Episode 38 How Second Shooters Elevate Your Wedding: Pat Simonetta of Happy Valley Film Lab

Two cameras tell a truer story. We sit down with Pat, my trusted second shooter, to explore how shared instincts, clear roles, and smart coverage turn a fast wedding day into a calm, cohesive film. From the ceremony aisle to golden hour portraits, we break down where a second shooter stands, what they watch, and how those choices protect the moments couples care about most.

We start with our messy beginnings—manual focus mishaps, walkies that never clicked, and the gimbal era—then trace the shift to a more human, handheld style. Pat explains the quiet jobs you rarely see: testing DJ feeds for clean audio, scouting light before the party walks in, and grabbing the wide while I cover the tight, or vice versa. You will hear why redundant coverage of vows and reactions isn’t overkill, how matched exposure and color save the edit, and the small cues we use to keep the day on tempo even when timelines wobble.

Pat also shares how film photography pulled him out of digital burnout and reshaped his eye. Working within 36 frames sharpened his sense of composition, contrast, and restraint, and that mindset now guides how we frame interviews, balance mixed light, and decide when not to roll. For aspiring seconds, we map a simple path: reach out with humility, prove reliability, and learn to anticipate. For lead shooters, we offer the playbook that lets a second thrive—set expectations, give room to create, and trade honest feedback after every wedding.

If you are a couple weighing packages, or a vendor debating whether a second is worth it, this conversation shows the return: stronger angles, safer moments, richer storytelling. Follow Pat at @pat_simonetta and check out Happy Valley Film Lab for developing. If this resonated, tap follow, share with a friend planning a wedding, and leave a quick review so more couples find the show.

https://www.instagram.com/pat_simonetta/

https://www.instagram.com/happyvalleyfilmlab/

https://www.happyvalleyfilmlab.com/

Transcript

Meet Pat, The Second Shooter

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about the real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Now this is where I would say, let's meet today's wedding vendor. But we have maybe one of the specialest, if not the most special, episode today. Because today we have on Pat Sabaneta.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Hello.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

How's it going, Pat?

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Uh it's good. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Pat I'm you know, Pat, I'm I'm doing good. Okay. Um, I'm so excited for this episode. Um a little biased, I'm I will admit, I'm a little biased. Sure. Pat is my trusty second shooter. He's basically been here from the jump helping me with just about every wedding. Uh yeah. And what I'm so excited for this episode is there, we were just saying this before we hit record. There's so many people behind the scenes, behind these businesses that are running either photo, video, coordination, planning, venues, catering, DJs, like all these people have people behind them assisting in some way, um, maybe in like a formal way, maybe in like a not formal way, an informal way. Um, but I'm so excited to get your take on what it's like to be a part of the industry in the way that you are. Um, and I've enjoyed so much having you alongside me for the journey.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Well, it's been great working for you. Uh, it's always fun like working for your friends. Yeah. And there's that weird balance. But yeah, it's been great. And uh I've learned a lot and uh I'm excited to continue learning a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

I know it's been it's been a

Venue Spotlight: Harmony Forge Inn

SPEAKER_01 1:55

journey. We've definitely been on a journey. Yeah. Um, and it's it's not always been great, it's not always been perfect, but um it it has been a lot of learning, and there's um just so many fun memories. Uh before we jump into too many questions though, we're we're here at Harmony Forge Inn. Harmony Forge Inn is nestled into the Rolling Hills of Belfont. It's just 15 minutes away from Penn State, and it features a historic house built in 1795, a newly remodeled creekside lodge, and a rustic barn with some modern touches. And the owners here are just fantastic people. Um, and it's just such a cool venue and a cool spot, kind of close to State College, um, and it really is nestled into the hills um and the creek running right through the back of the venue. It's just such a cool little um feature that they have here. And uh, I don't know when this episode's coming out compared to when I interviewed the owners of uh the venue here, but they are so in tune with putting more effort in year after year. They just started, but year after year putting more effort into making the space better, which is so cool to see. But Pat, we are here.

How They Met And First Gear Woes

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yeah, you are a trusty second shooter, I have to say. Um, give me a little bit of the backstory of how you got into the creative media space.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Oh gosh, I feel like it's a long story, but I'll try to break it uh pretty short. So I came to Penn State in 2014 um from a small community college, small town in Illinois, and I didn't really know too many people. I honestly just started making videos in my dorm room or technically in my apartment, but um I just really made these really city silly videos, and I met you at some point during a crew mission trip to Panama City Beach. Yeah, and I was I had this tiny little Sony uh Pix. No, no, it was a Nikon like Pix Pro or something, and I would use it to like do little videos, and sure enough, James comes to the beach with his super cool like Canon 70D and shooting photos of the sunrise, and uh we just became really fast friends, and we just kind of like naturally switched. I got really into video, you or you got really into video, I got really into photo, and you asked me what at one point, hey, do you want to shoot some weddings with me? And I said, sure, it sounds scary, but let's do it. Yeah, and we started we we were rocking like cannons, and that was tough. Now we're using these really nice Sony cameras.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

I we we literally so to give people context, we started with cameras that didn't have autofocus in video. There was not like a continuous autofocus.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

We were yeah, and we were pushing the ISO so much that uh you got more grain than light. Yeah. And we had gimbals and there was it's changed a lot. So much stuff. It's changed a lot for sure stuff, but it's been uh it's been good.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

I feel like when you drive in a van sitting next to someone you don't know for the amount of time it takes to get from Pennsylvania to Florida, yeah. You either become fast friends or get super annoyed. I think we went the fast friends route.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, we went the fast friends route. Uh I definitely fell asleep and you took some photos of me at that time. I did.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

I still have that. Yeah, great. Maybe we'll show that right now. No, I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

I'll do that too. Yeah. Um I I'm trying, I'm sitting here and I'm trying to remember. Was that first wedding the one that we did at Historic Ashland where Christina came to? Uh you and I have one before that.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

I can't remember. I actually remember more about uh you editing photos from a wedding with like a poll. There's like a random like street poll, and you you positioned the guys in a really weird way where you had this like poll and the do not enter sign, and you're trying to like Fuller and Sonya. Maybe I'm not sure. Sonia. But it was like a photo wedding.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Oh gosh, yeah. And then the I did think I was gonna be a photographer for a minute.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah, and then you bought a camcorder, which I would love to bring up.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Oh my gosh, you're doing so dirty.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

There was a time where James is like, oh, you know, let's get a camcorder,

Early Weddings And Finding A Groove

SPEAKER_00 6:35

and this thing is like so much like better than the sub level.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

I literally like ran through this. Is gonna be like a techie episode. I'm sorry for the people who are not techie. Is I ran through all this like the pros of a camcorder, and Pat was like, no, that's that's not a good decision. I'm like, but it does all the stuff and like recording time limit, all the stuff. He's like, no, it's not a good. I did it, and then I was like, not a good decision.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

And now every time I bring it up. I know. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

But we started in a in a kind of framework where um you had been doing a bunch of video stuff, you were really kind of on YouTube doing some like YouTube style videos, like talking head style videos, like kind of before it was like cool a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:22

I don't know. I think I was like I just joined the wave and I was just trying to like do my own thing. But uh, I just kind of got burned out of it. I was something that I wanted to do for fun and just became like something that I'd stopped having fun with.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Yeah, but it was funny um in a way because I I had this mindset of like, I'm gonna be a photographer, photo's the only way, it's gonna be photo. Sure. You were doing all this video stuff, and I was like, Yeah, well, you show me what's going on with that. Um, and I I don't know, were you really doing any video stuff with people outside of like kind of filming yourself?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

I was doing a few like videos for crew. Okay. So like we would do like a recap. Um that was kind of like the the big thing for people and being a part of like a team at the time and like trying to come up with ideas and um just like different stuff. And I was like, I really like that. I love being a part of a team.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Yeah. Um, but we kind of switched a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

I had my own journey and like getting into the video side and specifically weddings, but I kind of got there and you know, I quickly turned to you and I was like, hey, do you wanna do you wanna start doing this with me? Could you remember kind of like from the beginning, like what was it like on those first couple weddings? Um, second shooting.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Yeah, it was kind of stressful. Um, we were kind of like almost running with our heads cut off. Oh, yeah. Uh we had these walkie-talkies. Oh, at first we didn't even have walkie-talkies, we just like would send text to each other. Which is awful. It was pretty rough. I didn't even have a Apple Watch back then. I was just like pulling out my phone every so often to just see if you texted me. And then we got like mics that had like a little button down here. If you didn't hold it, like hold it long enough, you couldn't hear yourself or hear you, and the little like earpiece that you had to shove in your ear.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

Surveillance.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

It was it was an it was a riot, uh a little too much at times. Um but I think before it was just it was kind of fun because it was a lot of stuff that we would see now, like repetitively, like

Why A Second Shooter Matters

SPEAKER_00 9:55

the ceremony and getting ready and um like just cutting the cake and everything else. Um but before it was just kind of like something new to figure out. Each each wedding was like something new and something different, but now it's like we since we've shot so many of them, it's like nothing is new or different. Maybe like some new things like interviewing couples or yeah, we started doing a little bit of that, which is definitely different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

But I do feel like it was always like a thing after the wedding. I was like, well, that probably could have gone a little better. But I do feel like um if you're listening and you're and you're any type of vendor, uh from my perspective, having you being there at most, if not like almost all of them, uh, I know exactly what I'm gonna get from you. You know, like day of, like these are the things that you know I'm expecting you to kind of handle and take care of. Like you do a lot of the audio setup with the DJ. Yeah, um, you're always with the guys for the getting ready.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Um well, there was also times like in the beginning where you would want me to get certain shots, like and panning left or panning right, keeping everything pretty smooth, pretty slow. Um, but now it feels like it's a mix of that plus like static shots. So I think that um there was a lot more game planning before. But now it's like uh now it's like, oh, I kind of know what James wants and what he want how he wants it, and making sure my exposure, my color is yeah, pretty solid.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Yeah, it it does go a long way for that to be uh I don't have to explain like those basic things. It's more of like, okay, we know we're on the same page for all these things. Maybe there's a different thing for that day that's different than what we would normally do. Or like you mentioned the interviews, that's a newer thing. So kind of getting a better idea of like what we're asking our couples and like what what we're trying to get from those moments. But um, it's been fun to see. I mean, the style has kind of changed for me over the course of the years that uh we've been doing weddings together, but we were we were not the best at first.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

I think we were really good for like what we were doing.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

I think that our style is unique back then and it's unique now.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Um I think the storytelling kind of like the heart behind it was was there. Um, but I think we've definitely come a long way with like the technique and the different processes like being a little bit more streamlined.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Um from your perspective, um, what I'm really excited to kind of dive into is like there's all these people that kind of add support to a wedding day. Um as a second shooter, more specifically for for videography. What do you think that uh having a second shooter for your wedding video brings um to the wedding

Invisible Jobs That Shape The Film

SPEAKER_01 13:10

day or to the final product?

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Um I think having a second shooter or a second video person, I don't know what like the the lingo is anymore. Yeah, right. But um me being there for you, like I feel like yeah, me being at a place that you can't be is really helpful. Like you can't be at two places at once. Yeah. Um but I think it's also like for like you and I both going into a wedding, we're both kind of stressed, but we're like we're on top of things. Like if we weren't stressed, then we wouldn't be thinking about like X, Y, and Z. Um so I think me being there for you helps with your like mentality of like Pat knows where he is gonna be. Um if there's a question, either he asks or he can figure it out. Um I don't know how I like call myself Pat in third person, but that's like I'm realizing this is just a big hype episode for me to say I don't wanna yeah, I don't want to be like, oh uh but no, it's like uh I'm there for you throughout the day, whether it's like holding a camera or pushing a button. No, uh but it's also like you know, like it's uh uh I got your back, you know, no matter what. And uh it's I think that everybody needs like an assistant, whether you're like the venue or the coordinator or the florist or the caterer or anybody during the wedding. I feel like the whole the whole production of it all, you need that second person there.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Yeah, I mean, just simply for the fact that I can only be in one spot at a time, but then there's so many moments um where, for example, the bride's walking down the aisle, you can be on a camera making sure that that angle at the groom, if that's their first time seeing each other, that that angle is insanely important. And you can be manning that camera is what we would say. Like you're behind it, making sure focus is good, exposure is good, if it's changing or or someone's not standing in front of the camera then. Um, or if it's like a first look or or whatever that might be, we have two cameras. Sometimes we have a third, but like you're behind one of them, I'm behind another. We can guarantee that you know, with a little shift here or there, those are gonna be good angles that we can use. Um it's one of the best value ads, I think, that you can have from your videographer, your photographer. Like, yes, you could add extra time, but think about adding an extra person, you're adding a whole, like you're doubling it all, basically.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Yeah, you're getting like a different angle, like more of like my my role is like uh creative, I guess. Like you're you know the shots that you want to get, and my shots are maybe more creative, but it's also that like if you're wide and I'm tight, or if I'm tight and you're wide. Um it's both of those like um storytelling angles. But it's also yeah, I'm not I'm not stressed to like get the shot because you're like the main shot, the more like the creative second shooter shot.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Yeah, and we have we can build a sequence better with all of that because there might be some creative things that you've done, or if you're shooting wide,

Handheld Style And Human Moments

SPEAKER_01 16:40

I'm shooting tight. We have that kind of two-camera angle, we can kind of create a sequence. Um, I love getting to a venue and being like, okay, go have fun getting some establishers because I know you're gonna come back with like just piles of different clips and angles, and this part of the barn, that part of the barn, this part of the venue, that part of the venue. Um, what are some other like behind the scenes tasks that you feel like you're handling couples might not even realize?

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Um, well, my favorite is when I get there and I can just go roam. I'll be like, if it's a long venue, I'm like walking to the very front to get the sign and walking back to get like buildings and trees and uh different angles. But um I would say that when I'm there, I'm just trying to get like interactions with the couple or the bridesmaids or just the guests. Um I think there's some uniqueness to my role where it's like I'm just getting like the day and whatever happens during the day, that's what I'll get.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

You're there for it, yeah. I do feel like I in that style change, I I think I've been more inclined to like be like get more people doing people things.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Because the people part of it, I feel like I was more in tune early on with like the beauty of the space and like these slow moving, like gimbal. There's no if you use a gimbal, there's no problem using a gimbal, you can use a gimbal, but I was like kind of stuck on that. And I feel like the handheld vibe that we have now probably leans more into like that style that you were talking about where you're kind of beep hopping around and just getting a little bit more different stuff.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Yeah, I feel like it's more human. Yeah, while it's well, I love I love a gimbal. Uh I don't love carrying it all day.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

No, I don't either.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

I would like rest it on my neither do my forearms.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

It's like your hand and arm like explode.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Yeah, it was uh it was very unfortunate the next day. Uh but I yeah, I like the kind of like the documentary kind of like handheld vibe. And if we need to be on a tripod or make sure like the the shot is perfect and not like shaky, like toasts or um first look or ceremony, then we have the tripod or or monopod for that.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah, there's a lot of monopod.

Trust, Roles, And Clear Direction

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Um working with a lead shooter, um and if you have like specific things um from like working with me or just more general, like second shooter working with a lead shooter, what what do you think makes like a a great working relationship like day of between the two?

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Yeah, um I'm not really sure. I feel like you're the only person I've actually ever shot second shot for. Um there's been maybe one or two people that I've I've done it. Um I think and I don't know if this is like what you are wanting from this answer.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Um but it's not wanting anything specific. I know, I know. He doesn't have an answer sheet somewhere over there.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

But my brain just goes. And you gotta you gotta brain me a little bit. But I think our relationship, uh I think for me it's been challenging. Uh I actually didn't talk to you about this, um, but I think I there was like maybe last year, maybe two years ago, I was having like like a very hard time with where I saw you as. Did I see you as my boss, or did I see you as my friend? Yeah. And it was like a battle in my mind. I was like, yeah, I have to work for James this weekend, or do I get to see James this weekend? Yeah. Um and that was hard because you're a great dude, you're a great friend of mine, but it's also like I want to make you proud, and I want to um make sure I'm getting what I need to get.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Um there was this like weird limbo for a while. And I think I just kind of whether it just like went away or I just decided you're kind of both.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Yeah. Well, in that same time frame too, though, I feel like I learned a ton about like leading in a way and like running the day in a way that gave you space to be creative and do your thing, but also give direction when it needs to be given. Um, because I know just being completely honest, like there's times you're like, bro, you're being too much. You need to chill. And I need that, because in my mind, I I day of can get like so up in my head, and I'm trying to make sure that all these things are working, and I end up like being short with you, which is not helpful, and you're like, you know, all that stuff. But I I do feel like there's there's a lot to be said with um room for a second shooter and a lead shooter to be on the same page. In a lot of ways, um for you to give input on things, like not to feel like I'm just a measly second shooter monkey with the camera pressing a button kind of thing. You say that all the time. I got you, you say that all the time.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

I do I say it a lot, yeah. Uh uh yeah, but I think it's just I think it can be a lot about trust um going into it knowing that um I have enough experience to do this, especially second shooting.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Um maybe not leading. That doesn't seem like something I'm have a lot of experience with.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

Yeah.

Light, Framing, And Technical Growth

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Um but yeah, it's just I guess it's just a lot of trust and respect to one another and just knowing that I know what I'm doing and I know what you're doing, and that you can direct me and I can um just uh uh accept orders.

unknown 22:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

It there are times in the day where it's like bang bang play. Like we just gotta get something done or we gotta go set up. We have negative time to set up, and there's other times where it's like, oh, we got 30 minutes, we can take our time, we can do this, we can do that. Um, but that's just a wedding day. I mean, wedding days are they're unpredictable.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Um, and but we do we are go with the flow, but they are unpredictable, and that can kind of lead us into this like limbo of like uh what do we do now? We gotta make decisions and also like figure out what everyone's doing in that moment can definitely be difficult. Um what do you think is like one of the biggest, or maybe there's a couple like big things that you've learned creatively over the time that you've been like second shooting?

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Uh like a technical, like a technical question you're asking?

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Yeah, it could be technical, it could be like framing, like yeah. I'm just curious to know like some of the big takeaways.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Uh walking into a room and noticing what the light is and trying to balance it.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

That's probably like the biggest thing, especially in like now it's like, oh, make sure your your light with your exposure is good and the color of the light. Because for a photo, you can basically make it perfect. Yeah. But for a video, it's a lot of tweaking and it might not even be perfect. Yeah. Um I think framing has been big, knowing where you are going to frame like the bride, if we're doing like letters or vows or interviews, um, where then in turn where I need to frame the groom and you know, that whole thing, uh, which I'm still learning.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Yeah. I like to try I I feel like wedding videography is this like weird in-between of like trying to be like cinematic and like movie-like in a way, where it's like you frame the bride up on the right side of the screen, you'd want the groom to be on the left.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

So they're if you cut between the two, they're looking at each other as opposed to like both looking right the same way or off the frame or something.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Um, but also like just capturing authentic moments too.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Yeah, it's fun you're using your gear.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yeah, yeah. Like to play with like a mini cinema camera on day, you know. Just because it says cinema camera on the top.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Uh, there's definitely some people that don't think the FX-ray is cinema, but we're here. Does it look like cinema?

SPEAKER_02 25:45

I guess. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

Uh what's it like? You're you spend a lot of time with the guys. Yeah. Um, I do feel like second shooters, photo or video, are generally like, hey, go capture the guys getting ready. Not that it's a lesser job, but there's just more details and just more happening with the girl side of things.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Uh what's that morning

Capturing Guys’ Prep And Candid Energy

SPEAKER_01 26:10

like with the guys?

SPEAKER_00 26:12

It really just depends. It depends on like how the guys' personalities are, whether it's like really fun or not so fun. Um, but I think, you know, the guys are kind of unpredictable. And also the room, like the room can be a lot. Oh, the room can be uh it can be so different. It could be like really small and hot or really big. And really big has only happened like one or two times. It doesn't happen often.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

I feel like in most cases it's like dark and dungy.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Dark and yeah, dark, dungey, and very hot.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Yeah. Um are you do you feel like when you're there you're you're kind of like flying the wall? Do they do you feel like they kind of pull you into conversations much, or is it are you just kind of capturing like like they're all just hanging and you're just kind of capturing some of that?

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Yeah, just I like to I'm not direct, I'm not the director. Like you're more the director than any of us. Um but I I like to try to just get the moments. Um, if the guys are like hanging out, smoking a cigar, not really eating, um, just kind of like hanging out, getting conversations, just being there for like the moments that you could probably put into the film, that's where I'm gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, I totally get that. What what are some of the other like your favorite moments to capture throughout the day from like from your perspective specifically?

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Um the ceremony is just stressful. It is because depending on where I am, which is usually always on the left side, locked on the room. If something were to happen where it's a really tight space, or if there's no room for me at all, that can be stressful. I think my favorite is the sunset like session because you have a lot of this, like I hope, like golden hour light that but peeps peeks through the trees or the clouds or like a hill or something. Uh, because you get like more creative shots. Sometimes I'm like down in the grass. I don't know if you ever use any of that stuff, but that's the more like creative like angles that I prefer.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Yeah. Um you almost have to do that in a way, because if there's two photographers and both of us, yeah, uh, it gets crowded very quick, and a wide angle for video often does not work unless everyone is back.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

And it's like, hey, could I grab a wide of this?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

So you do like when I tell you to shoot wide, you often get shot in the foot.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Yeah.

Creative Moments: Golden Hour And Space

SPEAKER_01 29:00

A little bit. Yeah. Photographer's like, whoop, or I'm putting my elbow in it or something.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Yeah, I I mean, and that's like the the double-edged sword, I guess, of the not the double-edged sword. Maybe it's just like, you know, how it how it is to be the second shooter. Like you're not always getting like the perfect shot, you're just getting like somebody in your shot, and that's just how it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah. No, I I I don't envy that part of your second shooting. Yeah. Because I'd imagine it'd be very frustrating.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

To always have someone popping into it.

SPEAKER_00 29:32

I also, I mean, you don't really use uh this angle as much, but as the person just like watching it happen when the photographer uh takes the uh I forget what it is.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

The veil.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

The veil and like wraps it around them. I really enjoy like watching all that happen. And sometimes you do get in there, but there's no room for me to also get in there and like shoot from up their nose, you know. So it's not um, but creatively, I really do like that shot.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Yeah, no, that's fun. Um I'm curious how all of the second shooting you've done is has kind of helped you develop like your own skills or even like a business. Is it like kind of helped develop like a business mindset at all for you?

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Um not in the ways of like going off and doing this on my own. Yeah. Um, I think that I love working for you and doing it for you, but to go out and do it on my own, I don't have that vision. Um, it's not something I see for myself, but I do as the creative, like seeing these like different shots and these different angles and playing with foliage and buildings and all this. Um, I really love it for my own work with my film work. Yeah uh for those who don't know, I have a film lab in town in State College. Uh it's the first film lab in 35 years, which is pretty crazy. Yeah, that's awesome. Um but um yeah, just like film for me is it's completely different than digital. I got pretty burned out of digital photography, and I was kind of like in this weird mindset of like, I don't know what I'm doing anymore. Like, I don't know like what my purpose is. And a couple years ago, my buddy Chris he introduced film into my life, and it was like, whoa, this is like a style that I've really, really loved, or really, really love, and something that I want to implement in my work. And I bought a bunch of film cameras and a bunch of film and a bunch.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

I mean it's like 20.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

Yeah, uh, I'm a little bit of a collector.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Um

Film Photography As Creative Reset

SPEAKER_01 32:00

that works though with the film stuff. Yeah, I do feel like it. I mean, it's a it's a great point because uh I'm sure there's other creatives out there, maybe they're listening or watching, who are feeling that kind of creative burnout a little bit in one way or another. It sounds like film kind of brought out a different uh perspective for you.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Yeah, there was with digital, it's like you can take thousands of photos, whether it be on your phone or on your camera, and kind of like go through and see, and you're like, oh, I have a hundred good ones. Well, for film, I only have like, depending on the role, like 36 shots. So I really need to make sure that most of those shots are perfect.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

And so I really enjoy that. Uh I like the idea of putting something, uh it makes me sound old, but I like it uh that it's real, it's physical, that I can put in my camera, expose it to light, go home, develop it, flip it, the mechanical aspect of it. Yeah, it's just like real thing that I get to hold. It creates like clutter, but at the same time, like it's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

It's good clutter, it's good clutter.

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Yeah, it's good clutter. Um, but yeah, it's it's been really cool um seeing different film stocks, learning about um like cameras and how they work, because they're all just like light boxes.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Uh there's no like digital aspect to really any of them besides like maybe some like components.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

So do you feel like from your shift on the photo side of things to doing more uh film, yeah. Do you feel like that's kind of changed your perspective and like framing, composition, lighting, like like how has that kind of shifted your perspective there?

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Uh I think it's just like the idea of like where I want to shoot film, like uh maybe like two years ago I went to New Mexico to shoot a wedding, and that was crazy because I've never done like long-distance wedding before, and I brought some film with me, and I shot a bunch of film, and um checking on like angles and layering and finding like natural lines or like man-made lines, and like using all those things to like create moments and stories with photos. Um, I think that's just kind of like where I find the most of like the beauty of film is like finding like something very basic and turning it into like this really cool moment. Um, I found there was this one time I was walking in the woods and I found how all great stories start. Yeah, I mean it was not to be like super weird and nerdy and technical, but I was using black and white film, and the really neat thing about black and white is that it's really contrasty and it's like really moody too. And there were like these wood, like this wood pile of logs, and I was like, this is gonna be my subject, and I shot it and I brought it back, and it was really neat. I I really liked the contrast woody or like logs, I guess, in the in the photo, and um I think each each photo to me is like very special, yeah, in a way.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

Yeah. Um I I'd have to imagine like the slowness of the film kind of world that you put yourself in would would be like probably directly correlate to like how you are framing or composing stuff on a wedding day.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

And

From Burnout To A Film Lab

SPEAKER_01 36:00

I would have to imagine that it would like help kind of maybe slow you down a little bit or maybe like give you an extra second to pause and be like, do I like my framing?

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Do I like my composition? It how's my lighting?

SPEAKER_00 36:10

Yeah, there's definitely that too. Um, that's a great, great point because there are some times where whether I'm shooting film or doing video, where if I see something and if I don't like it, I won't shoot it. Before I was like, I'm just gonna take a thousand of this and just like you you are notorious for filling up memory cards. Yeah, but now I'm like not not so much. Yeah. Uh but yeah, there was definitely that point of like, is this worth capturing?

SPEAKER_01 36:41

Yeah. If someone's listening and they're like, you know, that second shooting thing sounds like a dream.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Uh where would like how do they get started? Um, like what do they do?

SPEAKER_00 36:54

Contact James. I don't know. Um I mean, I feel like you the first the first contact would be to reach out to a photographer or videographer and say, Hey, can I help? Can I like second shoot for you? Can I learn from you?

SPEAKER_02 37:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

I think the way you say it to somebody learning, can I learn from you is like really humbling in a way. Um because some some people may not know how to teach somebody until they like get their hands on a camera and say, Okay, this is how I do it, and this is how I want you to do it.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Yeah, definitely. Um from your perspective, uh, and maybe it's things that you've seen from me or you'd want to see from me, but like what makes a lead someone you'd want to second shoot for like over and over again?

SPEAKER_00 37:53

I think it's like seeing the work that you produce. Um I really admire your work because it's you're capturing like the day, but you're also telling a story, and you're not trying to like make it over the top, you know, you're not trying to fill it with like just nonsense. Yeah, but you're trying to you're just you're just there. And you're not like directing where it's telling a fake story, but you're telling a real story with a little direction.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Yeah, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 38:27

I yeah, I just I like that. And for somebody who doesn't really like directing anyway, um that's uh it's it's a positive thing for me. Um I I would say that for anybody else, it's kind of like if you like somebody's work and you want to help them, then just reach out. The worst thing they could say is no, or like I have somebody already.

SPEAKER_02 38:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Um when I reach out to people for because there was a there is kind of like a point where I do you want to still do like sports photography. And I reached out to so many people at Penn State and said, Hey, can I learn from you?

Composure, Selectivity, And Shooting Less

SPEAKER_00 39:10

Can I shoot with you? Can you can I shout at you? Can I learn from you? And I got a lot of notes, and that's fine. Um, all you have to do is try and shoot your shot. If you don't shoot, then you know, yeah. What's the point?

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Um Yeah, is it is there is there like process things that stand out to you that like another lead shooter you're like, hey, as a second, when you do that, it helps me uh have a better wedding day, an easier job um working with you. Like, are there other things that like speaking to other lead shooters, like, hey, that stuff is like super helpful?

SPEAKER_00 39:50

I think that um at least working with you, that you kind of like throughout the day, even though it feels like nagging sometimes, um, it is always always good to like hear you say, Okay, we needed to be here, we need to be there, I need you to be like a certain shot, or hey, can you do this this with the DJ? Like you're always like kind of reminding me throughout the day like what I need to do, where I need to be. Um I think I don't really watch other people do what they are doing.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

Um just like a clear expectation though, it sounds like is helpful.

SPEAKER_00 40:30

Yeah, just like the expectation is there where I need to what I need to do when what I need to do be.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Yeah. Um I I know uh I I feel like you've told me a couple of times um over the years, like things that I could do that like help make things run smoother and just be a little bit more chill on a wedding day. Um that I feel like having that clear expectation is is probably super helpful for other lead shooters, like the more you can communicate

How To Start Second Shooting

SPEAKER_01 41:00

and be on the same page with your second, yeah, the better the day is gonna go and the better the stuff you're gonna get from it is gonna be too. Because if I don't tell you and you come back and I we come back and I have I'm like, what was this? It's like well that's just that's what we do. You're like, I didn't like if you don't say something, yeah, um, or give some sort of feedback.

SPEAKER_00 41:20

Yeah. I feel like at every I mean I've always tried to make it an effort to ask you like what you would like to see from me from the next wedding, or what did you like, what did you not like? And I've always tried to make an effort to, even though that's hard for me to hear because I'm pretty bad with criticism, I think it's really important, we're really important for my work, uh whether it's film or wedding videos with you or whatever, um, that I can always continue learning.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Yeah, it I will uh agree with you. It's very hard to hear any sort of like, even if it's not meant to be criticism or critique of a creative thing, because it's so subjective, and then it's like you feel so like personally tied to it, you're like, ah, but I that's my thing. Like I put a lot of effort into that. Yeah. So hopefully if you're listening or watching, like you're seeing and hearing the value of having a second shooter. Um, whether that's the video side of things, the photo side of things, it's literally why in our packages now it's it's a team thing, it's not like us a single shooter. Um and some of my friends too are the same way, uh vendor friends that are photo or video, that they just they won't go out without a second. Um, I think there's just so much value for couples to have a second shooter, and for me, I got one of the best.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

Oh, please.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

Um, and so Pat, I appreciate you being on the podcast today. Um, your perspective is it's been cool to hear, and we just have we have quite the journey of friendship and you shooting with me at like all these weddings. Yeah. Couldn't do it without couldn't do it without you, bud.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Please.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

Um, so where can people follow along with your film photography and your your uh film lab?

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Yeah, so I have uh my personal Instagram that I use to like show off my work. That's on Instagram at uh pat underscore Simoneta. That's S-I-M-O-N-E-T-T-A. Um, and then the business account, which is Happy Valley Film Lab. People want to think it's labs, but we're not multiple. We're just one lab. Um Happy Valley Film Lab. Uh we haven't really done anything on there, it's just more stories, story posts, and that's

Expectations, Feedback, And Better Teams

SPEAKER_00 44:00

you can find the website where you can go and buy uh or purchase to develop with us and yeah it's just me and Chris um we've been shooting film together developing film for three years well two years now and it's been a lot of fun and we're just moving and grooving learning about how the business works and it's scary but it's new and different and we're really excited to just keep doing it.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

Yeah so if you need any film developed yep send it over to Happy Valley Film Live. Yep film lab Symbol lab yeah um and probably half the stuff you see from us is probably coming from Pat's camera um at some point or another so there's a ton of wedding work that's hidden in there that's Pat's gems but if you want to see his photo work a lot of film yes but you can check that out on his personal page and all that will be linked down below with the website and stuff like that so you guys can check that out.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

I would like to uh bring Super 8 camera to a wedding which is something else to do. It's a thing.

SPEAKER_01 45:11

It's a thing we'll definitely have to do that sometime. But I hope you guys have enjoyed this episode. It's a special episode for me having my second shooter on um but hopefully you guys have seen the value of having a second shooter if you're a couple if you're a vendor that doesn't usually use a second shooter definitely recommend it. It's worth the cost involved as a business I think our our clients our couples get a better end product because Pat is there as my second shooter. But that is all for this episode we'll catch you guys on the next episode of the preferred list