5 Essential Tips to Finding the Perfect Photographer

Choosing the right photographer for your job is not easy, as styles, skills and personalities can vary quite significantly between individual photographers, but choosing the right one will make the biggest difference in the overall quality of your images. Before working as a photographer I worked in a photography agency where we hired photographers regularly for a diverse range of jobs, so I wanted share my top five things to look out for when choosing a photographer.

1. Choose a photographer in the niche you’re after

One of the most important things to consider first is, what type of photography do you want and what type of photography does this individual offer? If you’re after a corporate headshot photographer, make sure you’re looking at corporate headshot photographers and not an amazing landscape photographer. Skillsets in each niche of photography do vary and although there can be some overlap, it’s often not as big as you think.

2. Make sure their style suits your brand

A photographer’s style is developed over time, but should be a key contributing factor in choosing a photographer for your job. If you’re doing a fashion shoot and there is a photographer who has worked with Vogue, Elle, etc… but you don’t like their style and it doesn’t match your brand, they might not be the right person for you. That is not to say a photographer can’t be adaptable to your requirements, but don’t hire them just because they have a great client base. If something doesn’t quite click with the look and feel of their images and what you’re after, don’t force it and look for someone with a more suited style.

One big thing I would flag here, is that different styles still mean the photographers have great technical ability but it’s the look and feel that doesn’t match. If you look at an image and think it is of a bad standard, it’s because of the photographer’s technical ability. Although photography is subjective, there is a large amount of technical essentials for photographers which humans are all biologically programmed to like (for example rules of thirds, leading lines, complimentary colours, etc..). Without needing to go into the details of technical photography and post production, the best way to tell if a photographer is technically strong or not is paying close attention to the composition and lighting of the photo and seeing if they feel deliberately produced. So note, different styles is different to being a technically weak photographer!

3. Check their previous experience

Cameras are more accessible than ever which is brilliant but comes with its drawbacks when choosing a photographer as anyone can now label themselves as a photographer. The key difference between individuals here is experience. As with any job, the more experience you have, the higher your ability to go into any situation and deliver a reliable result time and time again. Be on the lookout for indicators of experience on a photographer’s website.

Key indicators of experience are:

1. Previous clients: does the photographer showcase previous clients they have worked with? How many clients have they worked with?

2. Reviews: Does the photographer have reviews from previous clients on Google, TrustPilot or Facebook? You should be on the look for their overall rating and the number of ratings. Someone with 20 great ratings and 1 negative rating is likely to be more trustworthy than someone with 1 great rating.

3. Portfolio: Do they have different examples of their work? The chances are photographers will only show a small selection of their work, but there should be examples of different clients to indicate the adaptability to different settings.

4. Years of experience: this is the one I would take with the biggest pinch of salt, as it’s as much to do with what you have done within those years of experience that counts the most. However, a photographer stating they have 5+ years experience under their belt is never a bad thing as there are a lot of essentials in photography that you pick up purely by practicing over and over.

4. Talk openly about budgets to make it work for both of you

This often feels like the elephant in the room and it really shouldn’t. There will be some photographers that are more expensive than others based on experience and demand, which will be the same with any profession from accountancy to chefs. It’s something that should be discussed openly and honestly from both sides.

It’s important to respect a photographer’s rate, as what may be expensive to you may seem like a great deal to their other clients. That being said, what if there is a photographer you are really keen to work with but they are higher than your budget? The most sensible way forward I have come across is prioritising the most essential images you need and looking at lower the photography requirements. For example, it might be that you’re running a marketing campaign and enquire about a diverse mix of images, which the photographer responds back to say it will take 2 days worth of photography and post production time, but the quote is double your budget. By lowering the number of required images or locations you’re after, you can potentially shoot it all in one day without impacting the effectiveness of the campaign in a noticeable way. That way you can still get the photographer you want and the images you’re after!

5. Choose the personality type you want to have a working relationship with

There are two main things to factor in here, one is having someone that you feel you can have a good working relationship with, and the other is someone who will be competent at creatively directing individuals.

Starting with the latter, like anything work related, you want to choose a supplier who you believe will deliver a great quality of service in a reliable manner. With regards to photography, photographers are often thrust into locations and situations that require quite a lot of manipulation to get them ‘photo ready.’ It’s important for a photographer to take the reins and be able to creatively direct to ensure you are getting the most out of the location and people. This will really impact the overall results.

On the former point, you will of course want to work with someone professional and friendly to make the process of carrying out your photography requirements as easy as possible!

If you are on the lookout for a photographer, please take a look at Matt’s work by clicking the ‘Portfolio’ button or reach out to him by clicking ‘Get in Touch’.