Assistant or 2nd shooter

[barry]

I have been asked to do a wedding (80 people) in a couple of weeks and since I have not done a wedding before I am trying to decide if I should have an assistant, a 2nd shooter or either.

An assistant would be able to help by holding and moving equipment freeing me up to concentrate on taking photos while a 2nd shooter would be able to take shots and see things from a different point of view.

Has anyone any thoughts on the pro and cons of these roles.

Does a wedding for 80 people warrrant a 2nd shooter. The day involves pre wedding both bride and groom, guest arrival, wedding service, post wedding shots and reception.

An I biting off too much as a first timer.

Any comments would be welcome.

Barry

[Matt. K]

Second shooter is must better. You don't need an assistant...you have to learn to work solo, light and nimble.

[Antsl]

So here's a possible scenario... you get an assistant for the day and at the end of it you discover your photos are not as good as you had hoped they would be!!?? If this were to happen you are not going to look good in front of the cleint, particuarly if your assistant was only there to carry your bag and make you look good all day.

Better advice would be to have another forum member there giving you a hand as a second shooter, whether or not they have actually had experience at weddings. The main thing to do is to make sure you are working from different angles all the time; one reason is that you are better not appearing on mass (least you look like a camera club outing) but just as importantly, if you are working opposing angles there is more of a chance you can get the shoots the other photographer misses. Just remember not to get in the back of the wide shots (this is when it is worthwhile noting what the other photographer is going to be doing!)

Personally I prefer to work solo on a wedding simply so that you are not impacting so much on the event however to be fair, this only works when you have had the experience to know what happens at a wedding!

All the best with the event, Ants

[phillipb]

I agree whith what's been said so far.
I would also add that the number of people at the wedding shouldn't make much difference to your decision, unless you have 500 guests and you are expected to take photos at every table. So if you're confident go ahead solo, if not take a backup shooter.