Stop jamming square pegs into round holes

The best photographer fit for your particular needs exists…

…That’s why you don’t need to force it.

I was sharing “war stories” with a fellow lifestyle portrait photographer the other day over a couple adult beverages, and the topic of interesting consultation calls came up. 

As those conversations usually do when drinking :)

He mentioned to me the time that a potential client had prepared a .pdf with several pages worth of “inspiration images,” and wanted to go over it with him as they were on the phone. 

The photos, he said, looked and felt absolutely nothing like the photos that he creates. 

During the call, the potential client spoke only about the photos in the .pdf, talking about how wonderful they are, and how much he wanted the same for his online presence. 

All the while, he never once acknowledged the photographer’s own style and approach to capturing lifestyle portraits. 

So how did that conversation end? 

My friend thanked him for his time and said that they didn’t seem like a good fit to work together. 

This exchange brings up a larger point regarding qualifying a potential lifestyle portrait photographer for your needs. 

Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole, folks.

If you and your team have compiled an inspiration board of photos for an upcoming session, be mindful of the aesthetic and style exhibited in these photos when qualifying potential photographers.

Search for the shooters that create photos in the same way as the ones on your inspiration board. 

Don’t do it the other way around. 

As you saw in the above story, that approach ultimately is a waste of time. 

Just because a professional photographer has a fancy camera, lights and other gear, that doesn’t mean that she or he is the right professional photographer for you. 

Keep this in mind the next time you are in search of a photographer - it will save you a lot of time, and you’ll hear a lot less no’s in the process...

…because, yes, qualification goes both ways, my friends :)

If you found this article valuable, please hit one of the social buttons at the bottom of the post to share with your community - please and thank you :)