74. Hiring a business photographer? You need to read this first!
Hi there!, If you landed here it’s probably because your are looking to hire a business photographer, right?
Maybe you are in one of the following situations:
Needing images for your website or to update the ones you currently have
Needing new business portraits, for yourself or even your entire team
Needing high quality images from a business event coming up
If it is not part of your normal job to hire photographers, it might feel a bit daunting to find the right one. My goal with this article is to help you by giving you two things:
The critical things you need to look at when hiring a business photographer
A process on how to do so.
Let’s start!
What to consider when hiring a business photographer?
Is the photographer an expert in the field?
Photography is a wide field. When you know how a camera works, you can photograph many different subjects… now, it doesn’t mean you can do it well.
I might not be very popular amongst colleagues when I say that it is best for you to hire a photographer who is an expert in the area that you need them to be.
I would say that as a photographer, one or two areas of expertise seems reasonable, but I would be cautious of someone who does it all.
In my case, when I first started I was working exclusively with families and children. As my business evolved those kids and families had parents with businesses or that worked for businesses, they liked my work and hired me for business shoots. Now, after many years, I remain a portrai photographer specializing mostly in business photography, but a strong influence from the natural, lifestyle & fun style I developed while working with families.
Does their portfolio speak to you and is aligned with your vision?
Every photographer has a style. When working with clients, I create images that fit their needs (or to a adhering to a briefing), but the way I interact with subjects, the way I compose (my point of view), my editing style, this all remains basically the same.
I would recommend that you choose a photographer whose style you like, speaks to you and to the mood and vision of the photos you want to create.
Relevant experience: have they worked with similar projects and businesses?
This is a tough one. On the one side you have experience, which I believe is very important to get the job done efficiently and effectively, while delivering the results you expect.
However, how about if a photographer has enough experience in projects which are not specifically in your field or industry, but their experience is relevant to what you need, for example: ample experience in portrait photography vs. on product photography.
I think if the photographer is professional enough and creative, they can actually bring a fresh perspective to the shoot and the images. This is a call you will have to make.
References: What are other customers saying about them?
I recommend to check not only the reviews on their website, but also any other sources of public reviews. See what commonalities you find amongst reviews? Are the qualities important to you?
Are they available to take on your project?
This depends also if your date is flexible or not. You might have a specific date in mind or a time frame. You want to make sure that the photographer has availability to carry on your project.
Get a price offer
Make sure to be fair and give the photographers a briefing of what you expect and need.
I can not tell you how many times I have received a request for an offer like this: “I need photos for my website, how much would that cost?”
Where do I even start? The possibilities are endless… how many photos do you need? What type of photos? Which location should they take place at?
When I receive such a request, I personally don’t give an offer until I have a chance to clarify the scope of work, otherwise it might be based on completely wrong assumptions.
Does the chemistry work?
I can’t stress enough how important this is. Most specifically for portrait photography it is very important that the chemistry with the photographer works in order to ensure that the project is successful. Talk to the potential photographers, did the chemistry during the call work? Did they seem to understand your needs, maybe even anticipate needs that you hadn’t even considered yourself?
Client story:
I had a client let’s call her Mary (name changed for privacy reasons), she came to me for business photos. She was just about to quit her corporate job and start her own business.
She had a photoshoot done and was working with a webdesigner for her website. She also had Branding Guidelines (logo, fonts, colors) created by a graphic designer. Everything seemed to be on track to get her website live, but there was a problem…
Webdesigner: “Mary, I mean, I can work with these photos, but they just don’t fit”
Mary: “What do you mean? The size?”
Webdesigner: “No, the style, the colors, the mood, it just doesn’t fit your branding. The photos are not bad, they just don’t work with your brand.”
Mary is not the only customer that has come to me in the past with this problem, having done a previous shoot with someone else that “just didn’t work”.
I believe that, had she had the checklist that I am about to share with you, this might not have happened to her, she would have saved herself time and money by only doing ONE really good branded shoot.
How to hire a business photographer:
Ask your network (colleagues, friends, family) for photographers they can recommend. Make a list.
Search for photographers in the field that you are looking for, use keywords that relate to the type of photography you are looking for (business, personal branding, corporate photos, team photos, event photography). There might be someone who is better for what you need that someone “you know”.
Make a first selection of photographers based on the portfolio, website and social media presence… those whose portfolio speak to you.
Check references on their website. Do they have public references? For example on Google or LinkedIn?, check those too.
Narrow down your selection to 2-3 photographers.
If you have a very specific date or time frame, check their availability and request a quote. To be fair, prepare a Briefing and share the same one with all of them.
Make appointments to talk to each of them on the phone. Even with a good briefing there is always room for interpretation and questions, they might have made different assumptions based on your brief, make sure your needs are clear. Use this opportunity to asses the chemistry, interest on the project and professionality.
Make your final decision based on all the information above. Consider that price alone should not be the only determining factor to choose a professional business photographer to work with. Remember how Jane ended up having to do a second shoot because the first one didn’t deliver the results she needed.
If you found this article helpful, you can download the “Hire the right business photographer Checklist”, including tips on how to make a briefing:
You think I might be the right photographer for you? Book a pre-consultation call here:
Hi there! I’m Blanca!
I’m a Brand Photographer and Personal Branding Coach, helping female entrepreneurs to create a Personal Brand online that STANDS OUT.
I bring your vision to life, help you come up with one and take you by the hand into the online World if you need me to.