There are a lot of good photographers out there, and I know a couple in my area that I've referred people to. A good photographer should know the technical side of their craft. They should know what all those numbers and dials and buttons mean. They should know what the sunny 16 rule is. They should know a lot of stuff you don't need to know about. That's their job, right?
So what should you know? What should you ask? How do you approach your session? How do you know which photographer is going to be right for you? I just met with someone this past week and they had some general questions about pricing and locations, but after that, they didn't really know what to ask. This person had gone to my website, liked my images and wanted to meet with me. And that's okay 'cuz it gives me a chance to get to know them and find out what they really liked about my images and why they took the next step and called me. It also gives me a chance to find out who they are and the story we want to tell.
In general here are a couple things to help you know what to ask and look for when you are looking for a photographer. Whether you are looking for your wedding, senior portraits or any other photographical needs, this will at least give you a place to start:
1. Do you like the photographers images?
I know that this seems like a no-brainer, but I have met a lot of people that had been given my information, but hadn't looked at my website. Someone said "you should call this guy" (and I'm hoping they used a bunch of great adjectives to describe me after the word "guy") But they didn't really look at my website. My style may not match what they envision hanging over their fireplace.
Another important piece of homework for you: Look at their images slow. What does that mean? Take your time. Are they consistent? If not, why? Do 2 out of 3 images look professional and one not so much? I'm not talking posed vrs. editorial. I'm asking does the third image look like Uncle Dave took it? In the photography world, there are way too many cases of people stealing images and blogs and pretending that they belong to someone else. You don't have to spend 14 hours investigating, I'm just saying... take your time.
Content. Look at as many images as you can. If you just look at the slideshow on the photographers home page, you may be missing important details that you may not be comfortable with. Does this photographer shoot everything really dark and dramatic? Do you like that? Are they always in front of flowers and trees? Do you like that? Are the images too mature for a 17 year old? Get an idea of what you may see after the session by taking your time with what the photographer is showing you.
2. Do they offer products you're interested in?
Nowadays, the desire for albums, digital negatives, prints, enlargements and other products have gone far beyond the old days of just proof books and package prints. When I meet with clients, I don't feel the need to promote that I sell prints, because that's given. Times have changed and I love the affordability and options that are out there for things like gallery wraps, enlargements and on and on. So what is it you want as the final result? Make sure you have that in mind before you meet your photographer.
P.s. Speaking of prints, you might want to go back a previous post I wrote on printing here.
In the end, it's better that you have an idea and ask before your session. This way you might not get frustrated if you started asking for stuff that is available to you for a fee you weren't expecting. I've had clients say "...but I thought I get such and such..." and surprised when they find out that they didn't. As I learned on Sesame Street, if you want to know something, you have to ask.
3. Bargain shopping may lead to frustration.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't consider your budget and I'm not saying that you should give your photographer all of your money. What I'm saying is that your pictures have value. If you don't care and just need an image to put in the yearbook, then okay. But if you want to look great, have images you are proud to display, want to tell a great story or look pretty, then do not make the number priority number one. If you were making a list of what you wanted from your pictures, put the number or your hopeful budget on the right side of the page. Be flexible. You may find a photographer that you love but is a few dollars more that that number. If you love that photographer, than pass on the Starbucks for a week and you'll have that $50 bucks extra. It comes down to what value you have on these images. If you respond to the photographer and his/her images, the value is in their creative and technical ability. That's how I see it anyway. I use a Mac because I know that what I need in a computer is in this machine. Is it more expensive than the PC that I could have bought? Yes. But I understood the value it had to me, so I was willing to pony up. (This is not a blog about comparing Macs and Pc's...). Consider the value of what you are creating and the photographer's ability, not just the sticker price.
There's so much more to discuss when you've chosen your photographer and since we are all a little different, meeting with photographers will give you a better sense of what to ask in detail.
Hopefully, this will get you started in considering who you should hire and why.
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