Don't just look at their websites...
If you’re really on the fence about selecting the right photographer for you…
…here’s one way to get closer to a decision.
For many experts, choosing a photographer is a difficult process.
Do they have experience working with people just like me?
Can they deliver the same type of quality as they have in the past?
Will they provide an enjoyable and productive experience overall?
Now, whether you received a referral from a colleague, or happened to stumble across a photographer somewhere within your network, you can start the process of qualifying them through looking at their website and online content.
The stories they share will give you a detailed look into their level of expertise and a glimpse into their process and personality for delivering it.
Like what you see? Then, move on to setting up a consultation call.
This call will cement or sink your impression of their expertise, while also giving you a more in-depth look into their communication style and personality.
This, clearly, is important, as you need to feel comfortable with them and present in the moment in front of the camera to produce genuine and compelling photos during the session.
Now, what happens when you run through the qualification process and end up with 2 photographers that check all the boxes?
How can you break the tie?
In cases like these, it’s time to get really nitty gritty and take a closer look at what their deliverables actually look like.
And no, I’m not talking about a deeper dive into their website - those are the photos that they want you to see. You want to see the photos that an actual client receives.
Contact each photographer and ask them to send you a link to a recent client image content portfolio.
Not a portion of it. Everything they delivered.
First, is the album one gigantic unsorted pile of photos, or did they take the time to categorize individual groupings of photos into clearly marked sub-folders?
A pile is overwhelming, and I’m sure the last thing you want to do is flip through hundreds of shots without any clue as to where the shot you want lives within this mess.
Opt for the photographer who spent time and effort on eliminating that friction point for you with a catalog of subfolders organizing every delivered photo.
Next, when scrolling through the photos, does the portfolio dance, or does it look like the same 4-5 shots repeated 20 times each?
When a portfolio dances, that means the images vary each other from shot-to-shot, whether it’s a change in composition and framing, your body language and posture, or your facial expression.
If the album doesn’t dance, then you’re losing a lot of value in your investment because of all the duplicates that aren’t usable once you choose one from that section. Those other shots amount to expensive filler. Not a great result, so avoid photographers who do this.
Third, within that portfolio, do you receive both low and high resolution versions of each image? This question is really important to the people on your marketing and design teams.
Low resolution images are ideal for social posts and other online content, and your team can implement them, as is, right into the project they’re working on.
High resolution images are important if the image is going to be heavily manipulated or part of a larger composition that requires a designer’s touch. They’re also required for anything that you plan to print. The more pixels in that image, the better, for this type of comprehensive work.
When a photographer accounts for something like this, it shows that they pay attention to the details in order to create a more valuable portfolio for you. And, it eliminates the need for you to track them down in the future when you need a high resolution image for a project.
By asking potential photographers for a look into one of their delivered image content portfolios, this will give you immense insight into what you’re actually going to get for your investment, especially if all else in the qualification process is equal.
If you feel like this added process is a bit too much for your plate alone, then have someone on your team who will be working with these photos directly handle it alongside you.
In multiple instances, I’ve had to submit a client portfolio to a potential client, and they looked through the shots with their marketing person, so, it’s certainly not uncommon.
Ultimately, the juice is worth the squeeze.
Now, what happens if one of them refuses to send over another client’s portfolio? Well, looks like that photographer isn’t a fit, and your problem has been solved based on their reluctance to share!
Give this approach a try if you find yourself in this situation next time you’re looking to hire a photographer.
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