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Shoot: Bride and Groom

Lesson 13 from: The Art of Being a Second Shooter

Jasmine Star, JD DelaTorre

Shoot: Bride and Groom

Lesson 13 from: The Art of Being a Second Shooter

Jasmine Star, JD DelaTorre

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Lesson Info

13. Shoot: Bride and Groom

Lesson Info

Shoot: Bride and Groom

So kelsey was so thoughtful in making a sign so calcium in a walkman so kelsey has been here since I don't know six forty five in the morning and she looks amazing she has been setting up this shoot so flawlessly and she brought me that lindsay she brought this adorable sign so I want to find ways to incorporate certain elements and then jd is going to show how he shoots um what we refer to them as environmental elements kind of clear this space now as I have just a dress I am not one of those photographers who really really like those fanned out dresses it feels like a little cotillion to me so I want to fix the dress but I don't want to fan it out so that it so perfect I actually like a little bit of imperfection because it feels more like real life cute so now what we're going to do is we have a very simple straightforward sign what I want to do is teo get it in angle so that the middle p is actually centered so judy, why don't we go through your settings and myself uh so I took a c...

ouple of test shots right now I'm at uh aperture one point eight er s o five hundred and shutter speed one one twenty fifth of a second great and so I am at f three point two because they have different height distances and they're at a distance from each other. So I need to make sure that both of them are going to be in focus. My s o is one thousand and my shutter speed is one twenty five of a one. Twenty fifth of a second. So this is absolutely adorable. This is right now I'm putting them against a white background because in photo shop, if I need to, like, add more space on the side, I could easily do that with the white background. So usually this would happen with a thank you card, a christmas card, things of that nature. So using them against a black, a blank background is going to be great. Sis, can you grab the side of your dress? No, just that one, just like that's. Perfect. Great. And I want you to distribute your weight in one hip for the other there ago. Nice, good. Beautiful. So now that we have this tape shot oh, that was cute. You guys, you guys look at each other nights beautiful. So now what I want you to do is now that we have that safe shot for mom and dad. I want you to know I'm gonna give you an action and they're gonna be happy actions, I just want you to totally commit to me okay so I just said I want a happy action I want you to commit to me so jd knows and he's hearing this that as she's going to be holding the side of this sign I'm going to be shouting up thing is I want her to do and I either want him to one get the groom's reaction or to get the bride reaction so I know you ready good good okay so your favorite team just scored a touchdown and you really excited yeah good okay good now you're about to go on a roller coaster and you're really really really scared good good and now you're about to do a victory dance because you just want a touchdown you just scored a touchdown hey good okay good good great so now what I want you to do is to hold this signs that was great you did phenomenal you're gonna hold this with this hand and you're gonna hold the line with this hand I know that yes and you turn your bodies in towards each other we're going to bring your hands and yesterday your husband just look hold your perfect I want to have you guys do you guys wanna come in towards each other but I don't want you to smash I don't want you to smash the happy so I need just to come out of it this way and you guys are gonna be your body's this way great so we are going to bring you on in now I have to make sure that I'm not cropping out her dress perfect now you guys are gonna lean in with your face is not not the source and you could shoot it horizontal if you want beautiful beautiful. So now what I would love for you to do is your back hands you're uh right hand your left. Hold him, hold it, hold each other's hands for now lean in for a kiss. Perfect. Great. One last shot. You are golden. Thank you so much for doing this. Your killer? I'm gonna get one shot of the bride holding it by herself. Now I'm going to see if this works. I mean, have you hold this? Um I noticed. So what I'm gonna do is I'm going to take the bride and I'm going to finish the color story. There was like, a window frame that I absolutely love back there with the cruise back there. I'm gonna take the bride over to the windows. I'm gonna have her hold the sign and I think it'll be a great way to end this color story. So take stacey back on over here just with the sign we don't need the um uh okay, we don't need anything else now um okay, in the same situation we were shooting the bride and groom at um an f two point eight because I needed two people to be unfocused but now that I'm shooting just the bride I can shoot could really push this lens I'm gonna be shooting it at a one point to jd will adjust according to the lens that he's using which is the eighty five and he can shoot as why does the one point eight I'm going to be adjusting and he's going to be getting his studies if you want to just perfect settings room got it perfect great okay, so I noticed the bride is not centered to the three panels so stacy, I'm gonna have you take maybe two steps this way one more and one baby step right about their perfect because I want to create a frame within a frame so hang out just one second what we're going to do right now is we are going to test the light great and I like what we're looking at I'm shooting at a one point two one sixteenth of a second s o six forty and I'm shooting at one point eight uh I so eight hundred and one one hundredth of a second great so stacy creepy looking here at my camera take a deep breath, relax the shoulders good good now take a lean forward and look outside towards the parking lot slight smile good no come back stand up what I want you to do is a little lean out like somebody calling you and you're holding the sign so hang out one sec one two and three he smiles not not you beautiful hang out I'm going back up sorry you got shot here no, no no hold the sign up like this just you be the wait between one hip or the other cute cute look over jd okay, why do you give him the look? I wait. Okay, so that's what happens on a wedding day? I will absolutely have fun with my bride give her a hard time for working with my second shooter it's all good whatever gets a shot her laughing that sincere like oh my god that laugh we'll definitely make an edit and I appreciate it so a big round of applause you are bribing rooms just did so phenomenal okay, social I mean, I feel so bad because I literally I've done this before and it's nerve racking but I literally threw my poor husband into hey teach talk beyond camera educate deal with the technical snafu who's just I started feeling you know what you know I'm really I'm really quiet I didn't talk very much at all, but as a second shooter you know jasmine kinda just took the lead and started talking a lot and I think, uh, observation, aly, I think he has a right to see. Observe what I was doing. But at the same time, I hope I candidate looking me twice once or twice and they talk a little bit more. So I tried my hardest. Well, I think that's cool that we saw an observation in a chat room where somebody said it is cool to give the boast of beth work best worlds because jd is directing, which is the real world scenario, and then we're seeing your shots on the other, so that was really cool. Excuse some of those photos. I I've never done that before. That kind of nerve racking isn't having people see the photos for the first time before I get to see them. Hey, that's. All right, beauties live so things tomorrow don't know more about you guys. Still think? Thank you guys. Should we do some rapid fire questions? Wait, you know I know you guys are fast. Ok? Have a question from jason d and a lot of people have been asking this how many pictures you take on average combined? And how many do you deliver to the clients and what percentage of the delivered images are taken by jd? And brutality we shoot roughly in the ballpark cumulatively around twenty, five hundred for the client sees will be in the ballpark of eight hundred to a thousand we tell our clients that the average about one hundred images and our and the present is in the percentage of my shots in that eight hundred to a thousand is usually to be precise I just about one hundred twenty would you say that? What do you say that isn't it no what would you say that's industry standard no, I definitely would not. There are according to the attention of our second shooters who actually interview forty percent of the wedding cake portfolio it depends the division so you guys will see how fast they shoot and dig a little bit slower and vulnerable it's not that I feel like, uh this skillset isn't there he just sees things differently the percentage within his portfolio that I actually used much is a really high percentage I'm all about quality, not quantity good that's good. All right, so I want to check in with you guys over here. Yes, sarah like dancing pictures and stuff. So when you have your flashes that air you're lighting set up um and taking pictures in low light situations is the second shooter are you connected to any of that lighting or you just bump in your eyes so what do you think so the question I don't know everyone here but it was uh what do we do under the for the first dance and especially if it's under low light situations because we use an off camera flash for that I do not use off camera flash so my only lighting setup is a my mountain flash where jasmine has two sources of light coming in she has for multiplies enter off camera flash um yeah whatever interfered when you're it doesn't interfere because I'm not connected to it I like shooting never fires off doesn't interfere for me I always make sure that when I don't know where places the off camera flash I know exactly where it is and I never shoot uh it's never in front of me my angles are always to the side of it so it's never ready if I have to be having to shoot somebody way technically have an off camera light exactly that whole thing you know my mom might be blown out sometimes but again it doesn't happen very often I don't know tio you make any of my photos my might my whole setup of shots okay can I have two questions here? Yes yes, of course you know especially if I was a second shooter wanting to be a first shooter I would definitely snap a few more for my personal portfolio I'm getting some main shots um I definitely have time to do it I just always make sure since I know I'm not doing that, I'm always looking for just something different, but again, if I was if you're a second shooter, you know who wants to build your portfolio? It's totally okay to get a few shots as the primary photography in certain places not I'm sorry not being right in front of this the shot, but if you see that the first photographer is now going into a second shooter roll jump into the first shooter rule, you know? So if I'm sorry position yes, so if you see the first shoot of getting an angle and you liked where she was or he or she wasn't the beginning because that was like the the safety good shot go there and take some shots there too, because that's completely okay and that's from a second shooter's perspective from a first shooters perspective, if you're going to stand exactly where I was standing and the pose has not changed, what I beg of you to do is to use a different lens because I don't need that exact same photo. So what showing to me is that you're carrying about your portfolio and not about the wedding day portfolio, so go in town where I was but five fifty she was thirty five she was eighteen, but yeah, that's totally cool yeah so when the dim lit receptions and everything you're able tto push your cameron loses a little bit farther than j d well you did e will you put a flash on and not your judgment are you guys both commit to that for like the continuity of it we both commit to for the continuity that I will never have my flash on with jasmine with jasmine not you know I'll I'll even go as far as to ask if I could borrow one of her lenses I can push it even further uh so if she has the fifty I'll toss her eighty five on so I can go even tow one point for one point two yes but I think for for clarification reasons is we shoot the first dance like we're independent photographers within that moment he's just staying out of my way so we both have our flash on so if he opts to shoot just ambient light and crank that I s o he has the prerogative I do the same thing we always do have a think about it that was that was in the best answer because we always mount our flash especially if if light for the first dance um sometimes her camera she she can push it so she doesn't actually turn it turn it on and I actually do and it doesn't interfere with her at all so in that situation I think it's okay um after the first dance do you shoot? Will you shoot it's just normal dancing like as independent photographers let's go around and be free it's a free for all there's chanted probability we become less conscious of where we are in the dance floor because there's so many people there so we don't worry about it and we're just as long as my outstanding next another shooting we should be fine and I think tomorrow are we going to be talking a little bit of more about a shot list? Yes, I'll for both you and the question had come in from sam dobbins is there a specific reason jasmine and jd do not split up tests? For instance, one shoots the cocktail hour while the other one is shooting the first look, we certainly do split up task throughout the day, especially if we have a tight schedule there's lots of times where I'm the only one shooting cocktail hour, but if if if if if if we have plenty of time jasmine and I will just end up shooting the entire day together again I always shoot the groomsmen on my own we're going to go through all of the details tomorrow, but to know that all of the import what we deem important first look ceremony anything that I definitely need him, we're not shooting separately the smaller task like cocktail hour and room forever we should independent but we'll go through that summer. All right? Have a question here from several people from peanuts. Amanda, iris and filtered light photography had asked earlier in the day, should you ever second chute for someone whose quality is less than you would, except in your own work. But you are looking to get your start should you be patient and wait for a better caliber photographer to work with? Wow, um one question your motives once I was good turned to a friend and I asked, like, how could you ever go to that yoga class? I can't stand the instructor, and she turned to me and said, I didn't have anything to learn from instructor. I had to learn something about myself that everybody has something to teach as long as you're willing to listen like deep, I would say the same thing to that second shooter that if you are saying that your portfolio is better than that first, if that was really than the case, um, you should be out shooting weddings on your own. So if somebody's giving you the opportunity, you should take whatever opportunity given and handle it with grace and gratitude in humility.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

2nd Shooter Day 1 Keynote.pdf
2nd Shooter Day 2 Keynote.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Laura K.
 

Great course!! As a newly emerging photographer, I just got my first second shooting opportunity a few weeks ago. Since I had never photographed a wedding before (even as a second shooter), I searched Creative Live for a second shooting course and was relieved to find this one. After watching some of the free sample portions, I purchased it. I was happy to find that despite the few negative reviews left before mine, the course is an excellent one for those with no second-shooting experience. Here is what I liked most about it: a) It includes several segments where Jasmine and JD demonstrate how they work together at a wedding. I found Jasmine and JD to be very honest in their representation of how things actually occur during a wedding. Since I had not (at the time I purchased the course) ever photographed at a wedding before, I was desperate to get a sense of how things really work. Jasmine and JD delivered in this regard. I was able to see how things really flow...how to react and photograph in tight time frames...how to stay out of the main photographer's way and still take good images...and what to pack and how to preplan in order to truly support the primary photographer. b) JD and Jasmine were very honest in talking about some of the mistakes they have made in getting to where they are today. I think this must be hard to do - baring your soul and talking about things that have gone wrong. But in doing so, they give something to students like me that some other teachers don't - a truly realistic view (from the perspective of someone who has made them) of the errors newer photographers commonly make, and how to succeed and keep moving forward in spite of them. Jasmine has done this in other courses she teaches on Creative Live as well, and it is very much appreciated. It's such a relief to see that in their early days, seasoned and successful photographers make rookie mistakes too - and to hear how they pushed through them. Everyone makes mistakes. The question is - what can be done to fix them, and how do you avoid making them again in the future. JD and Jasmine address these things in this course. c) JD and Jasmine have different personalities and different approaches to certain aspects of their craft. It was helpful and inspiring to me to see how they work together in spite of the differences. I think their differences actually complement the other. Like JD and Jasmine, my husband and I work together in our newly emerging photography business, and have differences in our personalities and approaches to photography. I really appreciated seeing how Jasmine and JD use these differences to enhance their photography, and how they work through the sometimes tense challenges that can arise in fast-moving wedding photography scenarios. I also liked hearing things from both of their perspectives. d) JD provides lots of solid, tangible, helpful tips in this course, including a list of non-photography-specific items to pack in support of the primary photographer. His advice on second shooter etiquette is solid and includes lots of ideas and concepts that I hadn't thought of prior to watching this course. e) JD provides information about shooting angles and lenses to shoot from/with that help round out the main shooter's wedding portfolio for each client. Again - I learned concepts and ideas that I hadn't thought of prior to taking this course. I watched this course twice prior to my first second-shooting job and it paid off. I felt a lot more prepared, and comfortable, going into the job than I would have without the information presented by JD and Jasmine. I highly recommend this course to other newly emerging photographers who haven't photographed at a wedding before, and who are looking for solid advice for what to expect, how to prepare, how to photograph as a second shooter, and how to support the main photographer at weddings in general. Good stuff!!

Sean
 

Great course. Jasmine and JD did a great job of teaching this course. They were well prepared, entertaining to watch and provided a lot of useful information.

Barbara Wenz
 

I bought this course because I had to set things in place for next season and needed to train my second shooter(s). It was really helpful because it takes you to everything you possibly have to think of, when instructing and training with them. I was personally kind of shocked about some (others were superb) the images JD is delivering. I'm much more content with my second shooters, seeing what others deliver after 7 years of experience ;-) But this doesn't make the course any worse. I love it because it's really honest and they share a ton of experience.

Student Work

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