Second photographer included in Collections 3 & 4
Two of my wedding packages include having a second photographer with us for part of your day! This is a cost I take care of as part of our service and is provided as part of your package. My second photographer will take photos on the day and I do the rest from organising their start/finish time, editing the photos and handling delivery. Having a second photographer is great for weddings with 60+ guests. It means we can capture more of your guests and unique moments that you maybe didn’t see happen on the day (so often we hear back from clients with feedback that they love seeing the photos that took part during times when their attention was on other things). While I’m capturing the important parts and formalities, my second photographer is in the background capturing extra candid moments and is available to take photos of your guests. We will often do the rounds asking if guests would like a photo taken during cocktail hour (if we aren’t needed elsewhere) but we also encourage guests to ask us for any group photos they would like.
Photo opportunities that we love for candid moments
We love capturing the moments right after your ceremony when guests come up to congratulate you (it’s an exciting moment and guests start to forget we are there as they are more focused on you). I even suggest that couples add 5-10 minutes into their timeline after the ceremony for this part so we can capture some candid hugs and chats.
We also love weddings that provide games or entertainment during cocktail hour, if games are started at the right time one of us can capture this (keep in mind sometimes games can happen at the same time as the formal portraits with the wedding party/bridesmaids/groomsmen, where both photographers are likely away focusing on this). Some couples will allow extra time before or after their wedding portraits so they can join part of the cocktail hour. This allows us to capture some moments of you with your guests before the reception starts! I can provide suggestions and guidance on a timeline for this (my goal is not to keep couples away from guests for too long, we want you to be catching up with your favourite people).
A couple of things to note from our side of things!
Candid moments are not staged and can sometimes only happen in the right environments, they are never guaranteed to always happen like in these particular examples. Things like weather and a strict timeline can mean there may be less opportunity for us to capture photos of your guests. On the day of a wedding, we may need to prioritise taking certain photos over these candid opportunities. We also respect guests’ boundaries if they do not want their photos taken or if we feel the moment doesn’t feel right we will focus on other parts of the wedding day instead (we will photograph where we feel comfortable or welcomed).
My second photographer is with us for up to 4 hours on a wedding day and this is usually to help cover preparations, the ceremony and after the ceremony, they will often finish before the reception starts. During the reception, I will cover this part of the day on my own and will continue to capture weddings in both a portrait and candid style (and guests can still grab me for a photo when possible)!
These photos are credited to the amazing Jess Dewsnap who has worked with me for many weddings! She runs her own business as well so may not be available at every event, however, I work closely with other local photographers.
A second photographer can also be added to Collection 1 or 2 for an additional fee. * All of the information in this blog post is correct and up to date as of May 2024. Packages and services may change over time.