Associate & Second Shooter Training

Our clients should receive the same level of professionalism and care whether Geo is personally photographing their event or an associate is representing Palacios Studio.

Never create unnecessary stress for the couple.

If something goes wrong technically, solve the problem professionally without unnecessarily alarming the client.

If the schedule is running late, help find solutions instead of complaining about the timeline.

Our responsibility goes beyond taking photographs or recording video. We want couples to feel that their wedding is being professionally taken care of.

• Arrive early enough to be completely ready when contracted coverage begins.
• Dress professionally in clean neutral or black attire unless otherwise instructed.
• No alcohol, recreational drugs or impairment while working.
• Do not distribute personal business cards or solicit Palacios Studio clients.
• Do not argue with planners, venues, DJs or other vendors.
• Do not disappear during important portions of the event.
• Keep unnecessary personal phone use to a minimum.
• Never miss a major event because you were eating, talking or using your phone.
• Synchronize camera clocks before coverage begins.
• Use redundant recording whenever professional equipment allows.
• Do not format wedding media until successful delivery is confirmed.
• Do not publicly post client content before Palacios Studio approves publication.

The Associate is the lead representative of Palacios Studio during the assignment.

The Associate is responsible for understanding the timeline, anticipating important moments, communicating with the couple and planner when appropriate, organizing portraits, coordinating the second shooter and ensuring critical moments are documented.

Critical moments include

Getting ready, details, first looks, ceremony entrances, vows, rings, first kiss, recessional, family portraits, wedding-party portraits, couple portraits, introductions, first dance, parent dances, speeches, cake cutting, cultural traditions and other scheduled events.

A second shooter should not simply create a duplicate version of the lead photographer or filmmaker's coverage.

Look for what the lead cannot see.

• Reactions.
• Parents and grandparents.
• Guests.
• Alternate perspectives.
• Environmental images.
• Details.
• Candid interactions during portraits.

During major moments, coordinate positions so that the team's cameras provide genuinely different and useful perspectives.

Be friendly, confident and helpful with clients.

Questions regarding pricing, packages, contracts, refunds, delivery dates or additional products should be referred to Palacios Studio.

Never make financial, delivery or contractual promises on behalf of Palacios Studio without authorization.

Photography and video are equally important.

Before ceremonies, introductions, speeches and dances, communicate about positioning whenever possible.

• Do not repeatedly walk through another camera operator's composition.
• Do not intentionally block locked ceremony cameras.
• Avoid standing directly beside another shooter creating the exact same perspective.
• Use quiet visual communication during ceremonies.

• Photographs must be captured in RAW.
• Dual-card recording should be used whenever the camera supports it and the assignment allows it.
• Synchronize camera clocks with the photography team before coverage begins.
• Do not intentionally remove metadata from original photographs.

Palacios Studio performs final color correction and creative finishing. Editing should not be relied upon to rescue fundamentally poor photography.

Protect skin tones and important highlights while retaining useful shadow detail. Images should be sharp where intended and compositions should feel deliberate.

Watch for distracting exit signs, trash cans, speakers, microphone stands, parked vehicles and objects appearing to grow out of someone's head.

Tell the complete story.

Whenever possible, photograph important sequences using a combination of wide, medium and tight compositions.

Our preference is flattering, natural-looking light.

Use natural light creatively when appropriate. Use professional flash when conditions require it rather than accepting unusable exposure or poor image quality.

Portraits should feel relaxed and intentional. Provide direction when needed while leaving room for natural interaction.

Our wedding films combine cinematic storytelling with documentary coverage.

A beautiful cinematic clip cannot replace missing vows, a missing first kiss, an incomplete first dance or an unusable speech.

Resolution

Unless the event brief specifies otherwise, wedding footage should be recorded in 4K.

Frame Rate

23.98/24 fps is preferred for cinematic real-time coverage when appropriate. 60 fps may be used for footage intended for slow motion.

Do not randomly change frame rates without a creative or technical reason.

White Balance

Manual or controlled white balance is preferred. Avoid unnecessary temperature shifts within the same sequence.

Movement

Movement should feel intentional. Use tripods, monopods and gimbals appropriately.

Palacios Studio documentary films frequently contain the complete ceremony. Ceremony coverage therefore needs to remain continuous and usable.

Camera strategy

A primary camera should provide a dependable master shot. Additional cameras provide alternate perspectives and redundancy.

Never simply assume another camera is recording correctly.

Monitor recording status, battery life, card capacity, focus and exposure whenever practical.

Critical ceremony moments

• Processional.
• Entrance.
• Vows.
• Ring exchange.
• Religious or cultural traditions.
• First kiss.
• Announcement.
• Recessional.

Important audio should never depend entirely on one source.

Ceremony

Whenever practical, use multiple sources such as a body-worn recorder, officiant recorder, groom or participant recorder, DJ/venue feed and camera reference audio.

Speeches

Capture a clean source from the microphone or DJ system plus an independent backup whenever practical.

Always confirm that recorders are actually recording, that levels are usable, that storage is available and batteries have enough capacity.

Whenever practical, media should be transferred directly to Palacios Studio at the end of the assignment.

When remote delivery is required, begin the upload as soon as reasonably possible following the event.

Photography

Deliver original RAW files.

Video

Deliver original camera files and all externally recorded audio.

Do not rename, transcode, compress or color-correct original media unless Palacios Studio specifically requests it.

Palacios Studio controls the initial publication of work created for Palacios Studio clients.

Do not publish photographs, videos, Stories, Reels or behind-the-scenes content before approval.

Approved portfolio use should accurately identify that the work was created while working with or on behalf of Palacios Studio.

Do not market personal services directly to Palacios Studio clients while working an assignment.

If illness, an accident, equipment failure or another genuine emergency threatens your ability to complete an assignment, contact Palacios Studio immediately.

Professional associates should maintain reasonable equipment redundancy and emergency preparation.

Perfection is not the expectation.

Small imperfections can happen during live events. What cannot routinely happen is losing vows, missing a first kiss, recording unusable speeches, delivering severely out-of-focus portraits, losing files, arriving late, disappearing during critical moments or behaving unprofessionally.