Associate and Second Shooter — Love Long and Prosper Photography

Associate and Second Shooter Info

Hello! If you are looking at this page then you are considering hiring me as an associate or 2nd shooter!

So let’s begin with the boring stuff….

**All photos shown on this page are from me 2nd shooting events, but with my own edits**

**Credit goes to Katie Lovaas, Jessra Photography, and Emma Thurgood for these weddings**

My Gear

(2) Sony A7iii (yeahhhh I’m a Sony fanboy)
16mm, 50mm macro, 28-75mm, 135mm
(2) AD200
(like 4+?) V860ii’s
Magmod attachments
42 & 30in softbox
and more, but this is the important stuff of course

About Me

Hello! My name is Gary Pope and my business is Love Long and Prosper Photography! I picked up a camera for the first time almost 5 years ago (bought my first Canon T5i January 2017!), and I didn’t even want to be a photographer…let alone a wedding photographer lmao. I wanted to be a freaking Youtuber.

Fast forward to that not working out, and me realizing that I actually enjoy weddings because I like working with people and here I am today.

When working with me you can expect a super mellow dude that is VERY sarcastic, and that rubs off into clients as well. I work very well with everyone at weddings but groomsmen in particular love working with me because I tend to fit in a lot of these inner circles pretty well.

Also my opinion on what a 2nd shooter is maybe unpopular but I joke around and call myself your “bitch” for the day (and I’ll jokingly say this to the groomsmen too if they are the crowd that would laugh and appreciate it). But if you need some water, I’ll run and find some. If you need me to setup lights, I’ll run off and do that, or hell if you need me to hold lights for an hour instead of shooting, then no problem at all for me.

I’m there to make this day easier for you and your couples and that’s my main focus.

My Style

During weddings my style floats between 2 very diverse styles.

When I’m shooting portraits I DEFINITELY lean towards a traditional style with the typical poses you may see in some wedding photos. If there’s one thing I do that’s unique though, it’s how I get couples going. Instead of just saying “smile” I’ll usually put the couple into a situation where they will naturally smile. Same thing when working with groups and asking them to laugh.

During the rest of the wedding, I definitely lean towards documentary. I enjoy crowds and I enjoy action during a wedding and I’ll try to find myself in the middle of it if possible.

Also note that starting as of 2022, I’ve been enrolled in Two Man University so I’m drastically upgrading the way I approach weddings to add a bit more “soul” and depth to my wedding photos.

I LOVE RECEPTIONS

My Strengths

I'm Stupid Ready

I’m honestly a gear hoarder. If a random adapter broke off on a random piece of gear, there’s a chance I have an extra

I Can Lead

If needed I can lead a wedding and I thrive in improvising and chaotic moments. So I’m the type to NOT be in a panic if I woke up one morning and you told me I have to lead the wedding that day.

I also have my own 2nd’s and assistants I can call in these moments too.

2MU Student

Have no idea what 2MU is? Well it’s a course ran by Two Man Studios that teaches photographers how to drastically upgrade the way they shoot weddings.

They teach how to get clients to show their souls to you, how to capture these moments, and how to be extremely capable of capturing very unique looking photos.

I'm A Funny Chameleon

In other words I can fit right in with many different crowds.

I grew up in Boston so I can talk to city folks. Half of my family is from down south so I have those Southern roots. I went to school out in the suburbs for 16 years so I know all of the words to Panic At The Disco. I lead the largest board game group in CT at one point so I can talk to geeks. And all of my friends are big sports jocks too so I can go back and forth.

Strong at OCF

I literally walk around with a staff with a flash attached to it, and I have plenty of OCF gear. If the venue has crappy lighting, or if you need someone who can run and gun candids outside in the pitch black I’m the guy you want.

There’s literally no lighting situation that is too bad for me.

I'm your bitch

Like I said before, no task is beneath me or above me. I’m there to get the job done and to make your couples happy.

What's The Catch?

What’s The Catch?

I Hate Dressing Up

No joke, if I have to dress up anything more than cargo pants and a polo I’m going to have to get paid more.

I wish I was joking….I kind of am joking because I can laugh at myself and how childish I am, but I’m also serious lol.

I Want The Photos
For My Portfolio Too!

I like to let everyone know ahead of time that I don’t have too much of an interest in shooting if I can’t use the photos for my own portfolio as well.

Of course I would give credit on all blog and social posts

I Never Show Up Early

I’m just calling a spade a spade. Now I usually show up to weddings about 15-20 minutes early so I can get on my gear then walk inside.

If you want someone that shows up an hour or so early to scout out the area, I’m not your guy, unless if you are willing to pay for that hour!

I Hate Details

Oh I’ll shoot details, won’t argue about it or anything at all.

But I’m not the guy if you want crazy good flatlays.

Like…I can shoot a flatlay, but I don’t come prepared with ribbons, flowers, pieces of glass to raise items on, etc, etc.

People Sometimes
Mistaken Me For The Lead

This is just brutally honest, but this happens more times than I’d like to admit when being a 2nd and it’s not intentional.

I walk around with a light staff, I’m loud at times, and I can at times joke around a lot with the groomsmen.

I always tone myself down a bit when I’m a 2nd to avoid this, but it still happens.

My Price

Second shooting – $75/hr

Associate/Lead Shooting – $150/hr

Travel – $30/hr (from Rocky Hill, CT)

FAQ

How Do I Deliver Photos

I’ve had photographers send me memory cards ahead of time, or they give me them at the start of the wedding. But as long as you give me 2 cards I’m all set.

If you do not give me any cards, I’ll deliver the photos via Dropbox, but you may have to wait 3-5 days for all of the RAWs to upload.

Payment

I’ll accept cash on the day of the shoot, Venmo, or if you have a payment system with W9 employees I’m down for that too.

Did I miss anything?

Email me at gary@lovelongandprosperphotography.com with any questions!

Photos

So below are photos I’ve taken as a 2nd shooter.

I have more but I’m also WAAAAAY too lazy to edit them all since I have my own weddings to take care of.

If you’d like to see some of my own weddings and stuff you can check that out here:

rave reviews

Rave reviews

from past clients

Gary from [Love Long and Prosper Photography] has been easy-going, personable and informative. We had the pleasure of Gary doing our engagement shoot. Gary first meet with us to explain his process and was always available for questions. My fiancée and I are far from professional models, but Gary's cheerful demeanor made the experience memorable and playful. Gary walked us through common poses and tricks, all while allowing us to naturally interact. The result were stellar! Gary will be taking photos for our wedding and has been overwheming flexible and accommodating to changes during the pandemic, as well. Highly recommended!

We love love loved Gary as our photographer for our wedding!! I’m so impressed by so many of the shots he captured of our day...he is so easy to work with, very laid back and so professional at the same time. He did such an amazing job of capturing the entire vibe of our wedding day from start to finish...we got soooo many compliments on our photos I’m just over the moon happy with everything!!

Gary was spectacular to work with and I would recommend him in a heartbeat. Our engagement and wedding pictures came out beautifully. He was so patient with us and very flexible. Not to mention, we had so much fun during the engagement shoot. Gary’s creative and sentimental activities made the shoot such a memorable experience (I’m being completely serious—we had a blast!) I am thankful that we chose him to capture the moments on one of the most important days of our lives.

Have used Gary's services on multiple occasions now and will be looking to him for any of our future photography needs. I can't begin to describe how good our wedding pictures came out, I've received multiple compliments on the quality of the pictures and have even been told by a friend that they wish they had Gary taken theirs. Quality service and easy to work with.

Gary was my photographer for our wedding last Saturday August 24th. Gary and Amy did an amazing job capturing every special moment. We have only received our highlights and preview reel but are so happy with how the few we saw came out so far. Gary was a pleasure to work with beginning to end. Highly recommend [Love Long and Prosper Photography]!

Gary is a very talented photographer. He makes photoshoots fun and the end products are amazing. He can make any setting into a beautiful backdrop for your photos and he’s adaptable to your photography needs. I definitely would recommend hiring him as your photographer for any special occasion."

meet your
geeky photographer

Hello! I’m Gary Pope, the lead photographer of Love Long and Prosper. I’m your typical super-geeky dude turned photography enthusiast who just loves capturing quirky couples and families! As a self-proclaimed-ex-D-list-board-game-Youtube-celebrity, I am also a self-proclaimed expert with working with geeks and those that do not fit the “norm”…or whatever that means.

I’m all about bringing the fun and capturing the most intimate moments you will ever have!