4 Things to Implement to Improve Your Second Shooting (for Weddings)

When I first started photographing weddings, I began as a second photographer shooting alongside seasoned professionals. I worked as a secondary photographer for a at least 5 to 6 different photographers for a few years, and I am SO thankful for each one who believed in me enough to allow me to tag along.

While second shooting, I learned a variety of different skills from each photographer that have stayed with me to this day and have impacted the traits and skills I look for in second shooters and assistants. Though there are many skills that make up a superb second shooter (and lots of preferred skills that vary from primary photographer to primary photographer), here are a few of my top tips for being an outstanding second shooter, all of which I have found in my second shooters and assistants:

1.  Have a servant’s heart and mentality towards the wedding couple.

The way to the primary photographer’s heart is through their wedding couple. Primary photographers (typically) want to give their clients THE BEST experience when it comes to their wedding photos, and having a second photographer who is willing to go the extra mile to serve the bride & groom truly stands out (so long as it doesn’t interfere with any work the primary has specifically asked you to do).

2. Have a servant’s heart and mentality towards the primary photographer.

I love photographing weddings, but I’m willing to admit that sometimes they can be a bit stressful. Many times, being a wedding photographer means more than just documenting a wedding day - it means coordinating timelines and keeping the bridal party, wedding couple, and family members ON that timeline, which can be an all encompassing task (on top of trying to make sure everyone looks perfect in photos!). Being a second photographer who goes the extra mile for the primary photographer can go a long way. Asking if the primary needs any food or water, helping with bags, setting up light stands, calling out names during family formals, or simply taking initiative throughout the day helps the primary photographer focus on the day as a whole.

3. Study the primary photographer’s style.

One of my favorite things about being a second photographer at a wedding is the increased ability to be creative! If the wedding day is crunched for time, the primary photographer’s goal is to first get the “safe shot,” and then move on to more creative compositions. But the great thing about being a secondary photographer is the decreased amount of stress to get the “safe shots.” You can take risks and get creative because you can trust that the primary is, at the very least, getting all of the “necessary” shots. But before you shoot with a primary photographer for the first time, be sure to study their work. How do they compose shots? Are they consistent in their use of light, or varied? Do they prefer more posed shots or more candid shots? How does your work compliment theirs? (Or how can you use your style of work to compliment their style?)

4. Ask if there are any specific photos the primary photographer wants you to get at any specific time.

While many primary photographers will let their second photographer know if they need a specific shot (or shots) from them, some photographers prefer to let the second photographer “get what they get,” for lack of better words. As a primary photographer, I always appreciate when a second shooter asks if I’m looking for any specific shots, whether it’s at the beginning of the day or throughout the wedding day. For example, during the ceremony, I’m in the front of the church getting the shot of the bride coming down the aisle. I’m also trying to get the groom’s reaction to his bride. But if I can have my second shooter focusing on getting the shot of the groom’s reaction, I can focus on the bride and her dad – which is always a huge help! A second photographer also is helpful during bridal party shots. While the primary is getting the group shot, the secondary can be snapping little details (bouquets, boutonnières, candids, etc.) to provide a more robust final gallery!

I am so thankful for my second photographers and assistants who help me through wedding days and sessions. They are the ones who have made this blog post possible and the reason why I can share this information – because I see these things so clearly in them! Thank you to my second shooters and assistants for making all of my weddings and sessions 10X better! Without you, this wouldn’t be possible!

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Two FANTASTIC people who help make wedding days possible!

Groom Wedding Day Detail Checklist

We’ve talked about what should be included in your bridal detail wedding day checklist, but what about the groom’s details? Many times, we try to take a few photos of the groom’s wedding day details, since many of them are so thoughtfully planned and executed! Having some photos of the groom’s details also looks great in an album spread! If you’re looking to have photos taken of your groom’s details, you might want to consider including the groom’s:

• Tie or Bowtie

• Cufflinks

• Socks (if they’re a fun pattern!)

• Watch

• Shoes

• Boutonnière (adds a little bit of color!)

• Belt

• Pocket Square

• Glasses

• Cologne Bottle

• Any notes or gifts from the bride

• Any gifts given to the groomsmen

And to help you organize your groom’s details even better, I’ve created a comprehensive PDF freebie that you can download straight to your computer! Print it out to put in your wedding binder, or simply keep it in a folder on your computer for your reference - simply fill out the form below to download it!

get your free GROOM DETAIL CHECKLIST here!

One GIANT Tip for Spending More Time with Loved Ones on Your Wedding Day

You might’ve read the title of this post and been a little confused (especially if you haven’t experienced a wedding day as a bride or groom first hand): isn’t it a given that you’ll spend the whole wedding day with your friends and family?

Well… yes and no.

Of course, you’ll be spending your wedding day with your family and friends in the same vicinity as you, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be actually spending time with them. And to be honest, sometimes wedding photography takes up a significant portion of a wedding day. And it’s challenging, because as a wedding photographer, I want to get the BEST images possible for my couples – and of course, getting the BEST images possible takes a little bit of time, between bridal party photos, family photos, and photos of the happy couple.

But what if I told you there was one magic way to spend more time with your family and friends on your big day? ONE thing that you can add into your day that will give you that time that you so desperately want?

That “thing” is a first look.

WAIT. Don’t go. Don’t click out of this post yet! A first look can evoke a lot of different emotions in a lot of different people. But before I go into why a first look might be the best thing you could do on your wedding day, let me explain what a first look is:

A first look is where the bride and groom have a private moment together before the ceremony. Yes, you read that correctly. The bride and groom will see each other before the ceremony even starts, but the beautiful thing is – they will get to have that moment together. They can talk together, laugh together, hug each other, kiss, and cry with just the two of them present.

I understand that a first look isn’t for everyone. Heck, my husband and I didn’t even do a first look at our wedding! But a few weekends ago, Nick and I photographed another wedding with a first look, and on our way home, he looked at me and said “I kind of wish we would’ve done a first look. Those two got to spend so much more time with their family and friends and shared in that moment together. I wish I would’ve been able to tell you how beautiful you looked and hugged you when you came down the aisle!”

Bingo! Though Nick and I decided to opt out of a first look for our wedding, looking back on our day – we realized that it might’ve actually been a better decision for us. We took our wedding photos right after our ceremony during cocktail hour (which is a normal time for photos!), so we didn’t get to spend that time with family and friends who had traveled so far to celebrate with us.

BUT – if we had done a first look before our ceremony, before all of the guests had arrived – we could’ve been a part of cocktail hour and would’ve had much more time to talk to our loved ones.

So the moral of the story is: if you want to spend more time with your guests, a first look might be the best option for you. We’ve heard time and time again how much more relaxed and at ease our couples have felt after having a first look on their wedding day, which is the most important thing.

Have a question about a first look? Feel free to email me at jhidingerphotography@gmail.com with any questions!

6 Unexpected Milestones to Hire a Photographer For

Much of the work I do revolves around engagements, weddings, high school senior photos, and family photos (for holiday cards). All of these milestones are great reasons to have photos taken – but there are a few other milestones in addition to those mentioned previously that I would highly recommend hiring a photographer for:

1. Wedding Anniversary

Why: This one I can relate to the most because it’s the one Nick and I try to do every single year! Having photos taken for your wedding anniversary (whether it’s every year, every other year, or every five years!) lets you update the photos you’ll be leaving your children, grandchildren, and those who care about you someday as your legacy. Do you want the only beautiful photos you leave those who love you to be from your wedding day (when your kids didn’t even know you)? A wedding anniversary is the perfect occasion to splurge and update your photo collection!

2. Buying Your First Home

Why: Buying a home is a HUGE accomplishment, no matter who you are. Having photos taken of you and your spouse, or you and your family inside your first home is a wonderful way to commemorate all of the hard work that went into your purchase!

3. Birthday (for you or your child!)

Why: What better excuse for a photo shoot than a birthday?! One of my longest standing clients has birthday photos taken every year for her daughter’s birthday. She does an amazing job of pulling together unique props and outfits to make the photos special and different every single year – plus, she gets to see how her daughter has grown from the year before!

4. Pregnancy

Why: Pregnancy is a huge milestone in any relationship, and maternity photos are the perfect way for Mom-to-be to remember such a precious time in her life. Plus, it’s a great excuse for an expectant mother to pamper herself – nails, hair, makeup, a new dress, the whole nine yards!

5. Before/after a big move

Why: Consider this: you’ve grown up in one city for your entire life – you’ve gone to school there, fell in love there, said “I do” there – and now, you’re moving to a new place you’ve never been before, leaving your history behind you. Moving is the perfect excuse to commemorate the city you love in photos to remember your roots!

6. Graduating College

Why: When I was attending Robert Morris University, every senior was required to have a LinkedIn account, and we were all strongly encouraged to have a “professional looking” photo to represent us to potential employers. And a professional photo does just that – it gives a potential employer the best impression of who you are! (Read more in my article “Why You Should Have a Killer LinkedIn Headshot”)

Are there any other milestones you would add to the list?

What is the Best Time of Day for Photos?

Recently, I had a sweet mom of a senior ask why I limit my session timeframes to the morning and the evening – right after the sun rises, or before it sets. I love this question, because I can see how it might seem counter intuitive to schedule a session during the not-so-bright times of the day – but there is a great reason for doing so!

When taking photos outside, the sun is the main light source. When the sun is rising and setting, it’s at it’s lowest point in the sky (hang with me here!). In the middle of the day, the sun is at it’s highest in the sky – typically, right overhead, which is known as the toughest time to take photos. But why?

When the sun is right overhead, the light is very harsh. The light often creates big, shadowy circles under the eyes (which is very unflattering) and is harder to control because it’s just so bright! But in the morning and evening – the sun is lower, and the light is softer, which makes it easier to control the light and eliminates the dark shadowy circles that will often appear under the eyes in bright light! In addition to being lower and easier to manage, the light typically has a warmer temperature to it, which flatters the skin!

However – there is an exception to this rule. On a cloudy day, the sun is still the main light source, but the clouds act as a diffuser, diffusing the light to make it soft, manageable, and more flattering to facial features.

So what it comes down to is this: scheduling my sessions in the morning and late afternoon/evening makes it easier to manage my main light source (the sun) and flatters my clients (no dark circles and warmer light).

4 Tips for Preparing Your Groom for Your Engagement Session

Are you a bride who’s wondering how your groom will react to having his photo taken? You are most certainly not alone! One of the biggest questions I am asked by my brides is how to prepare her groom for the engagement session. So many of my couples who were nervous before their session walk away saying: “Wow! That was actually fun.” And that’s what it’s about – not just getting some great photos, but actually having fun while doing it!

So if you’re a bride who’s a little bit nervous about how your groom might react to the engagement session, here are a few of my top tips:

1.  Sit down and show him a couple of your favorite blog posts or galleries by your photographer.

Sometimes the scariest thing about going into something new is the unknown – the same is true for going into an engagement session! In most (not all) cases, the bride is the one looking for and booking the wedding photographer, which means that she will already be very familiar with the style, look, and posing associated with a particular photographer by the time the engagement session rolls around. However, if a groom hasn’t been involved in picking the wedding photographer (or has only seen a few samples of work), they could be a bit blind-sided going into a session by what to expect. By looking at a few blog posts or galleries the night before your engagement session, a bride will give her groom realistic expectations for how the session will pan out!

2.  Leave early to arrive ahead of schedule!

This tip might not seem like it fits quite as well, but I know from photographing many sessions (and from being in a relationship myself ;) ) that timeliness can sometimes be a point of contention between any two people who love each other! Be sure to leave early enough to arrive on time to your session. Starting off your session in an argumentative manner from tardiness can put a damper on the beginning of the shoot!

3.  Plan to do something fun together afterwards.

So maybe taking photos isn’t necessarily your guy’s favorite thing to do – or maybe he’s nervous because he’s never had his photo taken professionally before! Whatever the case, plan to do something fun before or afterwards that you can both look forward to – whether it’s going out to dinner, seeing a movie, going out for ice-cream – having something fun to plan for after your session will give you both something to look forward to and will make your night for getting engagement photos done more into a date night!

4. Have patience & be an encourager.

Getting your photo taken can be awkward if you've never had it done before, or if it's been a while! Don't forget to have patience and grace with your groom, especially if he's feeling uneasy. It's completely normal to feel nervous before having your photo taken - the best thing you can do is continue to encourage and build up your groom throughout the whole process!

And just to show that it is possible for guys to have fun during the engagement session, here are a few of my favorite photos of grooms genuinely enjoying their session:

5 Commandments for Mastering Family Formals

Family formals (aka, mom’s favorite pictures from the wedding day [for good reason]) are a necessary component of any wedding day, and are sometimes one part of the day, unfortunately, that stresses brides out the most. From family members making a dash from the ceremony to cocktail hour to your niece (the flower girl) needing to use the restroom, you might be wondering: is there any way to successfully (and quickly) work through the family formals section of a wedding day?

What if I told you, bride-to-be, that family formals don’t have to be so crazy? That all family formals could be done within a short, concise timeframe? By following these five commandments of family formals, you will be sure to make it through your entire list without letting your list take the entirety of cocktail hour:

1. Have a specific list with specific names.

This is the number one most important key to mastering the family formals portion of your wedding day: have a specific list with specific names. Spending five minutes a month before your ceremony writing out exactly who you’d like to have a part of family formals can save lots of time on your wedding day. Don’t forget to touch base with your groom, your mom, and your mother-in-law to make sure their requests are on the list, too!

Our strategy for wedding days is to have a specific list to work from so nothing has to be decided on the fly the day of the wedding (i.e., one less item for the bride to have to coordinate). If we know exactly who needs to be in your formals beforehand, we can start gathering people directly after the ceremony, calling names, and putting people “on deck” for the next photo.

2. Don’t stray from the list.

Commandment number two might be just as important as number one – once you have your list finalized, don’t stray from it! I’ve seen many a list get elongated throughout the family formals timeframe from well-meaning family members who want a specific combination that the bride (and the bride’s family) aren’t interested in having. Allowing friends and family members to elongate the list during this specific timeframe can cut into bridal party portraits, as well as portraits of the bride and groom. Know what shots are important and stick to them!

3. Keep your list simple.

Simplicity is best when it comes to family formals. If you have a limited timeframe to complete formals, keep it short and sweet – keeping the list to immediate family members and grandparents is a great way to save time (less people to gather), and other larger portraits (i.e., your mom’s whole extended side of 30+ people) can be saved for the reception, where the DJ can announce: “we need all of the bride’s mother’s extended family on the dance floor for a photo!” or the like.

4. Let everyone on the list know exactly where they need to be, and when.

What takes up the most time when it comes to family formals? Gathering family members. Alerting family members ahead of time that they will be needed for a photo, whether it’s directly after the ceremony or at an alternative specific time, will save ample amounts of time. Tracking down someone in a 200-300 person crowd can be tough (especially during cocktail hour when there’s food and drink involved!).

5. Bust through your list right after the ceremony.

At your ceremony, everyone will be sitting in the same room – which means everyone is already gathered and ready for formals! After the couple has exited the ceremony, many couples have their pastor make an announcement to have family members remain in their seats so that they’re ready for photos. If no one leaves the ceremony, it’s easier to jump straight into photos!

By following these five commandments of family formals, you’re sure to breeze through your list with ease and efficiency and spend your day celebrating with family members, rather than just taking photos with them – and that’s what is truly important!

Have any tips to add? Drop them in the comments below!

5 Online Tools to Organize Your Business

I like to consider myself an organized person (but don’t look at my office right now – it’s a disaster zone!). Much more than staying physically organized, I love being organized with my processes and information.

When I first started photographing senior sessions, family sessions, and weddings, I would maybe photograph three weddings for the entire year and a portrait session per month. It was easy for me to stay "organized" because, well, I didn’t have too much work. But then, slowly over time, I started getting busier. And busier. And soon enough, I was in wayyyyyyy over my head without any rhyme, reason, or rhythm to my madness and it was driving me INSANE. I was the girl in high school who toted around a planner, calendar, and separate binder for each class (organized by assignment and month), but I wasn’t translating that organization into my business.

Fast forward a few years to today, and I’m photographing 20+ weddings and 50-60 sessions per year (such a blessing!), and I’ve had to force myself to get organized and find systems and processes for marking, booking, creating, culling, editing and sharing the work my clients hire me to do. Today, I wanted to share five of my favorite online tools for staying organized and streamlining my work process in hopes that someone else out there can benefit from these tools that took me way too long to find! So without further ado – here are my five favorite online tools for staying organized within my business:

1.  Wunderlist

I absolutely love to do lists and Wunderlist allows me to organize, categorize, and set dates/deadlines for all of my tasks. This no-fuss app has quickly become one of my favorites for its power and simplicity. Wunderlist lets you easily create folders with subcategories (for example: “2018 Weddings”), create sub-lists within a folder (for example: “John Smith + Amy Flowers Wedding”) and create tasks within that list category, as well as sub tasks within those tasks (for example: "edit wedding photos)! If you’re an organizational nerd like me, I know you’re going to love it. And bonus: you can even collaborate on lists and invite people to contribute (for example: my husband and I have a “Groceries” list to help us keep track of what we’re running low on - we haven't run out of ketchup since - score!).

While users have the ability to upgrade on Wunderlist, I find the free version to be full of features and highly convenient (considering it syncs between my desktop and phone app so I can add to-dos while I’m out and about). Check out my breakdown below:

2.  Mile IQ

Mile IQ was a newer find for me – actually, I discovered it while filing for my 2016 taxes when my accountant highly suggested that I keep track of my mileage (believe it or not, on location wedding/portrait photographers do a lot of driving between scouting locations, meeting with clients, and photographing sessions!). I absolutely love Mile IQ because it automatically keeps track of my drives. AUTOMATICALLY. Did I mention it was automatic? Like, that I don’t even have to think about it?! Talk about genius! I just leave my location on my phone on, and it tracks my driving and then lets me categorize those drives as “personal” or as “business” (with sub categories – and you know how I feel about sub-lists!!), along with literally showing a map of where you drove to/from. If you track mileage for business, this app is a must have!

I should also mention that the first forty drives while using the app are free – but if you drive more than 40 trips a month, Mile IQ has the option to upgrade for just a small monthly maintenance fee.

3.  Grum

One of my favorite (and most engaging) social media platforms I use to interact with current and potential clients is Instagram. In the past, scheduling posts to automatically publish at a specific time wasn’t a possibility for Instagram… until Grum came along. Grum.co allows users to not only organize content, but also to schedule content to automatically post at a specific time (i.e., when most of your clients are actively online). By now, you might be starting to recognize how much I love automation. I love it because it allows me to create a bunch of content in one sitting, schedule it out, and then not have to think about it again until after it’s posted. Though Grum isn’t free, it’s only roughly $10 per month, or $120 annually – which (to me) is worth every penny!

4.  Hootsuite

Hootsuite is very similar to Grum, except a user can manage and automate all of their social media profiles instead of just Instagram (except Instagram can’t be automated via Hootsuite – it can only remind you to post at a specific time). Hootsuite allows the user to organize and automate both Facebook and Twitter posts – plus track analytics, create campaigns, and organize contacts all from their simply laid out dashboard! There is much more to Hootsuite that I haven’t had a chance (or need) to explore, but if you’re interested in reading about additional features, I highly encourage you to check out their website! Hootsuite is free for to use for the first three social media platforms (with the ability to upgrade).

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5.  Acuity Scheduling

Acuity is a newer online tool (for me) that I recently began using for the 2017 photo season. I tend to spend a lot of time communicating back and forth with my clients trying to figure out the best date and time to schedule a session. With Acuity, I’m able to send my clients a link where they can view my calendar of available session time slots and book a specific type of session without any back and forth. I’m all about making things simple for my clients, so deciding to invest in Acuity Scheduling was a no brainer for me! Acuity also allows the business manager to set specific appointment types for specific times, as well as send follow up questionnaires to learn more about the booking client. Acuity has a variety of different paid plans – the free version has a very limited number of features, but it still very intuitive!

What are you favorite online tools, apps, and tricks for staying organized? Are there any online tools you would add to this list? Drop your favorite organization tool in the comments below, I always love to find new tools to use! But in the mean time, enjoy checking out the online tools listed above!

One of the Best Decisions I Ever Made for My Business

Upon reading the title of this article, you might’ve thought that one of the best decisions I ever made for my business was something to do with photography. Maybe it was a specific lens, a specific camera, or a specific way of shooting – and while all of those things are important (and were peppered with both good and bad decisions along the way), one of the best decisions I ever made was this: hiring someone to do my taxes.

Sounds simple, right? Maybe too simple to actually make a good blog post?! ;) But there’s so much more to it than just outsourcing your tax return. I realized a couple of years into my business that there are certain things I’m just not as good at doing as others (like filing taxes!), and that I needed to let go of my controlling tendencies. I realized that trying to do everything myself was taking me away from what I loved most: telling people’s stories through my lens!

“It only takes one small root of bitterness in any area of your life to suffocate the blessings and goodness in that area...”

One of my main goals as a photography business owner is to love on and encourage others through what I do. But who was I encouraging and loving on while doing my taxes (which really only made me angry, frustrated, and upset)? Actually, I was doing anything BUT loving and encouraging others, which could’ve started to bleed into my communication with clients, into my creative ability, and could’ve turned a business I love with a passion into a business I resented. It only takes one small root of bitterness in any area of your life to suffocate the blessings and goodness in that area, and then to slowly start to bleed into other areas. (See Hebrews 12:15 for reference).

So my question is this: what bitter roots do I have growing in my business (or in my life) that have the potential to suffocate my passion, or what I’m being called to do? Are you going to allow that bitter root to keep on growing? Or are you willing to do what it takes to cut it out so you can better do what you were created to do?

As a side note, this blog post in no way, shape, or form is meant to downplay where anyone is in his or her journey. Sometimes, you just have to do difficult things in a particular season in order to grow and learn. But if you have the opportunity – let other people help you. Whether it’s outsourcing your photo editing, hiring someone to do your taxes, or bringing an assistant along to your sessions, don’t be afraid to seek out the help you need in weak areas – your weak areas could be someone else’s strengths, and could give someone else the opportunity to use their passion and strengths.

Breaking the "Rules" of Creativity

Did you know that there is no [natural] blue pigment in plants and flowers? When I was in second grade, I was doing what most second graders do (prior to iPads and cell phones, maybe?): coloring! I used to love drawing, painting, and coloring, and on this particular occasion, I was coloring in a black and white line drawing of a bouquet of flowers, when all of a sudden, one of my classmates came up from behind me, looked over my shoulder and said: "Hey! There are no such things as blue flowers! Those flowers aren't real, they're fake!" To which I immediately took offense, considering the majority of the colored in flowers in my picture were blue (my favorite color at the time).

Me, being a shy, sensitive second grader, didn't know how to respond. I immediately put down my blue crayon, folded up my drawing, and stuffed it in my backpack - embarrassed that I, Jenna, had created something that didn't fit within the laws and rules of nature (I should mention, I've always been a big rule follower).

Somehow, that seemingly small event put a lock on my creativity. I began believing the lie that creativity has to follow a certain set of rules and guidelines, and even worse, that criticism of my work rendered it useless and unimportant - that critique equates to quitting. Somewhere between that event and today, I allowed those unrealistic rules to penetrate my own creativity, and have found myself creating from a place of fear and rigid rules instead of a place of joy and curiosity. So my goal for this year is simple: to start deconstructing the rules I've made up in my own mind and to create for the joy of creating, to become more curious - and to draw more blue flowers.🌻 What lies have you believed that have kept you from doing what you were called to do?

Gorgeous flowers by: @darlingtonflowerco