For weddings/families I was mostly shadowing fellow photographers in the area. I would second shoot at their weddings and taking on some of their overflow such as a baby's b-day party.

Using craigslist and kijiji would generate inquires for weddings and even baby baptism events.

I also did some free shoot events, i.e the ladies that make the tutus and girlie clothing were always looking for photographers to take portfolio work for them. As a new photographer, this was a great way to meet 15-20 families at a time. Not to mention that the ladies themselves would become your biggest advocate and fan.

Doing the same types of things just don't seem to work for me in the pet photography industry. So I was just wondering what others out there are doing.