What Do Second Shooters Do During Family Formals?

This post is written to 2 groups of people:
A. if you’re a bride who has hired 2 photographers (a lead and a second shooter) to cover her wedding day
or B. those photographers who find themselves in the position of second shooter on a wedding day

Most of the wedding day can seem pretty self-explanatory when you consider what two photographers’ roles are. They split up at the beginning of the day: one covers the bride getting ready & one covers the groom. One shoots the bride & her formal photos and the other shoots the groom & his formal photos. For the ceremony: one covers the back and one covers the front. One gets the face of the bride coming down the aisle and the other gets the face of the groom.
But what happens during the next part of the wedding day: family formals? What does a second shooter do during that time, when the lead photographer takes the lead & bosses everyone around (in the nicest way possible of course)?

When I was going thru my images from Brian & Jess’s wedding – I found some real gems that illustrate what a second shooter should be doing so perfectly! For their wedding, I was playing the role of second shooter to my sister who was the lead that day. As a wedding photographer who is typically the lead, I can say: sometimes it’s really nice to take the laid back role of the second shooter!

The second shooter’s main responsibilities during family formals are:

• checking the groups off of the “formals” list (and making sure that none are forgotten or missed!)
• attempting to gather family & not let any family members leave who are still needed
• keeping a sharp eye on details – are ties & boutonnieres straight? are bouquets in line? is everyone standing up straight? is anyone hiding & not able to be seen in the photo?

As important as all of those responsibilities are (trust me, they help out the lead photographer & the timeline so so much in the long run!) I have one other item to add to that list:

While the lead photographer is capturing all the fancy formal photos, the second shooter should be hanging back and capturing all the candid moments in between.

I can say for a fact, that while I’m the lead, I may see those little cute candid moments, but it is really challenging for me to try to capture them. I’m caught up in directing everyone on where and how to stand and usually my camera is tucked under my arm, so pulling it up to catch a spontaneous moment is tough! That’s where the second shooter comes in! And you can catch all sorts of fun candids, like these!

But it’s not just all about the crazy, expressive, humorous photos! Sometimes, you will catch emotional, soft, loving moments in those in between moments as well – and those are priceless!