3 Things to consider before hiring a Photographer

It is a lot like finding the right hairstylist or barber, as finding the right photographer for your start-up. There are great ones, expensive ones, lousy ones -- and cheap ones. Unfortunately, photographers need not to hold any legal regulations, restrictions and licenses. The quality of work that a photographer will produce, doesn’t have a guarantee on it. It leaves you, the potential client at risk for failure as the market have any non-professional or untrained guys who can pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer!

While hiring a photographer you can keep below mentioned points to help you out.

1. Photography organizations can help.

Fortunately, many photographers also realized that most of the clients felt this way too. Many self-imposed regulations and established formal organizations were created to monitor and regulate the quality of photographers were producing. Organizations like wedding.net can be of very much help. To find photographers who abide by their code of ethics, these types of organizations have their own search boards available.

Most photographers have a specific domain that they specialized on, such as weddings, portraits, product photography, commercial photography, etc. Much like medical doctors, You can then narrow down each of these categories into further specializations. There are some photographer who strictly use studio lighting while others prefer natural night.

Which photographer you will choose should solely depend on your creative vision and the project that you are looking to photograph. Some photographers will only shoot film, while other will only shoot digital.

If your primary concern is budget as a start-ups and small business, we’d advise being open about that while speaking to a photographer for the first time. A creative photographer will know how to work in a adjustable budget. If you’re on a shoe-string budget, don’t expect miracles, but if you have reasonable expectations, any job is possible. A photographer should be able to advise you on what options you have to cut the cost of production but not decrease the quality of the final images.

2. Copyright 101 -- who owns the images?

unless you have a written and signed work-for-hire agreement, the photographer will retain the ownership of the images they photography. Why? It is clearly stated in The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 that the ownership of an image is retained by the person who created it. You are in fact licensing the images and not owning them. Pressing the shutter button isn’t just the job for a photographer. A combination of lighting, posing and post-processing is being used to make your idea a reality. After years of trial and error, these techniques are being learned.

3. Expect unexpected costs when hiring a photographer.

You would find similarities between hiring a photographer and buying a video game console. Generally speaking, you pay for the hardware, but  there is nothing else included when you buy it. You’re must buy video games in order to make the most out of the console. Its almost the same with the photographers. You should ask if the following items are covered in their estimate when inquiring about rates:

Printing: Many photographers still make a living by selling physical prints even when digital photography is the current standard of photography. Unless it’s included in the photography package, you’re paying for your time on set and also paying for physical prints. As the photographer is selling a physical product, you should obviously assume there is a markup for profit regardless the photographer prints in-house or outsources the images to a print lab.

As the print market has been taken over by digital photography, you will find photographers who will not offer print services. In that case, you can ask the photographer to provide you with a written consent form to print your images. To print professional quality images without a signed release from the photographer many of the print houses and print labs will refuse as they can be accused of copyright infringement.

Digital rights: Many photographers will offer the digital files at an additional cost, called a Digital Rights Fee, if you don’t require physical prints and prefer digital files. A digital rights fee is basically the opportunity cost of having you walk out of their doors without charging you for print work. Mind that, the copyright of those images is not included.

Makeup, hair and wardrobe: invest in a team to help primp everyone, if you’re spending thousands of rupees on anyone to photograph you, your staff or model.

Spending the money to create beautiful images when your hair is halfway done, your shirt is wrinkled, your clothes are too big or your forehead is greasy, is the worst scenario. Remember that you’re investing in your brand and your self image, so invest in a team as every penny counts.

A makeup artist, hairstylist and or wardrobe stylist will always be in the recommendation list of a photographer. You can generally hire freelance makeup artists and hairstylists for giving your model or staff a touch of good looks.

Retouching: Most non-photographers generally overlook professional retouching cost. It can be removing small blemishes or cleaning the gloomy background, retouching is an art in its own way. It is not necessary that a great photographer will always be a great photo editor. Sometimes many photographers opt to outsource this retouching part as they can’t manage time to retouch hundreds of photos. This is why the pre-production process is so important.

Consultation fees: Most clients think that a photographer is basically a freelance art director. It’s an absolute wrong notion. An art direct specializes in everything surrounding advertising, including but not limited to generating new ideas, creating designs, managing projects, etc. A photographer’s job is to take that vision and make it into a reality.

Most photographers will charge consultation fees outside of a normal consultation as they have very limited time. It’s a photographer’s way of making most out of their time. This cancels out any unimportant lead for a photographer, so that they can spend their time making money just like any other entrepreneur.