I took a half day of vacation today so that I could better prepare myself to photograph my niece’s wedding next month. I offered my services as a second shooter at no charge so that I could practice my skills in a real world setting. Many professional wedding photographers use a second shooter to cover more of the wedding (a 2nd covers the groom getting ready while the primary covers the bride, for example) and to get additional angles on critical moments (nothing worse than missing a must have shot because someone inadvertently stepped in the line of sight). I was fortunate to hook up with a great photographer and fantastic couple which made this both a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I was totally spent when I returned home at 1AM after 5 hours in the office, 4 hours on the road (to/from Falmouth) and 8 hours shooting the wedding. The pro unexpectedly split his tip with me making this my first paid photo gig. I think I will stick to my day job, but it was a very nice affirmation to be paid for my photography work for the first time.