Do you need two wedding photographers?
Are two wedding photographers better than one?
Ok, ok, lets preface this by saying we know you don’t neeeeed two wedding photographers, we don’t want to panic anyone who has only booked one photographer for their wedding day (or get angry messages from solo photographers!!). Of course, it’s better to have one really amazing photographer than two not so great photographers. But, if you are here reading our wedding blog, and you haven’t booked your wedding photographers yet, we are guessing it’s highly likely you are considering booking two photographers for your wedding day.
So much stuff happens simultaneously at weddings, from the morning preparations to all the little moments with your loved ones, and they are all worth photographing. We are here to tell you all the amazing benefits of having two wedding photographers!!
The photographers can be in two places at once
This is one of the top reasons our couples book us, they both want coverage for the morning prep. Yes, we know one photographer can travel from the brides to the grooms to catch certain moments, but when you have a photographer dedicated to each of you for the whole time you are getting ready, they are not gonna miss anything.
One of your photographers can stay with one of you right up until you leave for the ceremony, whilst the other will be at the ceremony photographing your partner & all your guests arriving.
You will have less distraction during certain moments of the day
During your ceremony, we will both be at different angles so we won’t need to move around as much as a single photographer to capture all the angles so it’s way less distracting. Plus, as one person walks down the aisle one of us will be photographing their entrance whilst the other is aiming to capture the reaction of whoever is waiting at the front. Unless your photographer is lightening fast and the ceremony has a unique layout, there is no way to capture both those moments without two photographers.
Also, you have a second person to cover photographing parts of the day if the primary photographer is busy elsewhere. A lot of the times it’s a challenge to photograph the wedding breakfast set up before guests start taking their seats. We know how much time & effort you spend planning your wedding breakfast so we want to make sure we photograph it all for you. At this point of the day, we are usually outside doing couple portraits, so the second photographer can run back and forth keeping an eye on the room and photograph it before everyone is seated whilst making sure your couple portraits aren’t cut short.
You will get more photos
Let’s be clear on this, you won’t get double the photos, but you will definitely get more photos when you book two photographers. We know there is no ‘average’ for how many photos you will receive from your wedding day, some photographers deliver 100 some 2000 (yes, really!), but when you have two professional photographers photographing your day, it’s a given that you will receive more photos than if you just have one photographer.
We deliver on average 600-800 images for a full day gallery, sometimes a little more, because we position ourselves in different places throughout the day, there will inevitably be more photos to deliver. We don’t just deliver duplicate photos where we are both shooting the same people in the same moment, unless it’s intentional, during the speeches for example, one of us will concentrate on the speaker whilst the other is capturing the guest reactions.
You get a different perspective of the day
If you book one photographer, you’re getting one perspective for your photos…..their perspective. A lot of photography duos are couples, so (if they are a heterosexual couple of course!!) you get a man and a woman, and we have to say that we feel women have an eye for the pretty details more so than the men, they understand how long the bride has spent planning all the little details of the day.
Yes, both of us shoot in a very similar style but we both have an eye for different things. For instance, James will usually concentrate on photographing people, he will get details too, but it’s usually the big obvious details, aftershave, the cake, table centres, that kind of thing. Whereas Kerrie will be like, oh look at the cute little wedding favours over there, look at those muted pink table napkins wrapped with a sprig of eucalyptus……Kerrie tends to notice the smaller more intricate details of the day.
Family photos are done quicker
Ah, the family photos, our favourite part of the day……said no wedding photographer ever ha-ha!! This part of the day can be, erm, let's say a challenge sometimes. With two photographers, one can be rounding up the guests on the list (usually Kerrie!) whilst the other is photographing them. Trust us, you want to get your family formals done as quickly and smoothly as possible, this is when your guests (and you!) will want to have a drink and chat, they do not want to be standing around for ages being told by a stranger with a camera to please stand over here or there, “Oh, where is Uncle Bob?” “He’s gone to change the baby?” Ok, can Kerrie go find Uncle Bob whilst we move on to the next photo….” We like to get them done as seamlessly as possible so you can spend more time enjoying your day.
Also, one of us can get the attention of the children and try and make them smile or laugh for the photo, yes we know you can get a guest to do this, but what about the big group shot where everybody is in the photo? We honestly don’t know how one photographer copes, hats off to you! But having two wedding photographers, especially if you are having a larger wedding, can be a real advantage.
Also, a second photographer is on hands to carry lights/coats/umbrellas….whatever is needed! They are there to throw that veil high in the air (you’ve seen our Instagram posts!), or fluff the dress (we are becoming experts now!), go grab the bouquet…..anything that is needed, it’s just great to have a second pair of eyes on the day.
We will end with what to look for when considering booking two photographers. Of course we are going to say this, but do try and book a husband and wife team, or two photographers that work together all the time. The benefits of hiring a husband and wife team is we work seamlessly together on the day.
We have photographed so many weddings together we know exactly what points James will cover and vice versa so we aren’t getting in each others way, we know the story we want to tell so will capture it in our unique way. Imagine if you had one photographer that loves the romantic fairytale style and the other is super trendy doing the latest Tik Tok trends…..the photos will look a mess.
Whether you decide on one or two photographers to cover your wedding day is a very personal decision, we hope we have given you an idea of the advantages you can expect with booking two. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch
Much love, J&K x
