How To Get Hired (and Rehired) As A Second Photographer

Every wedding photographer will tell you that before booking your own weddings, you should be a second shooter for a seasoned photographer. And while most of you have already booked weddings by the time you get that advice, it’s still really good advice.

I’m no different - I started booking my own weddings before I had ever assisted or second shot for more experienced photographers. I shot my first wedding for free for a friend and loved it. And then shot the next few weddings for under $500 for a full day, and all the images. I even booked a few off of Craigslist for even cheaper. And before you cringe at my prices, I wasn’t even worth that. Looking back, I wish I had started any other way - reached out for advice, reached out for opportunities, hired a mentor - ANYTHING. I potentially could have ruined wedding days. So yes, please second shoot (or assist) before you take on your own weddings. Or even after you’ve taken on a wedding or two, but have realized you really shouldn’t be shooting them yourself yet. Once you learn better, do better.

Ok, soapbox moment and personal sharing time over. You’ve come here to learn HOW to get hired as a second. Because the why is pretty obvious (or you probably wouldn't be reading this to begin with)… but how do you do it? Well, here are my top 5 suggestions on becoming a second shooter for weddings.

1. Reach out

With exception of just a few second photographers, every single photographer that has worked for me has contacted me first and ASKED if they could second shoot for me. There is no harm in reaching out to a hundred local wedding photographers and asking if they need a second photographer! I’ve been contacted through my website contact form, direct emails and social media messaging - and all of those were fine with me. The biggest point is that if you don’t take that first step and actually ask, you probably won’t get many jobs.

2. Join Photography Groups

Scour social media for local photography groups. Join them! Be active in them. So many local photographers post in those groups looking for second photographers. If you are available, you will probably get hired in no time.

3. Show Your Work

Most likely, you don’t have a huge portfolio - because you wouldn’t be needing to be hired as a second if you already could book your own weddings (unless you have decided that being a main photographer isn’t for you and you just want to second shoot and not have the full stress of the day and piles of pictures to edit afterwards!). You should still be able to put something together. Have a gallery ready to share. Show the best of your best, but also show different parts of a wedding day, (or at least show work done in different types of lighting if you don’t have may or any weddings to show). When I’m hiring a second photographer, I want to be sure I can count on them at all moments of the day, not just portrait time. Experienced photographers can look at a portfolio and be able to see if the photographer is able to take pictures or not, even if they aren’t specifically from weddings.

If you have NO work to show at all - create some. Take pictures of your kids, your dog, your spouse. Join shoot outs in your area. Do model calls. I don’t suggest styled shoots because to me that is someone else doing all the work of posing and lighting and setting the scene - it’s not really your work.

4. Work For Free

I actually almost don’t want to write this one, because I feel like photography is such a “NEVER WORK FOR FREE” type of business that it goes against all other advice I ever give…. But, hear me out. Weddings are a lot of work. I don’t suggest working for free more than one time - but if you don't have ANY wedding experience to show, and no wedding portfolio, offer to come along as an assistant or a behind the scene shooter to a wedding that hasn't hired a second (Do NOT work for free in place of a second the couple has paid for, because the main photographer will be counting on you to get exact images, and you don’t want to be in the position of not delivering something and disappointing a client or the main photographer). Be an extra set of hands and extra camera, and show the main photographer what you can do! Think of it as work-training.

This is actually how three of my seconds got hired by me earlier on. They were just starting out and offered to come along as anything I needed - assistant, second shooter, bag carrier - just to get the feel of how a wedding day flows and for the chance to learn from me. They showed me they could use their camera, get good angles, help when needed, learn, take critique, and were professional and polite to my clients. This allows the main photographer to see your work, how you act with their clients, and allows you to learn from them in a real life situation. Keep in mind that the other way of learning this is by paying a mentor or joining a workshop (which is really a highly controlled wedding and not real experience at all), where you would be paying to do the same thing.

5. Ask for their rules

I know that this doesn’t seem like something that would get you hired, but trust me, every photographer has a different set of rules they want their seconds to follow. Some don’t care if you use the pictures you take wherever. Some won’t allow you to use any, ever. Some will allow on websites but not social media. Some will allow social media after a certain time. Some want you to shoot and share behind the scenes and some don’t want you using your phone at all. Some will allow you to pose the couple, and others feel like that oversteps their authority. So asking for the specific photographers rules lets them know that you are aware they’ll have rules, and that you are willing to follow those rules.

This is the top recommendation for if you want to get re-hired!

Bonus tip:

Try again.

You may run into a lot of no’s, maybe later’s, or no responses. Don’t let that be the end the world for you. Maybe they have a solid group of second photographers already. Maybe their year is already figured out. Maybe they saw your message, didn’t want to respond right then, and then forgot about it (that’s usually what happens to me). Try with other photographers, try that photographer again in six months. Don’t give up!