooter.

Mike's wide angle shot:



My cropped shot:



Thanks Modern Pixel for letting me use your images!

Finishing up this series here.