What you need to consider before you pay that photography deposit.

If you’ve started the search for a photographer then you’ll know just how many options there are. Before you go ahead and book a professional photographer for a shoot though, there are a couple important things to consider.

What style are you looking for?

Photographers have different styles so you need to decide on someone who can help you achieve the end result you are looking for. This applies to everything from wedding and maternity shoots to family and corporate shoots. Ask the photographer for some examples of their latest work to evaluate whether they can cater to your needs.
Research and review.

Before you invest in a professional photographer you need to do your homework. Get online to find a few customer reviews, browse around their website to view their latest work and have a look around their social media pages to find out what others are saying about them. These platforms will also give you a good idea of their personality and style. Some other important points to consider when researching photographers are:

Budget. Do their services fall within your price range?
Expertise. Are they experienced enough to give you the results you are looking for?
Location. Are they based in your area and are they willing to travel to a specific location if need be?
Quality. Is the quality of their photos good enough? Look at aspects such as sharpness, exposure and saturation.

Create a short list.

Once you have done your research, create a short list of professional photographers that stand out for you. Get in touch with each of them to discuss your needs and to ask any questions that you might have. It’s important that you chat with the photographer over the phone if not in person as this is the best way to get to know them and find out whether you’ll be able to work with them. Feeling uncomfortable or stressed out around your photographer makes for bad photos.

It’s important that you pick a photographer that you have confidence in. Your photos are there to last you a lifetime so while there is nothing wrong with helping out your photographer friend who has just started out, it’s best to choose an experienced photographer for important events and occasions that you can’t relive.

We ALL do it, well unless you are the kind of person I dream of being – completely organized and everything in its place. We put off printing our photographs. We always have tomorrow – right? We are just too busy to sit down and really spend quality time on the computer figuring it all out and then going to the framer or creating an album online – it’s so daunting and time-consuming. That’s where your professional photographer (me) can be of great service.

My service and price includes printed photographs AND digital files. I can also provide various types of wall art, including acrylic, metal, professionally framed prints, canvas, and/or custom albums!

Back when I was a shoot and burn photographer, I would photograph my client, edit their images and then upload the photographs to a site where they could download them to their computer. I have had clients (not many but enough to know there are probably more) contact me and ask me to either send them the link to their photos again or inquire as to where their photos went – several years later! Wait – what? You paid a professional photographer to take your photos or record your wedding and they are still floating in cyberspace?! Yes, I could have given a disc or flash drive, but that could just as easily get lost. THIS is one of the biggest reasons I am no longer a shoot and burn photographer. I value my work and photographs too much to not print and share them. Putting your photos online for you to download sounds super convenient, but I’m not serving you – my client – by doing this.

My service includes the printed photographs mounted and matted and placed in a gorgeous folio box you will want to show off, or even framed if you like. Or you can have them printed in a beautiful keepsake album. You will have something to put on your coffee table and share with guests or just look at from time to time – and pass down through the generations. Do you still get your digital files – YES! But all the other work has been done for you.

I am a boutique business and boutiques are all about personalized service to their clients. I don’t just take photos and then leave you to sit in the dark after work trying to figure out how to download 1,000 photographs from your wedding or spending half a day searching for that little flash drive or disc you put in a “safe place.”

When you see prices and packages of professional photographers like me, you probably step back and say, “But all we want are the digital files.” “It’s so easy – you just take the pictures and upload them right?” “Why do you charge so much and why can’t I just get a disc?” Because I care about you, my level of service and your photographs. There is a lot that goes into those photographs:

You get a free consultation right off the bat – whether you hire me or not. We discuss what your end-game is – do you want large wall portraits, gifts, album(s) . . . etc. – what you are looking for in the style of your photographs – locations, etc.
Before the session, I am visualizing, creating a shoot list, possibly buying props – you are on my mind a lot.
The photo session: We have a great time, different poses, play, and connect. We are done when we are done – if we want to hang out and wait for the sun to nearly set – we do that – simply to obtain the best photographs that you are dreaming of.
I don’t think I need to mention all the education, workshops, years of practice, and expensive equipment I have.
Then culling and editing. This takes much longer than your session did I guarantee you. I sit with your images, I toss those that are duplicative or not perfect and then I create. I retouch, head swap in family photos if someone blinked or looks better in another photo, sometimes I add textures and special tones, and I analyze how I want each and every separate photograph to look. I put great effort into making sure every photograph is ready for printing and hanging.
Reveal session. We get together and you get to see at least 30 photographs all retouched, printed, mounted and matted ready to take home. AND you get the digital files for every image you purchase! Win-win!

Wouldn’t it be a shame to only put your images online after all the work and love that went into them?

Category: Products and Services

How to Pick the Perfect Professional Photographer

Don’t Leave Your Photos Stranded and Alone