Do I Need A Second Shooter or Videographer At My Wisconsin Wedding?
As far as media coverage goes - the world is your oyster when you work with me. You can have a second shooter or a videographer for 1 hour, 8 hours, whatever and whenever you want!
I have several that I work with. I act as their "boss" during the event making sure we are coordinating our efforts (not overlapping. which is a common issue with second shooters.) Also - I quality check their finished photos/product to make sure they are up to my professional standards before they receive full payment.
As far as when/why you might want to hire a second shooter:
One reason is if it is really important to you to have two perspectives of the exact same moment. This mainly happens at the ceremony. When I shoot a ceremony, I work the perimeter. I come up close to you two so I can capture your expressions up close and then I also go to the back of the room so I can catch wide angles of the entire scene. So with me alone you will receive photos of many perspectives - depending on how long your ceremony is. However the one thing I cannot do is catch the two of you at the exact same time from two perspectives... ie... walking down the aisle from the front AND the back at the same time. Or from above (if you are at a church or a location with a balcony) and that's when a second shooter comes in really handy!
The other time a second shooter is great is if you plan to do a lot of group photos after the ceremony (mom and dad plus bride and groom, other mom and dad plus bride and groom, bride and groom with grandma and grandpa, etc) If that list is long then I may not have time to photograph the reception area for detail shots before the guests arrive! I will have plenty of time to take detail shots of flowers, cake, etc while the reception is occurring but my big, wide angle shots of the reception may include guests. If you want some magazine-quality reception shots with no one in them and you also want a lot of group photos - then this is another time that a second shooter comes in handy!
Finally sometimes couples want a second shooter because they simply want another perspective, more photos and maybe a slightly different style!
Whew! that was a really long explanation but hopefully helpful!