Why is often hard to choose a photographer, you have a brochure, portrait or an event and you need photographs to share with the world. Our Social Media is always hungry for new images you have to choose a photographer. So what do you look for when you’re looking to hire a photographer? Do you choose on price? You choose on the style of photography? Do you choose on the personality of the photographer? What is it that makes you select one photographer over another and what should you be looking for in making that selection. That is the subject of today’s online article.

I’ve been photographer for a few years now and often I would ask my clients why did they choose me over someone else and often I would get differing answers to what I thought would be a simple question. So if you’re looking to hire a photographer what you need to consider? let’s start with the basics, you need images, you need a photographer, you want photographer who won’t let you down, who can provide you images on time and within your budget to a quality would like. What could be so hard was this? Well this is where it gets a bit trickier, I’ve often had people ring me up and ask how much for a photograph or how much you charge. This is a bit like me ringing up the car dealer and going can I get a car, the first thing they ask is what do I want: two-door, four-door, petrol, diesel, electric and quite a few more questions before they can give me even an idea of how much might cost. In many ways is no different with the photographer we just don’t know what you want, and sometimes you don’t even know what you need which is why we  photographers end up asking lots questions. Because, we’re trying to find out what you really need, and also want to spend. Yet quite often, what you’ve got to spend is not necessarily what it should cost make kind of images you might need. There is always room for negotiation (both up and down) depending on your requirements.

Photographers themselves actually have problems with negotiating fees or prices as they would rather more often than not be a photographer than a businessperson. After all, If they wanted to be a business person, they probably wouldn’t have got into photography.

So to the main point of the article: What to look for when hiring a photographer.

Look at their portfolio, do the photographs they are showing reflect the type of work that you need. This so simple and yet it does occasionally get over looked.

Do they have a specialism, is the photographer concentrating on an area of work that you need. Because, one of the reasons why you want a photographer, is not just that they can make photographs. It is also very helpful if they have knowledge about the industry you work in, because this insider knowledge, is very helpful in knowing what kind of photographs are needed by you, their potential client. The way that digital has affected photographers, is that they now should specialise to attract a more global audience and this should be reflected in both the marketing and their portfolio. That is why this website exists, as it is my interest in global capitalism and financial services industry, that attracts me to work with people in this industry.

Price is only one aspect of hiring a photographer, they bring knowledge of image based techniques and some can be very expensive and others relatively cheap by comparison, for what appears to be a similar product or service. Sometimes you have tight budget and other times you might be apt to be more flexible and this will depend on your image requirements. Photographers invariably charge the usage, if you have a global advertising campaign this is going to cost more, than if you have a small local brochure for a limited market. However, the amount of work going into both type of photo sessions, quite probably is not going to be not that different.

There is more, so I have decided that I am going to make this a multi post story. Look out for more in the near future.