How To Choose A Professional Photographer

Back in the day photography was a sought-after and expensive hobby and the great photographers naturally made a name for themselves. Nowadays, however, anyone with a camera thinks that they can take pictures and call themselves a professional if they throw in some light edits.

While some photographers can provide proof of courses finished, you may find their actual work lacks any kind of life. While a never-trained novice may take the most beautiful landscape pictures. If you’re hoping to get the right person for your upcoming photoshoot, here’s how to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.

Portfolio

Any photographer worth their salt should have a ready-to-show portfolio of their works. If you’re after a corporate photographer don’t choose the photographer with the beautiful food layouts, look for the one who has done headshots professionally before.

Likewise, if you’re after a lifestyle photoshoot, you should ignore the photographer who takes great interior design pictures or wedding ones and look for the one with a more diverse portfolio who can capture all those special moments well.

Remember that the portfolio is like the photographers highlights reel, and you may need to ask for additional images to compare to their best and favourite ones.

Consistency

Once you’ve narrowed down your ideal candidates, it’s time to take a long, hard look at their editing style and the level of consistency that’s on display. Are the pictures oversaturated? Do they lack focus due to no cropping? Can you discern at a glance which portfolio belongs to who based on the quality of images, lighting, and colours used?

Highlights are highlights for a reason, and it pays to take a closer look at their entire body of work to best discern if the quality you see in the ‘top’ images carries through. After all, if you take a gamble on a photographer who doesn’t have any kind of consistency, you’re asking for trouble at the end of the day.

Reviews

Nowadays, having a plethora of happy clients is a sure sign you’re onto a winner. Ask around for word-of-mouth testimonies from previous clients, and don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for any photographer suggestions they may have – who knows, your sister-in-law may have the perfect person in mind!

Look online at their social profiles and see what kind of comments past clients of theirs have made – and don’t forget to note any negatives which are mentioned to chat about later with them. While one-off unhappy clients are expected, finding several can indicate a problem early on and help you avoid making a mistake.

Organisational Skills

A professional photographer will have a plan in mind for the day and should check in with you about what your thoughts, ideas, and hopes for the photoshoot entails. They’ll work with you to cover all the bases – including backup plans if required for bad weather or poor lighting – and will include everything in their quote to you, including delivery time for the final products.

If your photographer can’t plan a timeline of when the shoot takes place to final delivery of the images, you’ll be clued up early that they’re not as organised as they appear and may not be right after all.

Always get a few quotes in from photographers so you have a backup option, should anything happen to your first choice. Save the gamble for when you play tragamonedas chile.

Remember, trust goes both ways so be clear about your expectations and realistic in what you’re wanting to avoid scaring a good photographer away.