Lessons

Lesson Info

Shot List

If you are looking to strengthen your portfolio or simply you want a book more gigs I want teo walk through a list that I happened teo use when I art kind of created when I first started and sometimes people will listen teo, another photographer list a grouping of shots and they're like that's so for me leg, what about the earth? Well, if you aren't controlling what you're shooting, you might not be able to pursue your art, so the faster I get through my shots, the more time I have to pursue those artistic shots that I want teo I never want to turn over this one artistic shot when what the bride really wanted was four shots standard shots that she knows that she can use for family's posterity and jasmine is showcasing the types you know, here's the thing uh, consistency is a big thing because jasmine is consistent with what she shows her brides and her brides are hiring or because they know what what they want. All right, that doesn't mean you can't be creative because jasmine still ha...

s to be creative at every single wedding, but having that consistency throughout your weddings is of good things in this house this house with that yes, so I made a mental checklist if you guys want to ride along the notes that's fine, we also will have the list out online if you just kind of want to sit here and digest, all of you guys sitting in the audience will get this second sheer handbook, but we're gonna get to that in a minute. I liked the dance. Keep on dancing, keep on dancing. Okay, so the section that were in is preparation, so we're gonna walk through the day chronologically and I will shoot the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready. Jd will shoot the groom and his groomsmen. Um, I know that there are second, first and second shooters who go together to shoot the bride, and then they go together to shoot the groom and that's. Fine, I just feel like our time is used a little bit more effectively when we're separate. So uh, j d will get shots of the details, and one thing that I feel like is important, which is what he spoke about yesterday. He takes pictures of the shoes, the sock x, the groom's cufflinks. Most guys are drinking some sort of special alcohol scotch whiskey before it's opened, jd will take a photo, a vertical and a horizontal of that because sometimes you never know these grandfather might have given it to him in twenty years later, they're opening it on his wedding day, so that kind of stuff really does go a long way if they're special shot glasses also grooms will sometimes get their groomsmen a gift jd will get that in its actual packaging and notecards and he stylized them and if you're a guy and you don't know how that style things ask a female friend or j d's like I would look at these photos and I'm like these aren't style and he's like I don't know how to style it so I talked him through if they're square boxes this is what I want to see if it's a vertical box if there's ty boxes if their shoes this is how I want you to style them and yes, it is taking more time for me as a first order to explain these things, but I explain them once and then I can go a whole shooting season without me having to critique on why they want styled um also a bride will usually give her get her groom a gift so j d will make sure that whenever if I know this in advance, the bride made the bride's maid leaves to go give the gift to the groom. I will step into the bathroom and text jd and say gift coming so he knows or if I knew this in advance if the bright says, oh, we're gonna be sending gifts to each other, I'll tell him there's gonna be somebody dropping off the gift when I walk into the cruz room I always ask if there's any things of sentimental value or if there's a gift coming or if there's any gifts I won't say gift coming actually cause I remember I said that once I was like, if there is it it's not you know I always ask are there any gifts or anything like that and then they will kill you in on what's happening um so what you want or what I asked him to do is to get a picture of the gift wrapped to get the card a vertical and a horizontal of the groom reading the card and then the actual him opening the gift and once the gift is open at a later point in time when the groom has put it down um jd will go and get a photo of just what that gift wass also um the groomsmen just hanging out j d spoke about this yesterday if the guys were drinking, he usually will put on like a wide angle lens and just get them hanging out that's what that photo is it really isn't like the shining point of any photographic, you know career but it's really special to the groom just hanging out with his friends? Oh um also if you are very familiar with the photographer you're working with and you know that that photographer's brand is photo journalistic moody, evocative what you want to do is try to shoot in a way that I could possibly further their portfolio because yes, you might be fun arian light but you can shoot for yourself, but you have time during this during this time of day to shoot and push yourself to shoot differently so that the first shooter is getting the types of photos that he or she finds valuable again, the goal is to shoot more, right? So making sure that you're a viable candidate, we move forward to the groom getting dressed the types of shots that I am I would prefer from a second shooter is the groom putting on his tie? Um also a thing to note is especially when we first started working, the guys would come already dressed and so jody was like, I have nothing to shoot, but there are certain things that a guy can take off and emulate again like he's just putting it on and it's something that we still do to this day. So one of these things is a sports coat or his jacket, the type in if he has it a tie and cuff links, all those could be quickly removed and quickly put back on, you know, even if if you feel like they don't want to deal with taking off their tie and redoing it could sometimes it actually takes a little while I just start even readjusting things so just pulling down the tie a little bit and having him goto amir or just having his best man kind of readjusted I'll do that readjusted cufflinks if they're already on I don't want you to have to read redo everything but I'll just have them re adjust things and actually put on their blazer maybe unbutton it all times now what we've understood throughout the years and this is like a piece of advice I wish somebody had given meat if guys are already dressed in the room what their inadvertently conveying to us that those photos of them getting dressed aren't that important so we need to put our desires too be storytellers aside and be like he wants to be comfortable now if he can work with us a little bit by adjusting is tight and most guys one hundred percent of time like yeah sure no problem we get it ok but if guys come in and they're just like in boxer shorts or to tell that means I think they were waiting for us there they were waiting for me or for you think we're going to meet okay so the guy putting on his tie now the groom getting help with his tie special shots dad brother groomsmen any that happening naturally thie groom combing his hair jd will get a shot of the groom looking into a mere because most guys will not do it without looking in a mirror on dh him helping his dad either small things adjusting a booty near reviewing for certain things sometimes guys will ask their dads to review the vows and so if jake kane can't capture all of that and what I want him to do is capture the moment as it happens and then once those guys you know, move away I want j t discourage over and take photos of what they were looking at so that later on I could piece together the story as if o j d knew that they were about to read this note card and his dad read it and then they teared up, so sometimes we're playing out the story again never take these details in their natural st I used to just like that's where he dropped it so I go and shoot it there and then just like there's a phone cord like there's like a doubletree hotel card here that's putting it in, placing it in somewhere that's really nice and shooting mentioning okay moving on the groom opening his gift, we spoke about that moving on if the groom's meant the groom and the groomsmen portrait if you are asked by the first photographer if you are not asked by the first ataka for remember we're making your photo map this would be a great time for you to say would you like me to shoot the groom in the groom's men if that driver says no perfect, you're totally absolved from it if he or she says yes, then what I would love for you to do is to find out where you're gonna take him in advance there have been times where I was second shooting and you know, a first tiger first and oh, you know, I don't have time can you go shoot them? And I was paralyzed, so I was like, where am I going? Where am I going where we're going? No, we're going to take them if you're gonna take them in advance, you say ok, guys, we're gonna meet by the third portico, whatever I'll see you guys there in five minutes when you guys walk with me and the types of shots that I like, this is again a typical memorized session for me or you're going, you can keep on like, you know what you're gonna do, create a photo map and memorize a list of photos that you want and this is I know it sounds for me lake, but once you get the safe shots, then you're okay to move on from there so kenna, we had a question come in earlier about if you could define a little bit further what the photo map what is a photo? Um okay it's one week okay a photo map can be defined when two photographers arrive it and then you walk the site and plan where the locations of each of those photos will take place when we talk about the photos taking place we're talking about the first look we're talking about this ceremony we're talking about the reception we're talking about family photos we're talking about bridal party pictures we're talking about cocktail hour all of those may or may not exist at separate points so when you're talking about creating a photo map you're actually using a photo map in relation to the location in which you are shooting the wedding men with plan a and plan b that's right? Ok, that was a little lackluster amen you guys were like hey man amen question mark I need a men exclamation point okay, so typical shots that I would get ah groom full body groom half body groom looking off and laughing at the groomsman or yesterday I brought stacey over because west was ok you know, good looking charming guy but he just looked a little kind of frozen and it happens because most guys aren't ever photographed right? So I brought stacey ever and he soft and his jaws on his shoulder soft I love that kind, so it'll either be three groups in were with the bride the groom with each of his groomsmen I usually do all of these in vertical. I know it sounds a little for me late, but when it comes to designing an album, you can make them squares, you can crop it the need you have more latitude when I'm shooting really wide, I'm getting a lot of stuff in the background that I just find is distracting, so to me, I have found that vertical after years works just best for me. Now again, if you have time and you could shoot horizontal and vertical, do it, but again, just get the safe shots. Um, what I want is the groom with matching details, so if they all have matching cufflinks, if they all have matching flasks like it was a gift from the groom, I want all of them holding that the guys are matching all converse ten issues I want to position them and just get the converse ten issues um groom with groomsmen traditional like we did yesterday groom with groomsmen pose according to the photographer's brand, right? So if we're doing so, if you're shooting for a photographer is moody and evocative, I don't want you in the bright sunlight I want you taking them to like it, like placing them at an edge against a brick wall, darker lighting and nobody's really smiling too big right, like so we have to think about who you're who you're shooting with and then maybe shoot something for yourself if you have time. Lastly, you want the groom with the groomsmen cat gathered around him casual if they're all just sitting smoking cigars, drinking scotch that's great you don't have to pose them but if it all kind of guys that are just waiting for directions to be told, give them something to do and yesterday gave the bright need cheesy stuff to do and they did it like most of those cheesy stuff didn't make the edit, but the candids and between did so I'm going to show so these examples within each section are all photos that jd had taken just are showing what we're talking about so this is a gift from the bride with the cufflinks, so jd it's said that he doesn't use the macro lens too often but in this case this is where I reviews it so she engraved their name and their wedding day and he rested here stylized it on the card so before the groom put it on. This is also when this is the stuff I'm talking to the guys during this time but jd is shooting details like their bow ties and gina this time no, none of this is being posed jazz was actually giving direction as to what's happening I'm posing so the guys are pose on this side and I'm posing the guys on the other side like can you come here? Can you get a second shoot? You don't want to wait until she's done talking and then when she's ready to take her shot then you walk in and get these shots because you're gonna be in her shot. So what you're doing is you're letting her talk while she's talking that's when you they're already lined up and that's when you're getting your shots as a second shooter so that when she's ready you'll pull back and now she can one thing as I was going to this edit, I liked it just nihilistic lee I like this photo, but he had said that the groom spent time trying to find the perfect bow tie to match with the hombre shirt and he picked us style so he hey emphasized the style with his groomsmen and so I knew that that was kind of like they all had cool shoes and cool socks and I was just like, wow. So in one hearing this from hearing this for my second shooter and saying that he took he took the extra step to make sure and spend more time capturing those fashion details made me feel so thankful because I would not have known that and so I erred on the side of adding a little bit more guide detailing because I knew that you would yeah he wanted that he and his album he probably has a few of these he's probably gonna have a get a couple of these photos do you think that have you seen that the bridal party reacts better when you're giving mohr maur advice than less so then they understand what jd is doing so it helps capture the photos that you want wear sari like in that situation giving those guys more advice like saying hey I'm gonna be the first shooter jd is going to be the ones surrounding so it gets you to take the it's easier to take you know that's a great question I know you get advice than let you know jasmine doesn't ever let them know like hey you know I'm going to be the main photographer what happens if it happens actually just naturally jasmine goes up to the guys and she introduces herself and she's talking and they've already noticed that I'm not doing any talking during this time so they kind of are they're not even paying attention to me they're not paying attention me at all jasmine wait let let's back it up a tiny bit during groom prep he introduces himself to the groom so this groom is named taylor he introduced himself to taylor all the guys were hanging out and he said no worries I'm just gonna hang out with you guys and I don't expect anything just gonna shoot we already said when I first walked into a room I always say I'm the second shooter and I always tell them that I'm here to get candid so I want you to pretend I'm not even here I'm actually going to stand back for a little while and test my light I just say that just to say it but I'm really ready to go um and you know, I'm not going to get any formal photos until later when jasmine does the family formals she's actually going to get you guys during the bridal portrait she's going to do all the formal photos where she's gonna bring you in and have different groupings also I think whoever specifically when it comes to husband and wife teams, whoever is taking a lead that person needs act like the lead and so when I go in and I see all the guys I'm coming from the girl's room the guys don't know who I am I walked up to them and the groom knows who I am so I make you go give him a hog say like congrats you look so wonderful just wait teams to your bride and like I and then I turned to everybody like hi guys, how are you? My name is jasmine I will be the lead for tara for today work with me as fast as possible I'm going to make this quick and painless I want you guys to get drinking so work with me okay then all of a sudden I say taylor can I have the best man can have a second processional tonight the third in professional fourth awesome great now I step back jd creeps and takes this photo can I have the fifth person canvas takes forgive the seven years of great guys can you turn in this we can turn and I'm talking like you saw me yesterday jd shooting everybody look here at this camera he peels away I'm done with that shot and if I didn't get him I'll say jasmine I didn't get not done yet so when she finishes shooting I'll creep back in but that usually doesn't happen right he's like fly moat I don't talk like ninja I don't talk I just shoot that okay great um so this was that same manhattan beach wedding where the guys showed up at the wedding already dressed already he actually hand tied his bow tie and was just like it took me forever so jd said great no problem they were out we were outside of the church this is against a brick wall and spoilage and cufflink I was like he had a nice cufflinks on so I said, you know what? I'm just gonna get a photo of the couplings he said sure he actually I didn't tell him how to pose it that's how he found naturally so and I like the crop that jd had made of it so it's right? Um okay, so when it comes to the ceremony always ask the first photographer where you where he or she would like you to stand some first photographers, like take the back some like fronts in like the middle asked them for what they would like. Secondly, develop a game plan in advance. This is similar to that photo map, right? Like where are you going to be? Where am I going to be for the first kiss? Yes, yes, I just don't know how you're gonna get that. No, this is this is what happens very much so it's like working a stand where is the last where you would like me? Just be considerate thirdly talked to the church lady about the photography rules. If you're so my second shooter and you want to go and do that for me, I will just thank you so much because I don't want to be responsible and I don't want her for you know god forgive me and I want her wasting my time. You know, like, let me do what I need to do and he and people always is assume that the male photographer is the lead, so jd will take that and I'm like great yeah and the good thing about that is they'll always give me the rules hoping that are they actually instruct me to give the other photographer the rules so I can you know if jasmine doesn't play by the rules and she goes and does something and someone caesar I can always just say you know I forgot tell her that one rules okay I mean we just pretty awful because I mean we're talking about lying in church okay so we're gonna move into the details so at a wedding ceremony you saw a stew a little bit of this yesterday I want to make sure that we're kita perfectly okay so the details if you're taking notes were talking about wedding programs we're talking about floor arches were talking about religious details so communion if they're gonna do wine or bread unity candle if they're gonna do a sand ceremony individual pieces in the sand overall piece the sand if they're going to be drinking wine together if they have a signed tuba or a prayer shawl all of these things should be taking and stylized before the wedding takes place name cards on razor on reserve seating is always a good thing because somebody took the time to actually do that and stylized them guests actually signing the guest book candids of that as well as the usher and guestbook attendees not posed photos because we feel like those don't really go anywhere but then actually assisting people doing what they were asked to do actually moves a little bit more and guest being seated waiting for the ceremony to start um then we would want to the processional processional would be taking a few test shots of guests walking down the aisle so that you know your exposure, you know your mark and occasionally if we have been both given explicit directions that we cannot be up or shooting with flash or during the hot homily, you can't okay most catholic churches you can't shoot during during these portions, so if it's a really straight church, we have to be stuff away in the back. I might just taken I'll row in the middle of the ceremony, and I know that my angle probably won't be the best, but it will be better than to photographer stuck in the back, so taking that was things into consideration. Um, we get vertical shots of the bridal party and the parents walking down the aisle, I get the groom reaction of him seeing the bride from a side angle, just like you're going to actually see the very typical shots that we get today, I get the girl's profile. Now, the minute the bride turns down the aisle with her father jd kind of steps in and he gets the shot of the direct face of the bride look, seeing the bright the groom sees the bride for the first time when it comes to the bride and her father I'm getting vertical and horizontal shots of that because there's different reasons as to why it vertical works better editorially infer pinterest horizontal works in storyboarding for albums lastly, the bride in her dad um jd will get this shot from behind as he gives her away because for some reason dad's head's usually go to this side of the bride and I lose it. But if jd shooting from behind he's getting the dads like really somber emotional reaction if it's a tight embrace and I lose that so j d's angle's very important to me during the service I want an overview shot of this ceremony yesterday we didn't get a chance to take this because it was just chairs in the wooden door but the bride looking at the groom and the overview is actually as well a blank canvas as well as all the guests sitting in there so I want that taken I want the bride looking the groom, the groom looking at the bride and he sort of laughter reaction parent reaction shots of appearance looking at the couple I just assigned those photos to jd because I'm gonna be like I'm gonna be probably standing closer than I want you to stand so the bride's parents are on the groom's parents are really special photos for them to get the groom's men standing in a line the bridesmaid standing in line tight vertical of the couple a titan horizontal of the couple the exchange of rings opposite of the first photographers standing so if I'm standing middle of the aisle I want j d standing from behind it for shooting outdoors or to the side shooting with the seventy two hundred the first kiss opposite of what the first photographer shot and yesterday's first kiss I had the strongest angle the bride and groom coming together and kissing the only problem with my angle was that there was a major hot spot line against that door that I couldn't change but jd single from the side cut out the hops hot spot and I felt like his angle was just stronger so at the end of the day that one that's the one that's going to make the slideshow edit boo bride will get both angles but for me curating the story I'm going to go with a stronger image and he ended up getting the stronger image okay so a couple of samples uh one point yes, we know that he has one photo in this okay so ceremony sign edge stuff like this is on the periphery I give jd the periphery stuff because I work I just it's my I just worked faster so I have him on the outside and then he works his way on the inside I also depend on him for overview shots as well. So this is our wedding that we have chocolate going to beach and in the state he just snapped the photo before I was able to get down there. These are the religious ceremony details like the youtube a the prayer oh, the prayer shawl, the glass that they step on and their first glass of wine together. Now we're going to move on to family portrait I know that we're kind of cruising do this, but I want to make sure that we're just kind of keeping it up ok? So the important part during family portrait, at least from my perspective as a first shooter and you know that there are a lot of people who feel the same way it's an important idea to state on your toes as a second shooter it's easy to kind of fall back into lax mode, but what I want you to do is actually get hungry and I sound like that annoying coach like come on like get excited and it's hard to get excited about these things I want on my secretary to help organize the family groupings, and more importantly, I want my second unit to capture those candid moments well, the first photographer is busy shooting so well, I'm shooting these large groupings if I have that pretty much under control ideas that jd could possibly shoot our flower girls playing with the flowers, sleeping babies in the arms of loved ones, grandma's sitting and waiting, family taking shots or toasting right cause that's usually when families are just waiting there's like a bring some cocktails down here and they're just waiting. I'm missing all of those moments, but I want my second chair to be getting that family picked family's taking pictures of families love those brides love them you know, whether or not we're gonna end up in the photo album, but this is this is the stuff that gets shared on facebook family laughing and having a good time usually all the kids, the shot that I think j d u is usually waiting for us. I usually ask the bride and her siblings to kind of get to give them to kind of get in close and mom and dad are just looking at them from a distance there's a moment in a parent's eyes where they realized like life has changed and to capture that, I think that j d's always ready for that and those air so valuable to me. So in light of that I don't want second photographers to underestimate the value of the side angle I'm going to show how this part lays, you'll see it today in today's edit, but I'm going to show it right now in a photo didn't I was gonna say the side angles for immediate family is always it's key the side angle for, like the the thirty, forty people group groupings, I don't usually get that that's one shooting candids, so I'm getting side angles from for the immediate family, mostly and sibling. So here's an example of what of how this parlayed at a recent wedding. So we shot this wedding at lost on cia in loya, california, I was shooting with the fifty millimeter. This is a very typical daughter and parents photo. Now this showcase is where I was standing and where jd was standing. Now our assistant kindred, you know, to grab the camera out of our bag because I told him like, hey, we're going to create life, can you step a photo on? So she did this, so it was great because it shows her jd is standing. It also shows that he's shooting with the eighty five and this is the picture that transpired so you know, the traditional photo is going to be included in the edit, but what she posted on facebook was that one? And I'm very happy with it and these are the types of photos that jd will capture and always it's clutch so as the first shooter I understand the value of importance of and I have a similar photo of them laughing but the angle is different and the eighty five again he talked about that photo journalistic appeal that gets in there that's what I'm lacking when I'm standing at a distance with the fifty justin's getting the safe shot you know, first shooters are always getting that safe, shawn second shooter's this is I think we're trending pretty well on time we're gonna get into this next these next two sections we go really fast so the bridal party we spoke about this yesterday focus on things that the first photographer isn't so well I'm shooting the bride and her bridesmaids that one and one while the other girls are just standing and waiting jd is getting candid he's getting details like their shoes or sometimes girls have unique dresses and he gets the back of that dress. These are all things that I've instructed him throughout the years that I want because editorially it works but also for wedding albums it looks really cool two pair an artistic photo with like a candid fund you know typical wedding second you have to start getting good at shooting a lot of flowers a floral iranian e remember at first you know it's pretty easy to blow out those flower details so making sure that you're kind of always I like toe underexposed just a little bit just to make sure that the actual flowers are are actually there. I hate when that's kind of like just blank space. So what happens to so when we were talking about previous example of jd okay capture quite moments. So this shot of when jd had taken that picture of the groom's crimson's bow ties I do the same thing with the large bartel party, right? So I set up the bride and groom. Then they bring all the guys on one side and all the girls in the other. This is like a safe traditional photo that I will always get now then I get to want to get the same shot that I get to play now, as I'm adjusting everybody, I'm talking to the tenth groomsmen on this side, that tenth bridesmaid on this side, the bride and groom are just standing there waiting what I want. J t todo is while they're talking to each other, they're probably can you believe this issue there laughing. She looks down just like oh, you need to fix your tie. All of those moments where they don't know they're being photographed is what I want janey to do those were so hard to recreate you can't you can't jasmine can't ask them to do stuff like that, so those photos are really need um details so details like the groomsmen mutineers ties, bridesmaids bouquet flower girl holding basket groomsmen I mean, the ring bearer holding that stuff all of that stuff I want my second should be capturing I will too, but his angle might be coming at a stronger perspective. Lastly, candid moments are priceless. There was I'll never forget a single moment where the groom had surprised the bride with a different wedding ring but she was in the moment of her wedding that she had no idea and so I had positioned the bridal party and I had that front safe shot and jd was off to the side shooting at the time with the seventy, two hundred cause he was at a distance and somebody turned her and said, meg, did you see your new ring? And she goes new ring and she looks and she's like so j d just shot everything she was like she turned just like oh my god and so he has the whole story so those types of things that I was stepping it up like hold your ring too I was like, wow the front angle because I was shooting wide and it was the whole barter party I lost that I mean I haven't it was included but it wasn't as poignant with someone he is shooting tight so again those are the types of photos that second shooters I would bring back a second shooter time and time again here's well again I was setting up the bridal party I place the flower group of the front jd hopton shot this photo of the flower girl now this photo I really appreciate it I was working with the girls were in new york city there underneath this like kind of like um bridge and so I'm working with them I said great ladies thank you so much and I said and all the guys were disdaining towards the back just waiting I said guys, I'm ready when you guys can you guys come this way and jd was already primed and he was shooting and close them they were actually they were so they were all standing just waiting and right when jasmine said come I knew she was gonna have them come next so when she said start walking out I was just ready for them to all start walking when they started walking I just I shot that photo um this next shot was at a recent wedding where the bride surprised everybody with mariachis and so she surprised her bride's herb bridal party with moustache is and quintessential mexican stuff and I don't think tambourines or mexican, but I could be wrong okay, this again I was shooting the streets safe shot jamie got down on his knee shot with eighty five and focused exactly kid, I know this is weird going into the wind to that, but I don't know what it was this kid like every time I would look at him or he knew I was taking a photo, you give me this very confident look and I remember I was just like, why am I so like you? I'm being like I'm drawn to this kid and I realized that I actually have there's some photos of jasmine, which is a little kid like baby, and she looks like this kid when she was a baby on always remember, does it? You look like this kid, I was like, thank you, boy, no maybes look e anyway, and just so either way, what the gold, what we're trying to convey with I was taking that safe shot with all of them. Jd is probably saying next me that an entirely different angle and cropped it and telling a different story now we're gonna move into the bride and groom section this is the easiest section of them all because the thing I wanted to do is follow the first shooters lead one hundred percent of the time they set the rules you simply follow. Listen to what is being said between the lines. Sometimes you work with first photographers who don't have strong personalities if they do not have strong personalities. What I'm asking you to do is tow. Listen, what they might be saying it's so hot it's very bright. I wish I had shade. What they might be asking you is to hold the diffuser and they feel uncomfortable coming out and saying so. We know that none of us want to hold the diffuser, but if you're thinking like a first photographer asked, would you like me to hold it diffuser? Then you're prompting her to give you up come from ah confirmation or a declination. Stay clear of her angle or his angle, and shoot an entirely different angle. Use a different lens, always that's a general rule of thumb. That's generally what I would ask my second shooter and sometimes the hardest day to shoot is with a different angle you feel stuck the light all around you steaks in that situation. I don't need a second shooter to give up on me, I need a second shooter to fight for what it is that they see. I need you to be like, standing in the same position you said. I tried everything with this lens who upon it swap on a different lens and get entirely different photo if you're stuck, what about their hands? His hand with a new wedding ring around her waist with a seventy two, two hundred? You got a shot that I didn't get think differently. Great. We're in a cruise on through cocktail hour. We did this yesterday. What I want you to do is capture the environment, if possible, if you can, if you can hold it, if you can get an upper angle of that photo what's going on, why is everyone laughing here? Oh, yeah, they had. They had custom drinks, and so she had pimms, and he had a different drink, and she was upset because he had been drinking her drink. So again, no. Again, this isn't entirely at an entirely different angle. And, um, okay, so after the environment, if you can get high up, brides appreciate that because it tells a very different story. Candid photos of guests were going showing some candid photos today, former shoot yesterday that were genuinely candid and also the details so drinks in hands, guest talking to each other. Now, this is the perfect time if the parents like especially if the parents are footing the bill. I want to make sure that I'm getting shots of them looking good with the cocktail in hand, sunset light around them those are very valuable that that that brides and groom is really like occasionally jd will go through if they're affluent families have a lot of people there, jenny will say, oh, you know, mr sorenson, can I have you stand with your group of friends? Yes, my doctors yes come in, come in and it makes him feel a sense of pride, whether or not it's the best photo doesn't matter in that moment is a special special for those parents actually getting they don't put it in the album, but they actually just purchased them to have around the house in their offices. So so in a pinch, if you are so strung out and you're trying to get details and you're trying to get guests, what we do is what we call a pinch off our guests so as they walk into the room or turning a corner were like like, just get people walking in I mean, again, this is not what I suggest that in the beginning when you're trying to find time and you're trying to build a portfolio and make you take care of your clients, you gotta take what you have and make it work so here a couple shots that jd has taken at cocktail hour. This is an overview shot of a custom bar that they had made. These are those blasted guest cards. You know, they're going to get you every time on overview shot of guests at sunset again, you're telling a story and guest during a bright day in laguna beach and some custom drinks of the guest in action so we will get them stylized. Nice clean editorial shots. But this shot convey something else. This is the actual guest using them in motion. We're gonna move on to the reception. Always ask the first shooter what he or she wants you to do. I want you to focus on setting up the main photographer for the best shots. And I know it's counterintuitive to what we want to do. We want the best shot. Turn it over. Help! Clear out! Help! Clear out the vendors for the overview photo. So what you want as a photographer is five minutes before the doors open for the reception. You want to clear up all of the servers? The deejay, the coordinator have everybody stepped on the inside on the periphery of the room, and I want j t to do that for me. Because I'm going to get a chair and I'm gonna get in the corner and make sure that off camera light is set up so that I could take out an entire overview room of the tables, flowers, dance, floor, everything set up in clean. These rooms are huge sometimes, so if there is someone putting starting just coming in, and every once in a while she has is ready to shoot and almost and one guy comes in because you need to light a candle or refill the water, you have to run, you can't, you know, it's, like they won't even hear you if you yell, so you had to run to the other side, get everybody and hold everybody off, so it doesn't take these shots just a couple minutes if you're first shooter wants you to shoot the details centre, safe shots, centerpieces, napkins, cake, place card, seatings that would kind of just get you clutch and make sure that you've taken care of your first photographer. Always ask the first photographer where they want you to stand for the grand entrance. There is nothing worse as a first photographer to have your second photographer take a position and make the first move, ask and get that clear up in the beginning, it's, so easy to just not even a let it set in so you can be there the entire time and not even know, but she doesn't like the first. You won't have time to go on, move you so again, I do attacked yeah, eye contact during that because you can ruin all those photos for the first dance, I encourage second shooters to shoot it the way that they want as long as they're not in my way use a different lens scuse me second shooter's use a different lens don't stand opposite of where I am standing and be aware of your surroundings if you're their second photographer and you're shooting in, you're right in front of the mother as the bride and her dad are having a dance. I know I look across the dance floor and be like you, so just be aware of your surroundings as faras speeches are concerned shoot opposite of what the first shooter is shooting yesterday you saw when I was shooting the toaster he was getting react actions when I was shooting reactions and kisses he was getting details so just think about those things as you go along. Thank you saw this yesterday. Actually, creative life posted a snippet like a one minute video of us shooting and I actually at four o'clock in the morning like watched it and I was like way usually don't watch ourselves and I was like you didn't really look like that I mean didn't you ever to hold course until you get it yes okay uh I was like oh but I mean yesterday I saw it in motion I mean it was really who's shooting what in what lens are you using lastly bouquet and gardere know where each other are going to be standing general with um I get the bride tossing he gets the bridesmaids and all the single ladies catch up just to clarify maybe one or two of these questions really quickly from bells and babies do you give your second shooter and actually list to check off if they go or is it all by memory now it's all now jd is committed to memory we're going to be talking about the second shooter handbook later on in the course but this would be a good opportunity if you have a second shooter you can keep if you download the pdf you can have it on your phone and just kind of go with you on the wedding day am I getting all these shots at this port part of the day so that second shooter handbook is for ninety nine we're going to get into that later on today very cool alright, we do one more question senator uh question from use ten if you're working with a second you've never worked with before what kind of prep time do you have to give them do you schedule a meeting in the days before the wedding to go over expert expectations and duties etcetera that's a great question now again the first shooter gets to dictate the terms if I'm shooting with a new second shooter I probably wouldn't set up a meeting but it's only because I prefer teo live in yoga pants and if I have to have a meeting I mean I have to get dressed so I do everything via email and doing everything the email also helps by having documentation so a ce faras you know I probably outline my list of expectations would probably send in agreement if you have questions they could follow up like that okay one more because this is really good and people were asking it yesterday. Okay so this is from lola as well as manda murphy and scott hamel how should a second shooter request ah handle request from family members for specific shots should they accommodate the request or take them to the primary photographer to check in and see what they want and then just kind of two other ad on things is what about when some of the family members are saying can I see the back your camera after you nail the shot and or if the secdef people at the wedding are asking questions of the second shooter that are really for the first shooter. Like, how late will you be here? When and how can I see the photos that are being taken that okay, that's a big uh, that's the last one, I actually as a second shooter, I know how jasmine's gonna display all the images for guests if guests want to see, so I'll always let everyone know how we do things. There's gonna be an online gallery that you, khun grab download photos from so I'll say, I'll say stuff like that to guest, uh, if a s only also he's also been instructed to say, because I don't want to give out the gallery information if the bride and groom does not want her gallery public, so I encourage them. Tio follow up with the bride and she will send you the gallery, so I would tell my second shooter to do that as well. Now, if their arms, if I'm shooting with the second shooter and somebody asked that second shooter for a family photo, by all means, take it, own it. Let me know if it was special at a later point, time you like, you know what, there's a random photo of four guys, but they all went, you know, college together. Great. Thanks for letting me know I don't need somebody to ask for permission. If you're going to take a group of people off, then I ask that you let me know where you're going and why you're doing it. And as faras guest asking questions of the second shooter, basic questions should be covered in advance. Where are the picture is going to be taken? Timeline. How long are you going to be here? You was a second shooter. Should know how long you're going to be there with the first photographer. So knowing those things in advance so preparation and again that word community cave in. So I know this is hard, but when people come up and they want a chip on the back, your camera, you know, you say, how do you differ that okay, light we can stay, and then I'll say, I don't I'm not sure we save anything. Oh, I would just I I wouldn't do it because I know jasmine doesn't ever do it. And I think she'd be upset if she saw me showing people the back my camera so I wouldn't wanna be upset, just not upset, just like you, especially like, let me see, ok, ok, so I take your picture. Let me see, let me see, let me see, oh, no, you can see I have to put some magic in it later. I'm like, I promise you guys, my cameras so good, it takes away ten pounds, ten years, so you guys can check it out online later, okay, thank you. I'm not even my very hard, hard it's, very hard, and during engagement sessions. What I think it could be detrimental when you show a client just like that's, my chin. Oh, my god, and the rest of the session, she's like this, so, no, I just like, hey, give me a couple. So I just want us to focus on these photos right now.