Hiring a Photographer

Trying to decide on someone to hire can be a daunting task, especially with the large number of new businesses popping up. It seems like everyone with a camera is calling themselves a photographer, but there is so much more to it than equipment.

Start your list – ask family and friends who they’ve used, Google, etc.

Once you have a few places to consider, look at each business’ website and/or blog. If they have both, compare the two because there are many “photographers” who have stunning images on their websites, but their blogs paint a different picture, so to speak. Also, websites tend to be forgotten, but blogs are more often kept up-to-date and will give you a better idea of what you can expect from a typical session.

When looking at their images, there are a few key things to take notice of (and you can feel all fancy for knowing photography lingo, too):

The colors should look realistic. Blue may look good on Papa Smurf, but not so much on a person. If a photographer uses the in-camera options and/or doesn’t adjust with software (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.) you will almost always see issues in this category.

Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean:

Look to make sure the photographer can create an image that is in focus. The eyes are typically the place to start. Are they sharp? If not, and this is something you see across the board, you have to ask yourself what you are going to get if that’s what they’ve chosen to be representative of their work. This is also important because if you decide you want a picture larger than a 5×7, it will not look good if it’s not in focus.

If a photographer uses their on-board (on the camera) flash, it will be very obvious. The subject will have a flashy (bright) look to their skin and will have little dots of light in their eyes, called pinlights.

This is bad. Run away. Run FAR away. This is perfectly fine for personal snapshots, but NOT for portraits.

You also want to make sure the images they display have good lighting. Are there harsh shadows? Is there a lot of dappled light (light coming through the trees, etc.)? Is the picture too dark? Too light?

Once you’ve looked at the images and have narrowed your list down even further, there are a few more things to consider before booking that session

Even amongst the good photographers, you will find a wide variety of styles. Some like natural, clean images, while others like to really pop out the colors. Some specialize in black and whites, while others only do color processing. Do your homework! What you see on their site is what you will receive, so make sure it’s the style you want.

This is a big one – if the photographer says they are an on-location, natural-light photographer, they usually don’t have a studio (which isn’t a negative thing – these photographers just prefer more natural settings). If you are looking for studio-style images, they can somewhat recreate this using natural light, but you need to mention this in your initial contact so that they can let you know if they have those capabilities.

There isn’t anything wrong with any of these things mentioned, but you have to find one that matches your personal tastes.

If a photographer doesn’t have a pricing list posted, you should e-mail requesting one before you book a session. Not all photographers are priced similarly and you need to make sure you are hiring someone who can deliver what you want for a price you can afford. This includes the session fee AND their print pricing. It’s not worth wasting your time -or- your photographer’s.

Also, check to see if a CD of your edited images is included. DO NOT ASSUME!! This is a personal decision that the photographer makes and it may be something you can purchase a la carte if it’s not included in your package.

Every town has a photographer (or more) that charges $100 for the session and a disc of images. Your education about what constitutes good photography is so important because a lot of these people have no clue what they’re doing (I say a lot and not all because I don’t want a bunch of e-mails from people saying, “But I charge that much and I know what I’m doing.” Save your breath people.). Most are either running an illegal business (meaning they are keeping their earnings from Uncle Sam) or don’t have the skills that you should desire from a custom photographer. Even the mall chain studios (which are a completely separate type of business) won’t give you a disc of images for that much. Just something to think about.

Quality photography is definitely something worth prioritizing and investing in (and I could go on for hours as to why it is), but we can’t all realistically afford custom photography. You do have options, though!

People who have grasped the concept of photography and are ready to start a business should be doing something called portfolio building. This is when they are creating the galleries for their website. They may or may not have equivalent skills as a more established photographer, but often times their prices will be discounted (including prints/products) or they may even waive their session fee all together.

Ask around and see if anyone knows someone in this phase. Facebook is a good place to look, also. You can sometimes find these people on Craigslist, but there are a TON of bad “photographers” advertising there, so tread very, very carefully.

Another option is to look for photographers offering mini-sessions. This typically involves a single fee that covers the session and a product. The sessions are usually 30 minutes long and yield about 10 proofs for you to choose from. This is a very popular offering around the holidays (Valentines, Halloween, Christmas, etc.), but you will need to book quickly because they fill up their slots fast.

Hopefully, this article will help you as you begin your search.

Interested in photography? Be sure to check out Modern Bliss’ Photography forum, SNAPS!