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The way to select a great Portrait Photographer
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So you've decided it's time for some nice family photographs, or maybe your daughter needs her senior high school portraits, or you wish to capture the good thing about your new baby boy. You're ready to look for a photographer that will provide you with the images you want at a price you can afford.
Relax: there's lots of good news here! You can aquire a top-notch photographer for surprisingly reasonable amount of money. And since each photographer has his or her own style, you should be able to find someone whose images you admire.
Unfortunately, lots of people don't put a lot of thought into selecting a photographer, that will usually lead to disappointment and frustration. But by following quick and easy steps and spending just a couple minutes online, you'll greatly improve your likelihood of getting a photographer you want at a good price.
First: remember that there are too many people who bought a big, black camera and started advertising professional photography services on C-list. Ownership of a giant camera (also known as an electronic Single-Lens Reflex camera, or DSLR) does not make someone a professional photographer. The advent of photography, combined with relatively affordable prices of DSLRs in the last 5-10 years, has spawned an era of "wannabe" photographers. There's two major drawbacks for this situation: clients have been increasingly frustrated using the quality of images they get from all of these novice photographers, and also the photography profession's reputation has suffered. True professional photographers wince at the proliferation of inexperienced, unqualified novices.
Fortunately there are a few simple ways to spot someone masquerading like a professional:
1. First and foremost, consider the image portfolio/gallery they display on their own webpage or advertisements. If there aren't any images, beware! This is a huge warning sign. When there is a picture portfolio, examine the portraits closely. There should be many images, not only three or four - many images provides you with a more accurate idea of the photographer's style and consistency. There should be a variety of poses and kinds of images - this demonstrates experience and creativity. No two images within the portfolio should be of the same person - this indicates the photographer doesn't have experience and merely had a friend model for him/her to establish a portfolio.
2. Perform the photographer's images look similar to the pictures you take together with your camera at home? If that's the case, this person is not a true professional. Images taken by an experienced photographer with proper lenses and lighting will look dramatically diverse from whatever you can perform with a small point & shoot camera. The backgrounds ought to be very blurry, therefore the subject of the portrait stands out in sharp relief. There should be lots of light in the subjects' eyes to prevent the "raccoon eyes" developed by overhead sun. Tip: if the subject's face is within direct sunlight, there is a pretty good possibility the photographer is not an experienced professional. Very few pros is ever going to photograph a subject's face in direct, full sunlight.
Dallas Portrait Photographer
3. Does the photographer have a webpage? What is the website? A proper professional will invest the relatively little bit of money necessary to purchase and host his very own domain name. For instance, www. photographersname.com or www. businessname.com. When the person has a website that includes the words "freewebs" or "blogspot" or "wordpress", then the person has a free site and was not willing to spend even the minimal amount required to have a professional website name and webpage. Exactly what does that say about the person's attitude towards their business and equipment?
4. What does the photographer charge? When searching for a great portrait photographer, the most important thing isn't price. The different options are $50 on the portrait session but hate all the resulting images. And you can spend $200 on the session and love all of the pictures, rely on them as Christmas pictures, and display them in your house for years. Between these two scenarios, which was most cost effective? To some extent in photography, you get what you purchase. True professionals will charge according to their experience and level of equipment. If you see an advertisement for free portraits, or perhaps a portrait session for $50, or a $100 session which includes a $50 credit towards prints, this can be a hint that the photographer is not experienced or in demand.
Dallas Portrait Photographers
5. What type of photography does the person claim to do? In most cases, you want a photographer who somewhat specializes in portraiture. It's quite common for portrait photographers also to shoot weddings. But I could be cautious about someone who says they are doing portraits, weddings, corporate headshots, architectural photography, events, commercial photography, fashion, sports, fine art, and wildlife photography!
Once you have used these tips to make a list of legitimate photographers, focus on style. This is the most important part of selecting a portrait photographer. Photography style is an extremely personal thing. Someone who is regarded as the very best photographer on the planet usually takes portraits of your family that you hate, based on their style. Some photographers shoot exclusively monochrome, or make use of a tilt/shift lens to blur large portions of the image, or use PhotoShop to significantly affect the original look from the image. Others usually takes close-up shots of the child's shoe or hair ribbon rather than focusing on the face area. Some might only shoot within their studio with formal backgrounds, while others shoot outdoors or at your house. This is all dependent on style and is crucial to finding a photographer you will be happy with.
Now it's time to contact the photographers to get more information. Just how long have they been an expert photographer? Do they attend seminars, take classes, read photography books, and otherwise constantly aim to improve? Will they teach classes, publish articles, or could they be otherwise demonstrably admired by their peers?
More practically, must you shoot the portraits within their studio, or can they come to your home with all of their equipment? The number of changes of clothing can they allow? What prices do they charge for the package you would like? These records will help you make a final decision.
Once you've decided on a photographer and agreed upon the facts from the shoot, you should expect to sign a contract and pay a first deposit to order the photographer's time. (More)
