Wedding Photography As A Second Photographer - Behind The Scenes

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Who wants to see how I edited these photos? Should I make that video happen? Let me know below!

[@randolphcabuenas792]

Josiah Blizzard yes pleaseeeee!!!!!

[@blueorchid3240]

YESSSSSS

[@kennypringle4580]

Sure, show your edits.👍

[@shashwatdas6900]

Yes yes yes.. Loved the white wash

[@kcidd12]

I'm taking note thanks! There were two shoots that I did out of 14 that I 2nd shot for that told me I needed to be more "engaging". Not really sure what they meant by that. I did everything that they told me to do and I didn't direct the couple unless asked. What are you guys experience with this kind of situation? I mean I'm not a lead shooter I'm just there for assistance. If the lead shooter is directing why would I randomly step in and start directing without being asked? To pretend like I'm taking charge? It just makes no sense.

[@michellemessina8923]

The biggest take away for me is not to get too close to the main photographer, if they are tripping over you than you are too close, and to use different lenses than the main photographer, one that would compliment and add variety to the angles and images. Thank you for posting this!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

So glad it was helpful! Those are definitely great takeaways!

[@JaredRibic]

Great video. I've been second-shooting for several years and I love it. I don't shoot for my portfolio, I'm shooting for the couple and for the primary photographer, and I do at least 15 weddings each year. I've heard horror stories of some second-shooters handing out their own business cards during a wedding, or shooting right over the primary photographer's shoulder because they wanted the same images for their own portfolio. Some people just don't know their place!

[@Lucas-dv9lb]

What a phenomenal video. Feeling nervous but excited for my first ever wedding shoot as a second photographer. Some great ideas here thanks!

[@whiterock1865]

Yeah didn't realize it at first but my family owned a beach house in Stone Harbor, which is just south of Avalon! Went there every summer, they sold the house like 7 years ago. Such nice beaches and fun with the fiddler crabs chasing em around at night.

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Very cool! I grew up going to Stone Harbor as a kid. Great beach town!

[@felicityannchen]

Second shooting for the first time this May- this is sooo helpful to watch through! Thanks for sharing!!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Awesome! You're gonna crush it! So glad this was helpful!

[@BudBetz]

As a “gonna-be” second photographer, my take aways are to catch the details and be the background assistant. I like your presentation of the 2nd. You’ve actually visualized/shown what the others only talk about. That shows your passion for not only your work, but your willingness to go the extra steps to coach those of us getting started. Thanks Josiah! You’ve got a new subscriber! -Bud

[@jasminerosa2814]

My 1st time shooting a wedding and as a 2nd photographer today. My biggest takeaway was treating the 1st shooters clients like they are my clients. Great stuff in this video

[@tiffanygafford3067]

My biggest take away was to be there to support the main I feel like this is something even I needed to hear!!!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

100% spot on!

[@reginaldmackey6616]

I have a full time job and a family so photography is my go to hobby. I don’t need the money nor want the pressure of a wedding but always wanted an inside look at what it would be like assisting on a wedding and I would say you nailed what I imagined it would be like. Thank you so much for sharing and you did an amazing job 💪🏽👊🏽

[@MarkPereyra]

Your content has been Godsend brotha! I always review it before I shoot a wedding, and this helps when choosing a second shooter (or being a second shooter myself!) appreciate the work.

[@jamespatton9676]

Hi Josiah from the UK. I'm just starting out my wedding photography journey and your videos are really helping, in particular this! Some fantastic information so thank you so much - I can't express how much I appreciate this.

[@supfly51]

Great Video thanks for laying it out, doing my first second shoot in two days time so really helpful on the etiquette between main and 2nd

[@patriciocheltree752]

Great video, thank you for all of the helpful info!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

My pleasure!

[@redactedplays5820]

Considering starting wedding shooting and this was super informative. Thanks mate.

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tiffanysanchz2189]

My biggest take away was everything. I am new at photography and supper new at wedding and want to learn more about how to be a second shooter and maybe one day do my own wedding

[@RCShutterstock]

All great valuable information for my shoot coming up soon.

[@vincebaldwin2829]

Absolutely love that preset

[@LeighBuh]

This was SO VERY HELPFUL! More BTS videos please!

[@danipphoto]

Great information! Thank you!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Glad it was helpful!

[@whiterock1865]

Looks like groom was in a perfect room for some bounce flash too.

[@paulrushbrook2064]

That was really helpful thanks

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Glad to hear it!

[@stephanieengblom6645]

This is such a great video - makes me want to share with all my second photogs! Haha ;) you’re awesome. Keep em coming.

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Stephanie Engblom Thanks for the kind words! Feel free to share with them, haha! More videos to come :)

[@amandawellsvenegas7024]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@litpix1809]

this is the most amazing tip for wedding photographers i love your presets

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks so much!!

[@krist]

Beautiful photos.

[@massieldeleon993]

Las fotos quedaron impresionantes. Excelente trabajo

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Muchas gracias, Massiel!

[@massieldeleon993]

@@JosiahBlizzard Por nada

[@letterjtv418]

Tomorrow jan 2 is my 2nd wedding as backup photographer, this vid. help me a lot. thanks man

[@JosiahBlizzard]

You’re gonna kill it dude! Glad this was helpful

[@letterjtv418]

Very helpful man. 📷💪👌😊

[@letterjtv418]

Done being back up cameraman for today, very helpful video and ii used wide lens 35mm sigma for nikon. this vid helps a lot. hoping for some and new vids.

[@elaineroot1182]

great info! Thanks!

[@angelicabarksdale9807]

Biggest takeaway: SUPPORT THE LEAD photographer

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Hell yeah! #1 priority every time.

[@brighberindez9337]

Thanks. For the idea of being a second shooter 😊 ill be doing this. For the first time. ..

[@keircasino8553]

I learned so much from this video. Thank you!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sonamlama586]

amazing video!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks!

[@stephenbradleyent.3323]

Great video!!!!!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks Stephen!

[@danijenk]

Very insightful and as always beautiful pictures.

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks so much, Danielle!

[@leahgoetzel]

A great video again! Will definitely be sharing with my second shooters!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks Leah! Hopefully it’ll be helpful for your seconds!

[@shawvercreations9703]

love these BTS videos!

[@ChoicesHabitsAttitudeLuck]

Your video and the pictures during the church ceremony are not of the same color temperature. How do you solve this problem? Love the video and I subscribed

[@JosiahBlizzard]

The GoPro I'm recording with was set to 5600 Kelvin all day. I didn't change it when I went into the church. I did set my white balance on my photo camera to 3400 Kelvin. I'm not worried about matching colors to my GoPro so there's not really an issue to solve. Just make sure you're setting your white balance properly when you're shooting.

[@BobbyBurns]

Love the approach man! Awesome stuff!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

I appreciate the love bro! Thanks!

[@sarahvengut]

Omg I photographed at this church. love the video

[@SemPixels]

Hey Josiah, great education you got on your channel. I would like to ask about the mount on your camera for you to be able to record your BTS. Thanks

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Thanks! Currently using a GoPro Hero Black 8

[@SemPixels]

@@JosiahBlizzard thanks

[@Cjcool03]

hey man are the best and i like your way ..Nice shot ..

[@jonihofmann3318]

Awesome information.

[@user-ut4dt2st7n]

What is camera you use and lens

[@Rosiesdessertspot]

loved this video! Quick question, when you mention you have 2 off camera flashes at the reception, do the flashes have any soft boxes or large diffusers attached, or it is just 2 naked flashed on stands pointed at the walls / ceiling?

[@Rosiesdessertspot]

just seen the flash now at the end of the vid, my bad!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

No worries :) We use MagMod as flash modifiers and love the ease and simplicity of setup.

[@whiterock1865]

@@JosiahBlizzard Yes magmods are the best!

[@fakesticks817]

Thank you for this! Can you give any tips for assisting the main shooter during family formals?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Biggest tip would be to be the one calling the names out so the main shooter can pose them properly. After that, you could call out the next group if it includes different or more people

[@fakesticks817]

@@JosiahBlizzard This is great, thank you for the quick response! As a second would you shoot the poses as well?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Faith Hall Normally not. You’re better off looking for candids of people mingling and talking with one another while waiting to get their photo taken.

[@jameskorin6963]

Hey Josiah, great insightful video and thanks for sharing your techniques. I always like to see how other pros set up their lights for receptions as this can be a challenging with every reception room being different. It seemed like the ceilings were quite low for the first dance and wonder if that altered the way you set up the lights. I hate too much spill from my lights so the room doesn't look like daylight. Do you have any tips as far as settings go for your camera and off camera flash? And also the position of the off camera flash to prevent spill. Thanks!!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Hey James! Thanks for the comment! Yeah, the ceilings were insanely low and they were black so bounce flash was pretty much out the window. I just did my best with two OCF's pointing at the couple. I find a happy medium between my flashes lighting up the entire room and using the natural light from within the room by setting my shutter speed to 1/125 or 1/160th when shooting. My flash power will stay somewhere around 1/32 to 1/64 with 1/128 on occasion. I typically don't worry about spill as I often place two large diffusers which spreads and softens the light across the room, but if you want to look into MagMod, they do sell grids, snoots and focusers that will help you focus your light onto an exact place in the room.

[@jameskorin6963]

@@JosiahBlizzard Thanks Josiah! Keep up the great work..:)

[@schamiir]

Great video! Looking to be a second shooter and this was very insightful! :-)

[@michelledorion3077]

where did you get your flat lays?

[@Happymali10]

6:57 Isn't the "trigger" on the Sony on the right upper corner of the camera (similar to canon)? How are you holding and shooting with the left-hand-camera? Upside down and flip the image in post? Or with the hand twisted inwards, thumb under the body?

[@whiterock1865]

Great BTS video! Question, it looked pretty cloudy so diffuse, but notice y'all never appear to use off-camera strobes so you could expose better for the sky, was that a choice because the sky was overcast, or just not wanting to deal with strobes? Thank you!

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Good question! We just prefer to not deal with strobes. Our clients prefer the more natural looking type of work. Plus strobes and flashes tend to slow down our process and eliminate some of the fun if we're always messing with lighting. They have their place for sure, but the majority of the time, we're just using the lighting that is available in the space. A dark room though means we'll put up a flash on camera for some bounce if it's needed.

[@twistedfocus3795]

I downloaded your preset but the zip file is invalid...

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Hey! That’s so strange! Send me an email and I’ll get it resolved for you. [e-mail]

[@bluestarcesium]

Is your camera the same that the first shooter has? Would you ever mix two different cameras? Canon and Sony?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Different cameras. I’m shooting Sony and she is shooting Nikon. I’ve mixed in the past and it’s not too bad

[@Thundr4x]

Do you use manual mode if ur using 2 cameras?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Manual mode all day

[@clem5929]

Hey Josiah! Was wondering how you recorded all this, I clicked on your filmmaking kit link but it didn't work.

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Just attached a GoPro to the top of my camera. GoPro Hero Black 8 I believe I’m using

[@clem5929]

@@JosiahBlizzard oh thanks! how did you attach it

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Cold shoe plate attached to a ball joint

[@clem5929]

@@JosiahBlizzard cool! does that come with the go pro

[@JosiahBlizzard]

@@clem5929 nope. Bought it separately

[@melissaferguson5254]

Where can I find your Ice preset?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Triedandtruepresets.com

[@osasthewave]

How can we get your presets?

[@JosiahBlizzard]

presets.josiahandsteph.com

[@ArcanePath360]

Shooting with both cameras at the same time??? Are you Neo?

[@osmumos]

Oh yeah! This part got me thinking too! Amazing.

[@randolphcabuenas792]

Your shots are great ,but the edits are a little bit bluish and it would look great if you would tone it down a little 😉

[@JosiahBlizzard]

I appreciate your opinion and thanks for commenting. Because I’m second shooting and not needing to deliver any of these photos to the clients, I decided to go for a more stylized edit than my typical natural look. The edit definitely has a strong blue overtone while keeping the skin tones as natural as possible. I based it on high end fashion photography that often is on the cooler side of the white balance scale. I’ll most likely do a video showing how I edited some of these photos.

[@shashwatdas6900]

@@JosiahBlizzard Looking forward to it.

[@JOERUFFINO]

oh my god, I got nausea seeing your phone tipping back and forth for the entire video. Your other videos are great so I'll watch those. I couldn't make it more than a minute or 2 in

[@JosiahBlizzard]

Sorry. No other way to do it at the moment than mount a GoPro to the camera. Believe me I’d rather have somebody follow me around and shoot BTS

[@dannyleblanc4141]

Thanks for the video, very helpful!