David and April's Wedding

[bennielou]

I hire different full time pros depending on the assignment. All of my 3rds, who I don't consider as 3rds but as team members are full time professional photographers who work with me because:
A: I trained them
B: They aren't booking enough on their own, and need more exposure

I pimp all my shooters on FB, on my blog, etc to hopefully get them more work. They are all excellent.

 

[bennielou]

You talk about "your shooter' and I want to ask a question about that. Not really for me as I haven't shot weddings in a long time and hope to never have to again (I hate weddings, even as a guest, lol)

When do you decide to bring in extra shooters? I always shot my weddings by myself, never gave any thoughts to having an extra shooter or even an assistant, but it seems to be a thing of today's weddings and your answer might help some people.

You can't go wrong with extra shooters when they are trained by you. They know what you expect. Believe me, I've fired more that a dozen.

A lot of the time my third team member is someone I have trained, who doesn't have the business I have. They need portfolio images. So I trade those port images for their time, plus I give them some money.

In the end, it's good for me, because I get all these wonky cool photos that I wouldn't have time to take as the main, and in exchange they get killer port images that they can pimp on the net on their site.

Believe it or not, I have a waiting list for this, but I tend to use the same couple of people that I know and trust.

The

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Ok but that doesn't answer the question that, I think, could help some people. At what point do you decide one photog is not enough and you bring a second or third one?

 

[bennielou]

Yes, I have various full time wedding photographers who I have trained that work with me.

I get all the must get shots, and they get to do the cool/edgy stuff.

Here is how it works:

I get lots of mentor requests from people. I help only a few. These people are local.

They grow their own business, but maybe they don't sell all that much. Maybe they need some portfolio images.

That is where I come in. Because I have trained them, They trust me. So I give them their shot for their own ports, and I also pay them.

It's good for me, because I have lots of cool stuff for the couple.

It is good for them, because I allow them to use their own shots on their own website to generate business.

When I am booked, as I am for 2010, I send all inquires to my 3rds.

What is good about several photogs is while I am taking a photo of the first dance, the second is taking a photo of the Mom's reaction. The third is taking shots of the band.

I don't worry about paying for a third, who actually is not a 3rd but a team member. We all benefit. The company, the shooter, and the couple. It's all good.