4 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Hired to Second Shoot Weddings in 2024
Week after week, in our PA Area Photographers Facebook group, we see posts from wedding photographers looking for second photographers to shoot for at upcoming weddings. These posts quickly attract long lists of hopeful candidates in the comments. The mood can turn cut-throat as photographers drop their information, hoping to be chosen. If you’re wondering why it has gotten so hard to get hired lately, we’ll talk about it here today and give you some tips for a better selection.
Wedding Photographers Experienced an Increase in Available Work in 2021 and 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic left many people scrambling for work after their 9-5 regular jobs vanished. For photographers, it resulted in the rescheduling of countless weddings from 2020 to 2021 and 2022. The supply of weddings increased dramatically in 2021 & 2022 from the rescheduled weddings, so much so that established professional wedding photographers were turning away potential wedding bookings week after week because their schedules were already full.
Due to the excess, many of the reliable, qualified second shooters we used to hire booked up their schedules with their own weddings, leaving us scrambling for new talent to second shoot for us. A new opportunity as a freelance wedding photographer opened up for people needing flexible work, and we saw a massive influx of new people with cameras ready to take the jobs.
The problem with how it all happened is that many people with little to no training were getting hired out of the desperation of the supply-and-demand need for photographers to lead and second-shoot weddings in 2021 and 2022. But it didn’t stay that way…
The time had never been better to get into wedding photography!
The pendulum has swung in the other direction in 2024
What happened? Getting booked and finding second-shooting jobs in 2021 and 2022 was easy. And now….crickets.
The thing is, it couldn’t last. 2024 has seen a dramatic drop in the number of weddings booked by photographers almost everywhere. There’s a lot of speculation as to why, but that’s a topic for another article. Most established professionals I have talked to have experienced at least a 25% drop in their bookings for this year. The pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Those who were newer and thriving during the surge suddenly aren’t getting any bookings in 2024, even second-shooting gigs. Their lack of training has started to rule them out.
With fewer weddings available in the market, skill and experience are back to being necessities for both lead and second photographer positions. Those without it aren’t standing a chance. There are too many photographers to choose from, not to select the best with the most competitive rate.
In today’s article, I’m sharing the four biggest reasons experienced wedding photographers pass over a second-shooter candidate and how to fix them to give you a fighting chance in today’s market. We all know the best way to gain experience on a wedding day is to second-shoot for photographers at a similar skill level.
1. Portfolio
If you are a skilled, experienced wedding photographer and keep getting passed over, your portfolio may not show us what we need to see — even if you are qualified.
As a second photographer, you are in charge of one side of the wedding party (usually the guys if it’s a guy/girl wedding) and the groom’s formal portraits & detail shots. The lead photographer will expect you to get creative, editorial, and alternate angles during other times while they are taking the straight-on, camera-aware shots. The lead photographer may even ask you to take the reception space/table scapes/cake/seating chart photos on a traditional timeline. They will also need you to take guest reactions and party dancing with flash during the reception.
If all we see in your portfolio are couple’s portraits and ceremony shots in natural light, we don’t know if you will do an excellent job of the second shooting role all day.
The fix:
Create a second shooting brochure or a non-public page on your website that you can use to show off your amazing second shooter photos:
Wedding Party
Groom Portraits
Groom Details
Creative Secondary Angles
Reception Space
Guest Reactions
Party Dancing With Flash
Show us you can do the job!
Are you thinking, “I don’t know how to shoot with flash?” Or, “I don’t know how to take reception space or detail photos”? Learn how to take all these and more at Lancaster Photography School.
We also need to know your second shooting rates.
The second photographer is a contractor for hire. You need to list your rates and what you typically deliver. Say maybe $40/hr and a guaranteed 50 tack-sharp, usable images per hour. I’m not saying these should be your rates or promises, but you need to know what you can offer and what it’s worth to second-shoot—typically with little to no credit for your hard work.
We discuss average rates and how to approach pricing yourself in our Second Shooting class at Lancaster Photography School.
2. Communication
I know, I know. You are just responding to the post, but it’s not very professional to respond to a request for a second photographer post with just an “I’m free!” comment and then drop your IG or website. If this is all they have from you, they have to search your website for your portfolio and email address to contact you if they are interested in hiring you. You’re not making it very easy for them to choose you. Do you really want to get hired?
And again, the lead photographer needs to know your rates and what you offer to make an educated choice about hiring you. Give them more information to consider. Being able to drop the link for your second shooter page on your website gives them all the information they need and is a polished move.
The most important thing to remember is to follow the directions in the post. If the post said “NO DM’s,” DO NOT DM them! If the post says to email information, don’t drop your link in the comments; EMAIL THEM!
If you can’t follow the simple instructions in a post, how can you be trusted with someone’s wedding day?
The Fix:
Comment on the post with something like:
“I’m available. I’ll email more information for your consideration.”
This response doesn’t assume your qualifications and promises hope that you will deliver just what they need to know to make the decision — right to their inbox. You are already making their life easier — just what they seek in a second shooter.
Send a well-written email (and make it a template so you don’t have to keep writing it repeatedly!). Explain your strengths and what makes you qualified, what you charge, what you deliver, and, in general, what you expect to be included in the contract, whether you will want to post pictures from the day, and how you will bill the lead photographer’s business.
List your gear and link to your portfolio, or attach your brochure with all the information. Don’t drone on and on. Just say what the photographer needs to hear and add something nice about how much you love their work and how it would be an honor to work with them, serve our clients, and so on—adding that last part lets them know you aren’t in it for portfolio-building and are a professional second shooter who understands the role.
We walk you through the psychology of the email in Second Shooting class at Lancaster Photography School!
Are you thinking:
“I’m not sure I do understand the role.”
Don't worry; we’ll talk you through it in class at LPS. I discuss this topic from the perspective of the lead and the second photographer in class at LPS. Because, let’s face it, most wedding photographers get this part entirely wrong to prove a contractor (1099) vs. employee relationship to the IRS.
Hint, hint: If the lead is telling the second shooter what they will pay them for their work, how they will pay them, when they will pay, and what the second photographer must deliver — it’s actually an employer/employee relationship, and they should be on their payroll as per diem (as needed) employee — not as a 1099 contractor. I did this incorrectly before consulting an accountant who pushed me to question my professional relationship with my second photographers. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the IRS knocking at my door!
3. Experience-Level and Gear
If you have a solid portfolio of second-shooting images and you’re applying for the position professionally and you are still getting passed over, it’s possible you don’t have enough experience or the right gear for the experience level you are applying to work with.
Don’t just apply with any photographer who posts a need.
Let’s consider a construction contractor competing for a job for a moment. Let’s say it’s a painting job. If you are new to painting and have only painted your own house or your family member’s houses, do you think it’s a good idea to apply for a job to paint a building with hundreds of square feet requiring specialized skills and equipment or should you start with houses similar to what you are already used to painting or maybe a building just a bit bigger than what you are used to but still fits the equipment you already have?
Research the photographer in the post and ask yourself: Are your photography skills on par with theirs? Are the venues they regularly shoot similar to the ones you shoot, or are they just a step or two nicer? If something happened to the lead, could you shoot one of their weddings and deliver quality RAW images they will be able to edit in their style?
Some wedding photographers expect prospective second shooters to have shot a minimum number of weddings before they will consider contracting with them.
Your gear often immediately reveals your inexperience, which is one reason you are required to list it.
Personally, I’d take someone who understands the light and their camera over someone who has a whole bag of gear, but when that’s all I have to decide from, it’s hard to overlook when a photographer only has one quality prime lens.
If you want to learn everything I expect of my second photographers, download the guide I send to the photographers I hire to let them know what I expect before the big day by clicking the link below.
The Fix:
I don’t suggest going out and buying gear you can’t afford early in your career, but I do suggest investing in a few quality items.
Photography gear is expensive! Don’t purchase until you are sure you need it and paying clients are knocking on your door. And remember, just because you have the gear doesn’t mean you have the experience some are looking for. Your gear should increase with your experience level as you start booking clients.
Gaining experience and know-how starts with education. At Lancaster Photography School, we’ll walk you through who you should market your photography skills to so that you will get hired for a second shooting gig and gain that wedding experience you need to get your foot in the door. You will end the class with a list of photographers to approach and ideas for creating your email template to contact them.
4. Photography Skills
This one can be hard to swallow, but if you are doing everything above and still are not getting a bite, it’s possible your photography skills just aren’t there yet. We all start somewhere and wouldn’t be where we are without education.
The Fix:
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. If you are practicing the same incorrect skills repeatedly, you are just making it harder to learn down the road. The earlier in your career you learn how to use your camera for the powerful machine it is and how to work with the light in all weather situations to maintain consistency in your images, the more accessible everything will be for you on your journey.
Are you still taking test shots, looking at the back of your camera, and adjusting from there? It doesn’t have to be that hard. I promise.
Nine years ago, these images were my pride and joy when I used that same technique to learn manual mode.
I’ve come quite far since then, but not because I practiced the skills I used then. My photos would still look just like those above if I still used the same techniques and held onto my beliefs about photography back then. I invested in education, opened my mind to new possibilities and methods…and it changed my life. And I want to do that for you, too.
Check out my work now:
Join us at Lancaster Photography School and let us open your mind to new information that will elevate your photography — and change your life!
Can’t make it to Lancaster? That’s okay! Our in-depth, step-by-step classes are online and supported by live, online Q&A sessions. The hands-on photography events in the PA Area bring it all together for those who can make it but are above and beyond enrollment in independent study or LPS+.
See you on the inside!
Xx - Megan Hoffer