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How to Become a Successful Second Shooter

Have you been wanting to learn more about second shooting? Well then, this blog is for you! I was a second shooter for years and I really pride myself on the fact that I was an amazing second shooter. Second shooting was something I strived SO hard to be good at because I knew that someday it was going to be my career. I wanted to have career in shooting weddings which is the most special day of somebody's life so I knew I would need to be good! I'll never forget the first time I was a second shooter. A dear friend of mine hired me knowing I had absolutely no experience in the wedding world and she's the reason why I am good today. But, that first day I showed up and she said, “Hey I'm going to have you take pictures of the bride getting ready, putting on her dress, the bridesmaids, bridal party, and all the details… and I'm going to go over to the guys.” Now it’s important for you to understand that usually when you're a second shooter it is generally your job to go over to the guys and the main shooter will stay with the ladies. Because let's be honest, the bride is the focus of the day. But for my first day as a second shooter the roles were reversed and I was with the ladies and so I had to literally jump into a role that I knew NOTHING about! There was one moment where I literally didn't know what to do and I just sat there, and I thought “oh gosh… I don't know how to pose these people”. That day taught me what to do and I was better for it but it's my goal to help you never be in that situation. 

So, first things first, when you're first getting into the second shooting world you are going to run into a lot of photographers that don't really want to bring on a new second shooter. Even I have a couple of second shooters that I work with regularly and I enjoy creating a bond with those people. So, it is rare that I bring on new second shooters. However, if someone reaches out to me wanting to second shoot, I will put them on a list so when I do need somebody in a pinch, I can reach out to them! When I first started second shooting, I got turned down A LOT until… I learned how to pitch myself in a way that was super successful. My best piece of advice for you when you're pitching yourself is make sure to add all your information upfront so the photographer you're pitching yourself to doesn’t have to work extra hard to find it. You want your potential employer to know all the details about you so creating a pitch email is extremely important!

Secondly, it's really important to know what kind of gear you need to have to start out. I understand that when you're starting out as a wedding photographer money can be tight in the beginning of your career. So knowing what gear you need to get now and what gear you can splurge on later is incredibly important. For example, you will need a portrait lens and a wide-angle lens but won’t need a fisheye lens or a tilt shift lens in the beginning. It's important to have the right gear so that you are prepared on the big day. For example, you need two camera bodies and a multitude of cards. The gear that you already have should be listed in your pitch email so that the photographer will be able to judge if you are prepared enough to be on their team or if you are still missing some things. 

After you've pitched yourself to your potential new boss, you're going to want to meet with them in so that you can ask all the important questions before committing to working for them. You need to know what questions to ask, such as where are you supposed to be and when on the big day, can you share your photos, and at what point can you share your photos? All of this stuff is so freaking important to ask about now so that you don't run into an issue with the photographer later. I worked for a photographer when I was first starting out and I didn't ask these questions beforehand and we were sitting at the wedding and I was really excited about getting to share my images because it was a VERY nice wedding, the vendors were incredible, the bride and groom were stunning, and it was amazing! I was beyond excited about everything, and I said, “Okay so I was planning on sharing these, but I know maybe I shouldn't share them for a few months, or how do you go about that?” and mind you this was DURING the wedding. I didn't choose to ask this before and the photographer looked at me and said, “I booked this wedding. you have no rights to those photos. I don't think it’s fair that you post them.” So I literally had just inserted my foot into my mouth, and I sat there asking myself why I was even working for this person. Yes it is great to gain knowledge as a second shooter, that's why we second shoot. WE want to gain knowledge and to understand a wedding day better, see how other photographers run through a wedding day, and all of the thing. But the main thing is that we're able to share the images we take because how else are we going to get our name out there as photographers? Each photographer has their own rules and I want you to learn from my mistake and understand the importance of asking those questions before you are hired. 

Now believe it or not photographers have a lot of expectations for their second shooters on a wedding day. The best second shooters I've ever had seem to always magically appeared in places where I need them throughout the day. If you don’t understand a timeline and where you're supposed to be throughout the day you are not going to be able to be successful. It is uber important you know the timeline, where to be, and when to be there, because the main photographer has hired you to do a job and that job is to be where they can’t be. For example, you almost will most likely be photographing the reception area details while the main photographer is working with the bride and the bridal party. There are ten to twenty things that you will be solely responsible for throughout the day and knowing those things is imperative to the success of the day. 

I hope you have found this blog helpful! If you would like to learn more about second shooting, then check out my eBook and the LMP Collective, both of which are great educational resources.