5 Questions To Ask A Personal Branding Photographer Before You Hire Them

Finding the right person for the job can be tricky.

Particularly when you're not familiar with their industry and the services they provide.

It's difficult to know what to ask other than, "How much?" The answer to that may not even reveal anything anyway if you don't know exactly what you are getting for it.

Professional service providers often feel this way when it comes to finding a Personal Branding Photographer. They know they need fresh high quality photos for their new website and social media platforms but don't know what to ask to help them find the photographer that's right for them and can deliver the results they want.

We don't know what we don't know. So, to help, here are 5 questions to ask a Personal Branding Photographer like me that I believe you should ask before you hire them.

1. Do you specialise in Personal Branding Photography?

Many professionals who haven't been exposed to photographers assume that photographers can and will photograph anything. For example, they will assume an Event Photographer can capture Headshots or Portraits or that a Wedding Photographer can shoot Interiors or Real Estate Photography, simply because we all own cameras. That is simply not the case. While some photographers do work successfully across multiple genres, it's important to ask what they specialise in.

If you've recently left your corporate career and are starting out on your own (congratulations by the way and welcome to entrepreneurship!) and are looking for a photographer to capture images to populate your website and that amplify your personal brand, then you need a photographer who specialises in personal branding photography.

The benefit of working with a Personal Branding Photographer is that they already come with an understanding of what's required when it comes to your photos. Their process will not only guide you towards your desired result (beautifully branded photos) it will help you go deeper into understanding your own personal brand and expand your thinking around the possibilities of what you can be doing in your business to help it grow.

This means that not only will you get a collection of beautiful photos to share, but also the confidence to share them online and let yourself be seen!

2. Do you offer wardrobe and styling guidance?

A Personal Branding Photographer will definitely provide you with guidance around what to wear and how to look in your photos.

This is a critical element in telling your business story and selling your personal brand.

How you dress in your photos says so much about you that to ignore this aspect means your photos aren't going to be supporting your brand as well as they could be.

Also, when you're wearing clothes that you absolutely love and feel great in, your confidence soars and that feeling can definitely be felt by your audience in your photos.

If the photographer you're speaking to doesn't give you any help in this department, please find one who does or hire a personal stylist! Seriously. You will feel so much more confident during your shoot and your photos will have a more cohesive look and be more powerful in attracting your audience's attention.

3. Do you provide a professional Hair and Makeup Artist?

This is an important question to ask for women because oftentimes photographers won't provide a hair and makeup artist for you and you will have to source one yourself.

If you're time poor, like most of my clients, this can be a headache to organise yourself. Firstly, to try and find one who is available at the time and date of your shoot day and who is experienced in photographic makeup.

Like photographers, makeup artists vary greatly in their skills, techniques, and areas of expertise. It can be difficult to find someone who you know is going to give you a great result without having to try them out first.

Having your hair and makeup done by a professional also takes away the stress of having to do your own makeup the morning of your shoot. It's one less thing to think about and you can relax knowing you're taken care of and that the makeup artist will have you looking your absolute best.

This is why I work with a select number of experienced hair and makeup artists whose work I trust and can style any woman who sits in my chair to look their very best! I'm a big fan of natural looking makeup that enhances your beauty seamlessly and for this reason all my packages come with complimentary hair and makeup.

I'm always confident my clients will love the way they'll look - no complaints yet!

4. Can you provide me with creative direction that will support my personal branding and business goals?

Another important question because some photographers expect you to know all the answers when it comes to what you want to feature in your photos and how they should look.

There's no problem with this if you already have a clear vision and have even gone as far as creating a mood board to show your photographer.

But if this is nowhere near your wheelhouse of expertise then you're going to want to work with a photographer who can provide this for you or at the very least guide you through a process where you can uncover the elements that are important to your personal brand. Your photographer can then make that happen for you.

It's critical to set expectations from the start. Every client is different. Some prefer to be completely directed by the photographer and others prefer to co-create. Personally, I work well either way. It all depends on my clients. I find the ones who come from a more creative background for example, interior design, love to co-create whereas my clients who come from a more corporate background prefer to be guided.

5. Can I choose what images I buy?

This is a great question to ask because in my experience clients can sometimes think that all the images from the day will be delivered. This is not always the case.

Why?

As a photographer, I capture many images throughout a shoot. The very nature of capturing someone's portrait is collaborative and creative. So, there will be hits and there will be misses.

I love to show my clients what I'm capturing in real time during our shoot. This helps to reassure them and provides an opportunity for me to get their feedback while we work and make any changes necessary.

At the end of the shoot, I'll then go through every single image and pick out the top 1% of photos that hit the brief and are the absolute best for the purpose for which they were created.

I'll then invite my clients to take a look and choose their favourites for me to edit, prepare to be published online and deliver. This ensures my clients are happy and know exactly what they're getting in their inbox with no surprises!

There you go! I hope this helps empower some of you who may be in need of a Personal Branding Photographer by knowing what questions to ask before you decide who to hire. And of course, please reach out HERE if you feel I might be the photographer for you.