Top Things to Consider When Booking a Portrait Photographer
Photoshoots can be uncomfortable.
They can leave you feeling on display in front of a complete stranger. At the same time, having nice portraits of yourself and your family feels necessary at times. It is rare that someone enjoys having their picture taken.
That’s why I made it a profession to always be behind the camera.
Fortunately there are hundreds of photographers capable of taking professional portraits. They range from ones that charge the cost of your first born child to ones that only seem to do work in exchange for baked items.
The goal here is to give you practical things to consider when choosing your next portrait photographer.
Top Things To Consider
I’ve consistently seen people reach out to me for a photoshoot with little to no idea on what they are actually asking for. While I’m able to make something up and hope that you are happy with the outcome, there are a few things you could decide and discuss on the front end of the conversation that will create more alignment and higher chance of success.
What are the photos being used for?
Ranging from being a profile picture on your MySpace account to printing full bleed albums for your coffee table, knowing the intent on the photos themselves is extremely helpful. This will help give the photographer more insight on things like quantity of images, quantity of poses, type of resolution, margins around the subject, landscape vs portrait vs custom ratio, etc.
You don’t need to know or understand any of these things listed above, as adding to it would be overwhelming for my brain's sake. However, giving a clear usage intent on the photos will put all these things and more into perspective before the photoshoot begins.
Example: Headshots
You are in desperate need of an updated headshot. Your company isn’t doing them in-house and has asked you to go get one yourself. You find my website and ask for headshots.
Your only purpose in the headshot is to update your LinkedIn profile picture. That is helpful to know since LinkedIn profile pictures are a square crop that gets dialed back to a circle crop. They also require lower resolution.
I get more info about look and feel, and I give you 4 pictures to choose from in full resolution and cropped in square format at a lower resolution for seamless updating.
What type of environment are you most interested in?
Environments are more varied than I think most people think about. We can have photos taken in a studio, or at 7,000 elevation in a hot air balloon. Cityscapes, nature, 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. Office setting, residential, at a Buffalo Bills tailgate. What is around you should be aligned with your desired outcome.
Knowing what you are looking for is helpful mainly due to the availability of that environment. I personally do not have a studio to do more formal backdrop type photos. However, I’m driving distance to Letchworth State Park.
Example: Family Portraits
Your whole family will be together for the first time in over a year and you’d like pictures to capture everyone. There’s 22 of you in total and they are a rambunctious group. You find my website and ask for family portraits.
You all grew up in the thriving metropolis of Dalton, NY and all have a more rural lifestyle. You want your photos to reflect that, and needless to say, some people will be wearing Carhartt shirts.
We find you a field with some hay bales or tractor equipment and ensure that the great outdoors provides the backdrop of your canvas.
What are your timing constraints?
Frankly, photographers are busy. They are predominantly busy because they are limited in ideal lighting and conditions when shooting outdoors. That is even more constrained depending on the time of year and where you are located. Being in New York, you’ll know that winters limit your natural light to the equivalent of a work day. And no one wants direct sunlight in their portraits.
Depending on your environment, there is a smaller window of time to shoot. Meaning, when someone is booked for a photoshoot, it will be very difficult to have more than one client in a given day. Hence why timing is important.
Example: Engagement Photos
So you’re getting married and want photos done beforehand. That’s great! The issue is that your wedding is in three weeks. You want a pine forest nestled with snow as your environment and know of the perfect Christmas tree farm for the shoot. You find my website and ask for engagement photos.
Timing is severely urgent, and will need to be coordinated around snowfall. This allows the conversation to be around potential dates and times with a heavy dose of flexibility.
We check the forecast, throw in some tentative dates, and watch out our windows every day knowing that there's a chance for an impromptu drive to the Christmas tree farm.
What are the travel constraints?
Photographers travel by trade. Rarely does the client come to your residence and take photos in your living room. For those who do, God bless you. You will have your own challenges traveling an hour each way with triplets under the a year old.
There are real constraints on both parties when it comes to travel. Distances for driving depending on availability is a real topic that should be considered. Generally it makes sense to find a photographer local to the area you are looking to have your photos done. Natives to the area will have familiarity with the location, and you know you won’t be charged more for the gas mileage.
Example: Wedding Photos
The big day is upon you and you are in need of a wedding photographer. You’ve picked a destination wedding in Geneseo, NY. Your initial photographer is located in your hometown of Cheektowaga and isn’t willing to travel that far for a wedding (at least at that price). You find my website and ask for a wedding photographer.
Being a Geneseo area native my whole life, I know the venue inside and out and nearby parks and remote fields to do the bridal party photos.
I also know of a super secret place, but bring your hiking shoes. It will be worth it to experience your own private waterfall.
What special requirements or requests are needed?
We all have them. Special request that we may be embarrassed about or try not to bring into the conversation. But talking about them helps the photographer to know what to expect and how to work around or with those things.
This is a bit of a catch all, however, important to consider. Some people are uncomfortable walking on uneven surfaces, others may have physical limitations. Others may be more sensitive to a male photographer than female photographer. There may be concerns about a myriad of things that should be brought up early on in the conversation to ensure alignment between you and your photographer.
Example: Senior Portraits
Your son is graduating high school and you’d like to capture this feat with some photos that reflect his personality. After a severe wrestling accident, your son is wheelchair bound and has obvious limitations as far as access is concerned. You find my website and ask for senior photos.
Initially the goal was to get photos done at Letchworth State Park to get the full spectrum of fall leaves as a backdrop. With this new found information, we can still do it, but I need to be more intentional about where.
We resolve to go to the Autism Nature Trail which is not only beautiful, but completely wheelchair accessible.
Final Thoughts
Allow the photographer to fill in the blanks. Give space for creative license with the context you’ve provided. With these answers in place, a rounded picture of expectations has been set. Now the one with the equipment and experience can do their best to bring your desires into reality.
Photographers typically have a vision of what they want to accomplish. This, at times, will not make sense until you see the result. Meaning, you may be asked to do things that don’t make sense.
I remember a time I was doing an engagement shoot with a couple I knew very well. They saw something interesting that they wanted incorporated into an engagement ring shot. However, with the camera and location, I needed the groom to be able to stand in a very awkward position. I assured them that this will feel completely wrong, but it will be worth it.
As the story goes, this is the photo that was featured in all their wedding mailers.
I hope this was helpful. The goal is to equip you in your search for that next portrait photographer. Remember to give us much context and clarity on what you’re looking for and it will truly reflect in your photos.