6 things to consider when hiring a photographer for your business stock images
Choosing the right photographer for your business imagery can be tricky. How much will it cost, how many images will you receive, does the photographer get what you’re trying to achieve? And do you even know what you want to achieve anyway?
There are a few things you should think about before making a decision on hiring a photographer.
Do some research
Before you even start to look into photographers, have a think about the type and style of photography you’re looking for. Look online, look in magazines and newspapers. Think about the images you like but also consider the colours you’re drawn to, fonts and typefaces you like. You don’t even need to know why you like a photograph, if you like it make a note of it, take a screengrab, create a file of tearsheets from magazines. More often than not you’ll find that a clear style becomes apparent and you’ll start to build up a ‘look’.
Do you have a few favourite websites and blogs? The chances are they’re not even in your field of business but that doesn’t matter. If you like them, write them down.
From this research you can build up a mood-board / story-board for your brand in terms of photography, graphics, colours and styles ready to share with your photographer when the time comes.
Look at a range of photographers
Look around. Look for people who are experienced in the type of photography you need. A wedding photographer or family portrait photographer might not be the best choice for business photography. A studio-based portrait photographer might not translate to being great at more location-based shoots.
And try not to base your research solely on price. Look at the images on the photographer’s website. The quality of their website is important and you’re looking for consistency of images. After all, if a professional photographer doesn’t use images to their advantage on their own website, that’s not a great sign. Also, you need a photographer to understand branding and marketing so look at what they do to market their own brand.
Make a shortlist
Put together a wish list of your favourite photographers. And don’t forget to write down what it is you like about them. After hours of research, they may all merge into one so make some notes!
Ask questions
Speak to each of them and ask them their opinion regarding your shoot ideas. Ideally, they’ll come back with questions of their own. This communication will help when it comes to making your mind up.
Agree the details up front
Make sure you know about:
- Where you can use your images (PR/Advertising/Print/social media marketing)
- How long you can use them for (some photographers might have a cut-off point until you need to pay again)
- How many images you’ll receive
- How you’ll receive them (will they be uploaded for you to download?)
- How long after the shoot it’ll take to receive your images
- How and when do you pay
Look for transparency
This is vital when it comes to price. You will need to know the final costs. If retouching might be needed, find out how much this is beforehand. Ask if there are any hidden costs. Your photographer should have nothing to hide. If they do, avoid.
If you’re looking for bring your brand or business to life through some great photography and need some advice on the best way to do this, head over to our website to download our guide on Why Marketing Your Brand Through Photography Is So Important. Or get in touch if you’d like to chat through your ideas, we’d love to help.