Second Shooter

ruggedshutter · May 3, 2014

I'm trying to find some local photographers to second shoot for. I've been Google searching for local photographers and cold contacting them through their websites. What would do you think would be the best approach? I've checked Monster, Careerbuilder, Craigslist, local newspapers...etc. I've contacted about a dozen photographers so far and have only received a response from 2 of them. Most of them haven't even sent back a "Thanks for your email" response.

ShaneF · May 3, 2014

i would search facebook for photography groups in your area.

pixmedic · May 3, 2014

Do what I did.
marry a photographer.

ruggedshutter · May 3, 2014

Thanks ShaneF, I'll try that too.

Pixmedic...already married but maybe I can turn her into a photographer. What's the deal with husband and wife teams now? I was in the wedding industry in the early 2000's and you rarely heard of husband and wife teams. Now it seems that every wedding photographer is a H-W team.

pixmedic · May 3, 2014

ruggedshutter said:
Thanks ShaneF, I'll try that too.

Pixmedic...already married but maybe I can turn her into a photographer. What's the deal with husband and wife teams now? I was in the wedding industry in the early 2000's and you rarely heard of husband and wife teams. Now it seems that every wedding photographer is a H-W team.

a built in free second shooter/equipment hauler.
a woman to shoot the girls getting ready, and a man to shoot the guys getting ready. (some people are more comfortable like that)

ShaneF · May 3, 2014

Maybe you can just borrow pixmedic's wife. Were all friends here right?

pixmedic · May 3, 2014

ShaneF said:
Maybe you can just borrow pixmedic's wife. Were all friends here right?

we actually had a forum member come shoot with us on a wedding a while back so they could get wedding experience.
It went really well.

rexbobcat · May 3, 2014

Contrary to popular belief, the photographer in its natural state is very narcissistic. It is only when meeting with a client or posting on Facebook that it displays its sugary sweet defense mechanism.

tirediron · May 3, 2014

ruggedshutter said:
... Most of them haven't even sent back a "Thanks for your email" response.

Have you tried going around, knocking on doors and actually talking to people? Or, at the very least telephoning? It's much harder to ignore a real, live voice.

KmH · May 3, 2014

No doubt. Contact through their web site is like sending them SPAM and won't likely cut it.

Nothing beats contact in person with a hard copy portfolio in hand.

gsgary · May 3, 2014

pixmedic said:
Do what I did.
marry a photographer.

I would rather marry a nimfomaniak

Tamgerine · May 20, 2014

Finding a second shooter is hard because SO many people want to do it and are doing the same things that you have already tried. Can you imagine how many second shooting requests those photographers get in a week? A month?

In my experience wedding photographers ask other wedding photographers. Who wants to hire a random stranger for an important day like that if you can get someone with experience who you already know can follow through and be dependable?

You need to meet people and network or get lucky. One of those things is more effective than the other.

IzzieK · May 20, 2014

How about contacting a meetup group in your area? All of them are either amateur, beginners or pro too. And they are in a group to get more experience in shooting. So most of them will have a camera too. Just a thought...

ruggedshutter · May 20, 2014

Thanks for all of the advice. I think that I'm going to have some of my images printed and hit their shops in the coming weeks. I received a few replies back saying that they will add me to their list of second shooters, which was they said was already at 2-3 other people so who knows. At this point I would be willing to shoot with them on my own dime just for some more experience.