How do i book a gig as a second shooter?

Hello everyone, i have been doing photography for a year now and recently been trying to work with a few local photographers as a second shooter for weddings. I want to work with as many photographers as i can to build my knowledge of how weddings work and overcome obstacles as they appear.
I have emailed quite a few and havent received even a simple response from many of them. I have a good setup so far (Canon 40d, 24-70mmL, 70-200mmL and more) and plan to buy a 5d2 mid January. I shot my cousins wedding (just for fun) and i feel i would be a help to others. What do you guys (and gals) do when looking for a second shooter, or when someone asks to shoot with you? What do you recommend i do to help get out there more often? Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

Thank you.

I would rather have someone on at least a similar level as me as far as photography skill before considering them. I want to give clients a quality product.

Hi,
I'm also in SD and haven't had much luck getting any gigs as a second shooter. If you ever decide on taking the lead, I'll be more than happy to lend a hand.
Good luck.

Bear in mind most photographers could be getting emails like yours all the time so don't be surprised if your not getting responses back from all of them or that they don't seem overly keen to help you get started as new local competition for them.

Having a good website will help you get second shooter gigs and your website starts with a nice strong brand then goes rapidly downhill with the amateur looking flickr galleries that act as your portfolio.

Digging a bit further there's some nice enough images in your flickr wedding gallery but you need to have more focus on the good images of people at the start of the galllery imo,.... pictures of inanimate objects wont sell you as a second shooter, good pictures of people will.

Jonwhite, that is some great advice. I will move the front pictures around and take out the ones that dont need to be there. And when i get a new website, I will get a more professional looking one for sure, with something else besides flickr galleries (they are just so easy to update at this point in my 'career'). The tips you had were very helpful, and i will make sure i follow your advice.

What about going to Bridal Bazaars? Would doing something like this and networking there be beneficial, or would it seem i was more of an intrusion? This way it is something more personal than an email, but a place to get introduced?
Thank you.

problem with the website for me was I couldn't locate any wedding pictures... if you are trying to sell that to a client or another photographer they should be able to find it immediately. I looked for about 30 seconds. didn't see it. then left.

love the red tie theme though.

get a second body. even as a second shooter. you should have a backup.

PM'd you about website update.

I completly understand and will fix that right away. I have wedding pictures on the second page but they do need to be much more visible. I didn't recieve a pm from you yet though.

And for the second body option, i am going to purchase a 5d2 mid-January. I just need to curb my spending for a little, been throwing too much at it too quickly. Its a good thing i love it right?

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #8959299
Jonwhite, that is some great advice. I will move the front pictures around and take out the ones that don't need to be there. And when i get a new website, I will get a more professional looking one for sure, with something else besides flickr galleries (they are just so easy to update at this point in my 'career'). The tips you had were very helpful, and i will make sure i follow your advice.

What about going to Bridal Bazaars? Would doing something like this and networking there be beneficial, or would it seem i was more of an intrusion? This way it is something more personal than an email, but a place to get introduced?
Thank you.

No problem.

Regards your idea of going to bridal fayres to meet and network with potential wedding photographers thats an OK idea if your exhibiting, there's a camaraderie amongst people doing those that can result in second shooter gigs for each other.

If on the other hand your not thinking of exhibiting and are just showing up to walk round speaking to wedding photographers about working for them I dont think your gonna win any friends that way.

Photographers pay good money to exhibit at those shows and want to spend their time there speaking to potential new clients not wannabe photographers needing help getting started. That doesnt mean to say that it doesnt happen of course, we recently did the biggest bridal show in the uk and spoke to at least half a dozen wannabe photographers over the course of the show... its not something I would encourage you to do though because I am sure many photographers were a lot less polite with them than we were.

I think your best bet for getting some experience is via boards like this where you have a mix of people who are doing it for a living or on a hobby basis..... find someone here who lives near you and whose work you like and offer to carry their bags at a wedding for them.

At the start dont expect payment or to hold a camera because if I was taking someone new along thats certainly the only circumstances I would do it under.

Yes jonwhite, i was going just to meet people, and had a feeling that is how it would appear. I dont want to look like a wannabee photographer, but i am not a full blown pro now, and it will be awhile until then. I am offering people to shoot for free, but am still not getting very many responses. I guess there is no magic to it, and Ill just keep working at it. There are a few photographers that i have shot with before and am planning on shooting with again, so maybe i will start there and continue on from there.

Ask family relatives, if they have friends that are pro photographers. Once you have that connection, it's a good way to get started. Ask to tag along and assist during shoots. If he likes how you work, he'll ask you to come along on more shoots.

Thats a good idea Ichiban, thank you.
I rearranged my portfolio page to show the weddings first, so hopefully that will start helping out.

Thank you for all your help everyone! I am really trying to take all the suggestions and grow from it.

as a second shooter i think that you are supposed to capture more candid moments than details, if you are wondering about my qualifications i am a secondary shooter with a company that i started with my gf. you are free to roam around get to make small talk and really get the moments that you wouldnt capture if you were concentrating on detail.

You can do what I did and get engaged, then hire a photographer you really like, make friends with them, and then beg to let them come shoot for free as a third shooter for a bunch of weddings. If you can't do that, then do what that photographer told me to do: join a professional forum like DWF that puts you in touch with other people who are doing this for a living. I spend very little time on DWF and i'm not trying to promote it as a forum, but joining DWF allowed me to connect with several other photographers I ended up shooting for, like my friend John, who I shot at least 15 weddings with, and learned much of what I know from. Except for my wedding photographer, everyone else I ever shot for, I met on DWF when they posted looking for help for a specific wedding. There's a message board for shooters looking for seconds and assistants for specific weddings.

If anything, it will clue you in to what's really going on in the industry too. The local market is more and more saturated everyday and the days of people refinancing their houses to pay for their kids wedding are pretty much gone too, so it's a different place to start out in than when I did, and it hasn't even been that long. I think more primary shooters like me are working in trade with other primaries 'cause many of us have slowed down and having those relationships is valuable in terms of referrals as well as friendships.

Just my $.03

That sounds great Philco, that is something that i will really have to look to do. That will be where a good chunk of my paycheck will go next time i think.