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Top Ten Tips

I'm excited about this because actually something someone on some of these I'm going actually going death a little bit later like the first one the first time we get into is dressing appropriately I'm gonna do actually a pretty big section on this uh not big but just like uh an in depth section but the thing is you want to make sure that you always ask the first shooter what the former what the attire will be on the day of they'll they'll give you some hints if it's a ballroom wedding that's probably a lot more formal especially it's like a five five star resort or things like that if it's a beach wedding you'll know it's a little bit more casual the thing is you want to make sure that you blend in with guests the last thing you want to do is stick out or look underdressed over dresses isn't that bad but even overdressed can be a little obnoxious sometimes the next thing is uh a tip is a same day slide show if the main photographer is doing this I won't get into this too much because I...

'm not everybody does same based like shows but if they do if you remain photographer for shooter is doing the same things like make sure that you've find a spot for them get a chair plug in their computers and make sure that it's really close to the reception sight so that if you hear like the tinkling of the glass or a speech going on, you can just open the door and be right in it, so you don't want to go too far away if you're creating that they just to go clarification while jd is setting up a cheer right outside and finding an outlet for me if I need it, I'm inside pacing, even if guests are eating, I still want to be in the line of sight of my clients because that's what they're paying us and vice versa when she goes to do the slide show, I'm now on the dance floor strolling around, and I'm also looking at where I'm going to place that slide show after when she's done so you know, just did you have a question? Well, I just wanted to say that that was a question that had come in from little fish photography was about how the second shooter assists with the same day a slide show, so definitely something people don't know. Yeah, again, this is another thing that's, not it's more of the assistant role it's not I'm not. I'm not shooting at this time, but what I am doing is I'm cutting a lot of time for the first shooter they don't want to deal with where am I going to create that slight shop right so during people usually ask when this is happening when the guests are actually seated and eating we refrain from shooting and we tell our client this in advance because we actually discovered at our second wedding people got upset us for taking voters of them while they were stuffing their face oh yeah I get it I just wanted to stay busy but during this time we have our cameras and you just want to be seen occasionally the clinking of glasses that kiss or maybe range only the mom and the dad get up to dance on the do a little spin on the dance floor somebody's just there to capture it well, I'm outside now while guests are eating I will quickly go through my images I shoot brought and j peg and I'll just grab a few j pegs usually a wedding day slide show same day wedding day slideshow is about forty images quickly edited and then you just put it up on a laptop j d will set up a high bar stool not a low one because we want most people are gonna be standing as they view it so a cocktail table somewhere there's a lot of traffic, my bar or if there's a photo booth we love photo booth because people are waiting in line so they just have to stand there look at our slide show, which is great that's great. No, no on that was a great thing, actually, she she brought up a good point. Uh, if for photographers that are kind of just starting out, it was you know, we didn't learn this until a little bit later, but not shooting guests while they're eating is actually a a big plus because a lot of times the photographer you think you have to keep on shooting because you're on the clock. But, you know, just being there in the line of sight of your of your bride and groom is enough cool. The next one is as a second shooter, you should gather the family during family portrait again. I spoke about this yesterday saves a lot of time making sure that your corralling all the guests so that and you have that shot list, so the first thing is get that shot list, make sure that there's a show now that's, not the responsibility of the second shooter. This is where I'm going to speak up I in my contract, it outlines that if a client has a family photo shot list, I am to receive it a week before the wedding, so if I do not get a shot list, I will default to the types of shots what we get, but we're no longer legally responsible for like you didn't get that one picture of great grandma ethel, and I'm like I didn't know who great grandma ethel wass so I asked for that list in advance I printed out and give it to j d I will quickly review it and I said, okay, we'll start with this group, then jd knows and he's keeping track of where I am and getting people on death row usually find, like a bridesmaid someone that knows the family really well, our groomsmen that I've already kind of had a report with and I'll say, hey, could you help me find, you know, so and so and they'll know they'll know exactly who that is, and then we'll start gathering them together and then after jenny doesn't he's like, hey, man, thanks for helping, you know, do you have a girlfriend like we'll get your facebook photo? You know, it's like stuff like that, it just makes people feel like, hey, they were part of it was super casual and yet professional, the next thing is take care of vendors. No, this one is goingto probably have a lot of people, you're not there on our wedding day, you're not there to cultivate relationships with vendors, and I totally get I'm not saying that what I like to do is I like to just go and say hello while jasmine's maybe taking some shots of sum of environmental elements or something I'll just go and say hi introduce myself and say who I'm working with s o that if they need anything I'll say you know you can talk to our first but the first shooter jasmine she'll be she'll she'll want to know when anything is happening so you need to make a zj your friend d j and at the same time it's cool because if if there's meal service if someone tells us first I'll go straight to the djs and I'll tell all the guys in the band members I'll just tell everybody hey meal service is being served if you guys want to eat, so we'll all go and eat together just kind of hang out makes it feel like we're all on the same team and most likely we're going to work with all these people again we worked with a lot of the same vendors which is really neat so start cultivating you know, chemical relationships are is great next thing is offered to carry bags gosh, I have a feeling people are going to like this is so like, you know, not a second ship it's you know, as a second shooter you have to be ready to be an assistant if that's what the first shooter once or just even if they don't want just nice, though. Yeah, it's a nice thing to do as second shooters, we want to keep on working. I think we want to keep on shooting. I want to keep on working with jasmine. I feel like if I didn't do a lot of things for her, she could probably think maybe I could get another second shooter. I don't know, you know, maybe maybe not that, but like a lot of other second first shooters might think that so always going out of your way next one. Like I said yesterday, get water all the time, making sure the first photographers hydrated and I'm going through these pretty fast that's another one is smile. I smile a lot, but to smile for ah hole like eight hours is eyes much so jasmine's always coming by giving me a big cheesy smile, which is my sign for I'll make sure this month, I mean, there's, nothing, I'm not going to be like you should be smiling, right? You know I'll do the same thing to her, too, if I see jasmine not smiling during, especially during the reception. Everyone's having a good time, but we're like we've been on our feet for a while so it's kind of a little for us or just before the ceremony right because we are yesterday if you were following that you're falling accuse you're taking your marks you're getting your exposure and then your wedding ready and waiting for the bride to come down but before you do that you make in contact with the first photographer and you let them know we're good and then you just wait now sometimes I see j d just waiting like this e o it's really bright outside you know just kind of taught you to have this look in your face and we had a serious conversation because I said these brides are hiring not just us but her entire creative team to look up to this vision in her head she might have spoken to her friends and family about how excited she is to have us there so if we're standing and the brian knows us but the first time her friends are seeing us or at the ceremony so for like we're already five hours into shooting it's hot and we're like no where we have to be we have to live up to her vision according to her friends so smiling is huge just are looking at I mean you know when worse the only one standing up you are getting a lot of guests are looking at you so just I have a smile on your face the next one is I find new angles as a first second shooter I have talked about this yesterday but this is what's gonna make you diversify a portfolio more portfolio more than anything else um as a second shooter when jasmine or when the first shooter finds one one shot or poses the bride and groom you have the luxury as a second shooter teo get more than one angle you can go to two to three angles and a snap off a couple shots even if you just get one or two photos of those angles it's still a uh huge diversity in the portfolio the next thing is never excising this yesterday but never pass out your own business cards I'm not going to get into it just as a rule of thumb leave your business cards at home uh don't bring them and then always ask if you can pass the first shooters did we tell you that this happened to us? Oh yeah I'm not sure if I said it is part of why I think we feel so like vigilant about this idea is because he saw somebody that wei had brought along just because we're all kind of starting at the same time and I wanted you know a little bit more of like a safety net and to see this person hand out their business card idiot told me he's just like and why were so certain it wasn't ours because we didn't have it at the time I have business cards and I saw the business card being past and you know, I remember I was a little upset but I remember thinking to myself it's kind of our fault because we didn't say anything and from that point on I will if I'm ever talking to photographers, I will always say, you know, from now on I'm going to tell photographers that that's just not cool like you don't do that now, you know, so and then we got the last one the last one is leave your ego at the door this is for you know, as for a second shooter's a lot of times we do want to shoot the cool things like the bride getting ready, but if the first shooter doesn't need you there to shoot like these really cool moments and they want you to go shoot guests or cocktail hour or is dead, you have to understand that that is what your role is on that day. So making sure that you're not getting upset or being upset because you know, they're not taking my advice and I had a good creative I had a great idea for this, you know, for this segment of the shoot I had it I could have I could I would have told her what to do uh, remember it's, not about you, it's, about the first shooter. So just leave your ego at the door.