Me on a shoot; Photo: Rhonda McCrimmon.
In these financially-challenging times, it’s understandable that business owners, managers and event organisers might question whether it’s worth hiring a professional photographer to take pictures for them, instead of just capturing a few snaps on their phone.
Here’s why that’s a good investment and not just an extra cost because of what an experienced professional Photographer brings to your pictures.
Decades of experience & knowledge – of what makes a great picture, how to best arrange the elements to get a picture that communicates what you want to say and technical knowledge – such as white balance, depth-of-field and appropriate shutter speed.
Professional quality results – however many megapixels your phone can record pictures at, its lens is never going to match a professional-spec lens that costs a minimum of £2,000 – in terms of sharpness, detail and colour accuracy. And nor will its flash compete with a professional-spec unit costing up to £2k. The camera will also keep working in extreme weather for hours – because it’s designed to.
A good Pro will also use Pro-level editing tools, such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, to maximise the quality of your images and get them to you by your deadline. I typically deliver event photos within 24 hours and key images for media and Social Media by the end of the day.
Most of all, a good Pro will bring professionalism – being dedicated to give you the best, whatever happens.
Creativity in problem-solving – an experienced professional will bring several tried and tested ideas for your photoshoot and help you choose the best. What if something in your photo plan goes wrong? Not a problem – experienced Pros have been there before and know how to get the best from the situation.
Social engineering skills – a media photographer has to be able to go into a room, find out who’s in charge, politely get them and anyone else required to do what’s required for the picture, get it and exit leaving a good impression. All in 15 minutes. That takes well-developed social skills and experience. So people-handling isn’t an issue with an experienced Pro.
Local knowledge and contacts – if your photographer is local to where you’re doing the shoot, they will have knowledge of good locations to do photos – having done similar ones in the past. They’ll also know useful people to help e.g. for costume hire or props, if required.
A good working relationship with local media – especially the Picture Desk and/or Editor. That will help you get your picture used, if it’s intended for Media Relations as well as your own communication channels.
Thanks to Leticia Gaidon Bradford for feedback on a draft of this Article. Leticia is one of a network of excellent experienced photographers I know, so if I can’t handle your job, I can recommend someone who’ll do you proud.
Planning a story or event needing photos?
Get in touch with me because I bring:
44 years’ experience of News and Event photography ✅
10 years running a newspaper Picture Desk ✅
Highly-recommended (30 client Recommendations) ✅