The question is often posed: What is the advantage of multiple cameras?

A single camera package can be very thorough and offer good coverage. However, one camera cannot be in two places at one time. This is the essence of two camera (or three camera) coverage—being in two or three places at one moment of time. This capability offers many advantages in artistry.

When multiple cameras are used for your wedding, all cameras must be manned. It is the operator who decides when to change to a close-up from a wide-angle shot. It is the operator who pans the camera to follow you as you move around. Unmanned cameras are nearly useless. It is the camera operator who decides what to film, how to film it, and when and how to follow the action.

While one camera is at your place of worship capturing pre-ceremony details such as guests arriving and the groom’s interaction with his best man, the second camera is at the bride’s home. This camera is videojournalistically capturing the bride’s preparation. It can capture the moment the bride returns from the hair appointment; the arrival of bridesmaids in street clothes—and their transformation into formally attired ladies. It can catch the moment dad first sees his daughter in her wedding dress. It can be there for the actual moment the entourage leaves the home—and it can accompany you in the car on the way to your place of worship. One camera cannot achieve all this.

During the ceremony, one camera can show a close-up of the bride while a second camera shows a close-up of the groom. Or, camera–1 can show the bride and groom while camera–2 shows the parents’ reaction to what the bride and groom are doing at that point in time. Or, visualize a close-up of a soloist at the same time you see a close-up of the bride and groom enjoying the soloist’s performance. Camera–1 can show close-ups while camera–2 shows the birds’-eye view from the balcony. Many options exist for the coverage possible with multiple cameras.

During the reception, you can see close-ups concurrently with wide-angle shots. You can see the ladies waiting for the bouquet toss while you see the groom’s reaction. You can see guests conversing at the bar while you see people dancing on the dance floor. Camera–1 can be stationed in the foyer—or other quiet place—to unobtrusively capture remarks from willing guests while camera–2 shows the guests whirling on the dance floor.

Multiple cameras give us the opportunity to defy the conventional wisdom that states “You can’t be in two places at the same time”. With two cameras, we can do exactly that: be in two places at the same time.