Can money be made as a Second Shooter?

[zebulus]

I could really use some extra funds right now and dont really desire to do another wedding as a main shooter. Can money be made as a second shooter? What do I have to do to get second shooter gigs?

[Cajungaltx]

I guess the question would be, why don't you want to do another wedding as a main shooter?

You can make money doing just about anything - but 'money' and 'lots of money' are different categories... lol.

[ChristopherCoy]

the difference between stress.... and ALOT of stress? I dont know... LOL

[Cajungaltx]

Originally Posted by ChristopherCoy

the difference between stress.... and ALOT of stress? I dont know... LOL

And that'd be the reason the guy that OWNS the company should always make more than the people who work there...

I agree - there is a definite stress level reduction if you are the second shooter... mainly cause there is a lower level of responsibility. If you screw up, it's the main shooter's issue to deal with...

[zebulus]

Well ive done ONE wedding, didnt make enough money, still havent made all the money they owe me, and it was more work than it was worth.

If I could do anything I want it would be portrait sessions/engagement stuff but I cant ever seem to get gigs.

I work full time as a network sys admin and could really use some extra money coming in on the side as im trying to buy a house AND get married before september.

Plus I dont really have a "great" gear setup, but it got the job done for that one wedding and I got great shots so I know I could do engagement/portraits.

[mmuhlenkamp]

I've considered this for myself (less stress, no business aspect to deal with, etc), but haven't done anything about it. I think it would be best to find a wedding photographer(s) that you admire and ask if you can meet them and look at your work, offer to assist or 3rd shoot a wedding for free so that they can get the feel of working with you and hopefully you'll become a requested 2nd shooter of theirs. This will probably take few tries, but this is a profession where you aren't just going to get hired on for your resume.

[Cajungaltx]

Maybe it's just me, but I have a friend who is a network sys admin, who does extra work in that industry ALL the time. Why not utilize your talents there as well?

[CaptainTom]

somehow got duplicated.

[zebulus]

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

Maybe it's just me, but I have a friend who is a network sys admin, who does extra work in that industry ALL the time. Why not utilize your talents there as well?

Depending on the situation, that can be very unethical. You are basically selling your talents and skills to another company. In fact, that was the reason that my predecessor lost his job and they hired me.

So yeah, no I cant and wouldnt do that. Its pretty unethical. I am THE sys admin here at my company.

[dtscds]

Okay, so there is good news and bad news...

Yes, there is supposedly money that can be made as a second shooter. I haven't seen it but I have heard stories about it... How to do it is the $64 question. You have to be really good and work really well with someone who does lots of weddings and feels confident enough in your ability to hire you on a fairly regular basis. I suppose it's like anything else--if you get the reputation as a really good second then you will get the gigs. Until then it's lots of frustration and questions. (That's where I am right now--lots of frustration and questions.)

I looked through your site. I would say that first, you need to concentrate on getting better at shooting weddings. The biggest thing you could do would be to learn to be VERY critical of your work. You posted lots of images in your wedding gallery that should never have seen the light of day. There were white balance issues, some badly out of focus, bad posing, lighting/exposure issues and in at least a couple you cropped off part of the bride or groom. These should have been dumped in the editing/culling process.

These things happen, that's why the 'spray and pray' method is so popular. But, you are putting yourself out there as a "Professional" so your work needs to be up to the highest standards. Only the very, very best should ever make it out there to be seen. The fact that I was able to see out of focus, bad white balance, poor composition or underexposed shots on your gallery is not a good thing!

It's all a learning process so hopefully you can say you have a couple of concrete things you learned from this experience. If you have then I would say it was a successful outing.

I wish I could tell you from my own experience how to make it a go in the second shooter world. I'm right there with you so keep up the effort and good luck! Like they say, "If it were easy, everybody would do it."

[CaptainTom]

If you want to be a second shooter, there are a few opportunities out there that might fit your plan.
I can understand the concept of being the second or third shooter because I was a third/assistant this weekend.
There is not the stress involved that you have as a primary shooter, but you still get to apply all your skills and expertise when needed. Of course, you won't make the money that a primary will make, but your work load is also proportionately less.
I enjoyed being the assistant to two great wedding photogs and look forward to our next gig together.

[zebulus]

Can you point out a few bad ones to me? I know they arent all perfect, but I would like to see the ones you thought should be dumped. Maybe the worst 5?

[dtscds]

Originally Posted by zebulus

Can you point out a few bad ones to me? I know they arent all perfect, but I would like to see the ones you thought should be dumped. Maybe the worst 5?

I can't tell you how nervous it makes me to be critical of someone else's work when my own work needs SO MUCH to improve!

Page #1: the 4th picture--the group shot on the steps--the blacks are way too black. The black suits are all blended together. There is no separation between the suits and the background. Also, the little boy is too far away from the rest of the people--it feels like he isn't a part of the group. The grooms face has a pink tint to it. I saw this on several in the group shots.

I skipped the group shots since I have no room to speak to anyone about posing/lighting group shots. Lots of them looked like snapshots and many were a little dark. The pink tint to his face showed up again and lots where his suit lost detail/separation. Some of them the grooms suit/tie seem like they are purple and others black.

Page #4:
#3--group shot of 4 people at the top right--pretty underexposed.
#7--shot of him on one knee in front of her--underexposed. (I like the feel of this pose though)
#9--B&W of him kissing her cheek--out of focus and a little dark.
#10--the B & G kissing the little boy--pretty bad out of focus which is too bad because the little boy's expression is great!

Like I said before, I am not real comfortable doing this type of critique given my lack of skillz! I hope this helps and hopefully others who are WAY more qualified to give instruction will chime in and help--it will help me too...

[zebulus]

Yeah, I didnt care for the group shots either. That was the grooms choice, not mine. I tried my best with what I had.

This shot was the biggest dissapointment of the day.



The first kiss, my speedlite failed. I was so pissed.

But then I also had this one earlier that day:


So yeah, for my first wedding, It turned out okay. But overall, I was very dissatisfied with the way they came out. And If I were to pick some for my Portfolio, I would use MAYBE 2 of them from that day. But they were a paying client so its on my site.

[CaptainTom]

My advice is to shoot in RAW and use Photoshop to correct the errors.
As you see more errors that you make, you should be able to improve on your technique and skills to eliminate them.

experience is also a big help.

first kiss - flash doesn't go off. Use your backup camera and flash that you lug around with you for just such situations. OR. re-create the first kiss after the ceremony. Only the photog and b&g will know it's not the real first one.

This is also the opportunity for the second shooter to make his pay. He/she should be covering your back.
I had a wedding where the wedding party was coming down the aisle. My flash quit working, and I had left the back up on the side of the church.
A quick look up to my second in the choir loft, and he started shooting the wedding party coming down the aisle.
I got to run over, grab the back up and return in time for the bride.
When you look at the album, you just might notice that a couple of the bridesmaids where shot from a high angle, but it just looks like an artistic use of angle.

Silent communication between the primary and secondary is very important.
The secondary almost needs to know what the primary needs, before the primary knows he needs it.