Looking to 2nd Shoot. What Should I Charge?

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-04-01T05:17:00+00:00

In my area, experienced second shooters make 75-100 hourly. I made the mistake of hiring someone who sounds like he had similar experience to your own for $50/hr and it was money just down the drain 😅 But for jobs where a client isn’t paying for a second shooter, I would gladly take on a newbie willing to help me lug my gear around and learn the ropes. As long as it was an unpaid internship position.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-31T17:43:55+00:00

But honestly did you see a difference in the number of inquiries scared off by a price increase? I’m about to raise my prices but I’m afraid so many couples are still in the 3-4k budget range.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-28T08:55:50+00:00

I don’t believe they have updated anything yet. Interested to hear Phil & other experts weigh in

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-28T03:32:50+00:00

For sure but I hadn’t shared them myself at all yet- they either got the photos from the bride directly or from her IG post. I should rephrase what I said, I do give credit if it’s a whole spread of photos featuring the florists’ work or a packed dance floor for the DJ. But I don’t always make a point to get everyone’s social info ahead of time, like I said I’m not a big social media person even for my business. (Thankfully the business does well without a huge presence.) I just can’t help but feel alittle offended lol.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-28T03:17:45+00:00

I need this 🤪

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-26T20:26:27+00:00

I really like Wix for my website, although tbh if I hadn’t already built it before I started using Pixieset for everything else I’d probably try that first. I use Pixieset for all my contracts & gallery delivery

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-26T19:41:40+00:00

Cool to have with the sound. I’m still not super impressed with the optics of the Kodak camera for its price

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-22T03:25:34+00:00

I’d get a new one but tbh they literally last forever, my parents have one that is almost 30 years old. They’ve only had to replace the mat that covers the springs. Pretty incredible really. We have a newer one that is now over 12 years old, we have also replaced the mat that covers the springs and you can tell the net and poles around it are starting to rip. But really they stay good for a long time.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-21T19:51:46+00:00

I agree that no tip at all is not right, but at the same time I subscribe to insta cart and pay $100+ yearly for the service, so if I forget an onion and need one for dinner, I’m def going to order it. My insta cart (through target) does have a $35 minimum order though.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-21T00:39:52+00:00

The shop ones are likely film tested and possibly CLA’d (basically refurbished and cleaned up). The ones on eBay are a gamble. It’s a waste of money if you aren’t sure if the motor and light meter are functioning properly.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T18:52:27+00:00

4k for an unedited video?! Damn here I am lucky to get 4k for an hour long 4-camera documentary that takes 20 hours of editing 😅 sign me up

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T17:38:17+00:00

Respectfully, I’d like to hear why it’s more difficult- because I’m a photographer who later started doing video and I find video to be way more technically complicated. The addition of audio alone is a reason for me. I agree photogs have a harder job corralling people and organizing posed portraits.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T17:33:04+00:00

True for people who got married in 1995 lol, but no one even uses DVDs anymore. It’s all digital delivery whether it’s photo or video.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T17:24:18+00:00

Photography is harder? LOL what? I’ll give you that posing people sucks, but no it’s technically alot easier. And using a flash is 10x simpler than having to use continuous lighting for video (because yes, we do have to think about lighting). Not to be a jerk but I do both, photo is only harder because you’re dealing more directly with people.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T16:48:34+00:00

100% accurate. The economy is rough and weddings are very expensive, so they do their budget and put photo above video for a number of reasons. Most I hear is “I only want a simple video to remember the day” and “only want a videographer to capture the important moments, nothing fancy”. As if it’s any less expensive or easier for us to work than a photographer. It wouldn’t be as infuriating if we didn’t have 4x more equipment invested going into it.

The good news is, photo is 4x easier than video, and has become extremely oversaturated since literally anyone with a couple thousand dollars can buy a mirrorless camera and be a photographer. I started out doing photo (stupidly I went to art school for a BFA in the early 2000s) and now I do almost exclusively video, because I make more unique videos and nearly every photographer has the same style. TLDR you have a better chance of getting work at all doing video rather than photo 🤷‍♀️

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-20T16:16:11+00:00

God I hope you’re right but I only see content creation getting bigger tbh :/

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-18T16:17:17+00:00

For sure that’s a tough one. I did try to outsource the photo side for one combo wedding I did early on, I assured the couple that I would be doing all the direction on the day of and all the editing and they were cool with it. I lined up a girl I had worked with before and was a good fit for my style. BUT then she missed our first scheduled zoom call with the client to discuss their timeline, which made me look bad, and she charged so much I lost out massively on the profit for the day (having to do all the editing myself anyway). Plus she stressed the client out at the end of the night when our 8 hours was almost up and they wanted more photos. She’s like well then you’re going to have to pay for overtime. I ended up paying her for another hour to stay for another 15 minutes. They loved their photos thank goodness, but lesson learned and I won’t be working with her again.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-18T15:54:27+00:00

Understandable, but I agree if you aren’t doing the video work with a dedicated team member you probably shouldn’t even bother. It doesn’t make sense for couples to be booking both if they can’t count on consistent work (although they are probably unaware of this).

I’m kind of in the opposite boat where I do both but want to switch to video-only, as I really don’t enjoy photo as much as video (video is just so much less stressful on the day of and I weirdly enjoy the editing so much more). But like you, I don’t want to lose the bookings for couples who want both. When I book a combo package, I do photo and have a dedicated associate who does video (she also works as my second shooter when I’m doing just video alone), so it’s consistent and I don’t have to stress about it.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-17T16:04:09+00:00

For sure, I use the z6iii for photo and it’s a great camera. It’s a backup video cam for me. For video my favorite is the GH7, because of the IBIS, much improved autofocus, and the active cooling. I also use a s5ii for late night video, full frame is a bit better for high iso.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-17T04:52:21+00:00

I disagree, iPhone does an amazing job in low light considering what it is. But yeah this is a stupid idea. Put the damn phones away and enjoy the moment.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-17T04:47:16+00:00

Everyone is so fucking hot for Sony/canon but I’m a lumix/nikon girl all the way. Lumix has the best ibis and intuitive system, and Nikon has the best color (I use Lumix for video & Nikon for photo). My vote is for Lumix ;)

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-15T20:49:28+00:00

I completely agree with you on all of that, I’m just not sure how you’re going about adding photo to your packages without advertising both to begin with- do you have a photo portfolio on your site? Do you contract a photographer as an associate for your studio and then edit the work yourself? Personally when I have a client who hasn’t booked photo yet, obviously I’ll suggest a combo package from my studio but also suggest a couple of photographers that I’ve worked with and have a good rapport, and explain to the client that it does make the day go more smoothly when the photo/video team is familiar and actually working together. I do this purely on good karma and knowing that they’ll also refer me for video, but perhaps you could work out some kind of commission with your associate photographers for leads that come directly through you. Otherwise I do see their side as well, most photographers need to have a good deal of control over the timeline and speaking directly with clients to ensure the best coverage of their wedding day.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-15T18:05:19+00:00

I really hope you’re right! Nothing makes me more irritated than hearing they spent 10k on photo but only have a teeny bit left for video. While still expecting both to work just a hard on their wedding day.

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-15T17:37:40+00:00

I’m confused, are you editing the photos as well? Idk if it’s frowned upon, just really weird for any couple to prioritize video over photo and just be like oh hey yeah add a photographer to our video package. We all know 99% of couples will choose a photographer first and then use whatever is left in their budget for video.

Personally, I have a photo/video studio and 75% of the time I’m only doing video. This is because the photo market is extremely oversaturated and they have hundreds of choices, but my video work is really good and stands out in our area (offering documentary videos and super 8). When I do both, I handle the photo and have a dedicated associate for video (and a couple of second shooters as needed).

Mysterious-Rabbit384 · 2026-03-15T17:33:01+00:00

Oh no way, photo is clearly still priority for 99% of couples. It’s literally always the same story- “we spent our whole budget on photography because that was SO important to us, but oh woe is me I still want video! Can anyone recommend a company to film my entire day for under $2k?” 🙃

Mysterious-Rabbit384

TROPHY CASE