How to Choose the Right Photographer for You
Five things to consider when hiring a photographer
California Elopement + proposal Photographer | Summit and Sur Photography
While I have had this post nearly written for a while, it seemed high time to finally publish it, especially with all the #sepiabride drama making the rounds on the internet (iykyk and if not, honestly, don’t waste your time…read this instead)! Speaking of the internet, it’s how most people find their photographers these days, right? So whether a client is looking through Instagram, TikTok, or using a good ole’ Google search, the fact of the matter is that people have a LOT of options out there to choose from when it comes to photographers. From different budgets to different editing styles, the options are endless which can be great; it can also be really overwhelming, leading some to make the wrong decision when hiring their photographer. Why? Simply put: they didn’t know what to look for in the hiring process.
Well, this little guide is here to help you navigate the process next time you are looking for someone to document your elopement, engagement session, or anything in between. Keep reading to learn my five considerations when hiring your photographer!
Personality
Why do I require a consultation call with all my potential elopement clients? Because making sure that you and your photographer’s personalities mix well is incredibly important for any session but especially on a day that you will spend so much time together like your wedding or elopement.
So how do you find out if your personalities are a good mix? As mentioned above, consolation calls (also known as discovery calls) are a great way to get to know your photographer’s personality while also obtaining helpful information about the booking and planning process. However, if you aren’t quite ready to hop on a call yet but are trying to get a sense of what that photographer’s personality might be like, it can be helpful to look at things like their Instagram feed, the “about me” section of their website (click here for mine), and any other social media they might be on that can help give you some insight to who they are before getting serious and setting up calls.
Of course, all of the above begs the questions: what are you looking for in a person? Are you a quiet couple who wants a more reserved photographer or do you want someone who will join you on the dance floor? Are you wanting someone who holds similar values and beliefs as you? Do you want a bubbly photographer or more reserved person to take in the day? No matter your answers to questions like this, there is a photographer out there for you—-you just need to find the one who makes sense for you and also hits the mark on the things I talk about in the next sections!
Shooting Style
When I started my photography business, I knew immediately that I wanted to specialize in a more relaxed style of photography, commonly referred to as a “lifestyle” photographer. While I appreciate and dabble from time to time in more editorial and classic posing, my favorite way to capture clients is in the moment, between laughs, hugs, kisses, and just being themselves. All of this is to say: I have a specific shooting style and most other photographers do as well; therefore, this is definitely something you should think about when looking over their portfolio.
Another thing to consider about a photographer’s style is how they shoot, specifically the typical settings they use when creating their photos. Without getting too technical, most professional photographers are using their cameras in manual mode, which means they have total control over the exposure (brightness), aperture (how in-focus the background is), and the shutter speed (how sharp or blurry the subject is when there is movement). Why is this important? If you are looking for a photographer who captures the background of a photo in very sharp focus, almost the same as the subject, pay attention to their portfolio and see if you find that to be consistent. Alternatively, if you like more of a soft background, look for that being the trend in their work. Shutter dragging and slow shutter speed shots have become really popular, especially with photographers who like to emulate film; so if you are looking for someone who specializes in these types of shots, look through their portfolio or ask them about their familiarity with this style!
Editing
In an era of smart phones with pretty decent camera capability, it’s no wonder professional photographers have developed editing styles that they consider unique to their business. Amongst the thousands of other photographers in a very saturated market, we each need to stand out and for many of us, that comes into play by way of our editing.
Not only understanding that your photographer likely has their own editing style but loving that style is critical in choosing the right photographer for your elopement, session, or event. We spend countless hours fine-tuning our editing to make sure that it is consistent throughout galleries and our portfolio. Sure, landscapes and weather can affect editing in some capacities (you can’t make a gray sky look like a bright sunny day), but overall, there should be a look of cohesiveness in our work.
While there are a multitude of various editing styles, the most common are:
Light and airy
Dark and moody
True to color
Film inspired
I like to add myself to that last category—-film inspired. What does this typically mean? Well, for starters, grain…lots and lots of grain! Our shadows are typically a little heavier and, for my work at least, it is pretty warm. I always prioritize skin tones and trying to keep them as accurate to the lighting on the day-of while still keeping the general style of editing consistent.
So, why is this so important? Because most photographers do not edit in a multitude of styles for you to choose from after your session. They specialize in their specific style of editing (which also plays off how we shoot photos in camera) and it would not show consistency in their portfolio if they were constantly editing differently for each client. How would one know what they will get if that was the case?! It’s akin to ordering a dish from a french restaurant but requesting that it be made “southern bbq style”. Since that isn’t what the restaurant specializes in, they probably don’t have the ingredients, tools, or recipes to turn out a dish in the style you want at the same quality that their style would have produced.
So what does this all mean? Simply: make sure you love your photographer’s editing style. It is a huge part of our art and is not conducive to our business to change editing styles for every client. If you like a more true to color edit, find a photographer who specializes in that. If you want a dark and moody edit, there’s plenty of photographers out there to fit your vision. Choose the photographer based on what you see on their portfolio…not someone else’s portfolio!
Budget
This part feels fairly self-explanatory but it’s SO important to mention in this guide. As mentioned in previous sections, there are thousands of photographers out there from beginners to well-seasoned, which usually has an effect on their pricing. One of the first things anyone should do before they start searching for a photographer is to figure out the budget they are working with. Once this is taken care of, the fun of searching for a photographer in your budget begins! Now, many of us list our starting prices on our websites which is to help you in your research and hopefully prevent you from wasting your time on a photographer who is way out of budget (because trust me, I have been there, and it’s not super fun). On the other hand, you may still run into photographers who don’t list starting prices; at that point, if you love their work, you’ll have to make the decision of whether or not you want to invest time in learning more about their work and packages.
So then what happens if you stumble upon a photographer who is somewhat outside your budget but you absolutely love their work and connect with them on every other level? Well, that is obviously a personal decision but my advice is this: unless you can make adjustments to your budget in other ways to cover the difference (like cutting some of the alcohol costs at your wedding or going with a less expensive outfit), stick to your budget. It is not an easy decision to make but ultimately, you will feel better knowing you didn’t drown yourself in debt. Lastly, you can always ask your photographer if they offer any smaller packages if you are willing to have less coverage for the photographer of your dreams—-the worst they can say is “no”. And just remember, there is a photographer out there for every budget…you just have to look!
Experience
I am going to be completely transparent here: this section scares me the most because it gives me a TON of imposter syndrome about not being in this industry “long enough”. With that out of the way, the last piece of advice in finding the perfect photographer for you is taking into account their experience. Now, someone’s experience in the industry can mean a lot of things and they are all worth taking into consideration depending on what you are hiring your photographer to capture. Think about:
If you are hiring a family photographer…
are they comfortable around young children?
do they know how to keep kids engaged in a session?
what do they do when a kiddo is tapped out and needs a break?
do they have location suggestions for your session?
If you are hiring an elopement or intimate wedding photographer…
do they have prior wedding or elopement experience?
what is their experience in the planning aspect of elopements?
are they comfortable with the potential for inclement weather and needed to utilize back-up plans for outdoor elopements?
do they have experience posing large groups of people for family shots?
what is their workflow like in backing up images after a wedding?
what kind of lighting do they use for nighttime/reception shots?
If you are hiring a surprise proposal photographer…
do they have experience shooting surprise proposals in the area you have in mind?
are they hands-on in planning the logistics of the proposal and helping to ensure it’s a surprise?
do they know the location well or have suggestions for specific spots for your proposal?
are they ready with back-up plans just in case of weather or other disruptions?
Obviously, the questions above are not an exhaustive list of things to consider when thinking about a photographer’s expertise, they are all a good starting point or at least worth asking about in the hiring process. All of these questions have been asked at one point or another in my career and, admittedly, I am very proud of the fact that I can not only answer all of these questions confidently but often front load this information to potential clients because of how important they can be to the outcome of your gallery. A photographer’s experience really can’t be summed up by the amount of years they have in the industry (it can help, but isn’t a sure indicator of them being prepared for the project) but rather how many times they have put their skill to use in various circumstances and projects.
What about anomalies like an inexperienced wedding photographer with excellent work? Or someone who has never shot a family session but has incredible elopement galleries? There isn’t a right answer here except to use your best judgement and look at lots and lots of final galleries (just ask them to send you some) to get an idea of consistency in their work; if the overall feel is consistency and you are vibing with their work, it may be worth taking the risk and going for it because, let’s face it, we all started somewhere!
So there you have it, five things to look for the next time you are hiring a photographer! Each of these points may mean less to some than to others and vice versa; but overall, they should help guide you in things to think about before saying “yes” to your family, wedding, engagement, elopement, or proposal photographer. Because, believe it or not, as much as you want perfect photos, your photographer wants that just as much FOR YOU. We want you to absolutely love your gallery and want to plaster those photos all over your home; the idea of you not liking your gallery is fear-inducing but, as evidenced by this blog post, sometimes entirely avoidable by just making sure you hire the perfect photographer for you!
Did you connect with my work and want to chat more about hiring me to be your photographer? Click the button below to get started!