What to look for and how to plan a branded shoot.

The time of using stock images is over. In today’s digital marketplace it becomes more evident than ever that your business website needs to step up several levels to really impress your visitors: and photography is a big part of that. However, in a world where anybody can pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer, that leaves you, the business owner, at risk for expensive mistake if you hire the wrong person for the job. 

I decided to write this short article, to help you avoid waisting your time and money especially on the wrong photographers. I will share with you an insight on how you can find the right photographers, what things to consider and you can collectively work together on your shoot. 

Sam Roberts (CEO of Boston Tea Party) for Circus Journal by Karolina Wisniowska

1) Stalk your photographer and do some digging. Check websites, instagram, see if they post regularly. Is the feedback from clients positive? How does photographer respond? Carefully review potential photographers’ websites and blogs to check out photos of other projects they’ve shot, which will give you an idea of their style. It is totally fine to ask your chosen photographers to provide links to full galleries from previous jobs. Why? I made a mistake of not asking for it some time ago. I was looking for second shooter for a wedding. A few photographers sent me their portfolio and I picked up one I like the most (based on 20 photos he has shown me) during the wedding I realised that he is probably not so experienced as he portrayed himself. When he delivered the gallery I knew that the 20 photos he has shown me weren’t his. By asking for a full gallery, you will really see if photographer work is consistent, if the work presented by this person is his and if you really like the style. 

2) Be clear about your brand. 

Remember that before you can expect someone else to understand your brand, you first need to create a crystal clear understanding yourself. Photographers are creatives (most of the times) but we are not wizards who can telepathically understand client needs and we don’t have super power to use and produce amazing results without information. 

At EightySix Studios we always schedule a meeting to understand clients direction and this allows us to make sure we capture things correctly. As when we understand your brand the process of branding shoot runs a lot smoother. We always ask our customer to tell us about their brand, their target audience, how they want to be portray, and how they want to incorporate business competition elements and how thet are different. 

When customer outline these for us, we can easily see if there is a creative synergy between both of us. A BIG RED FLAG to not when hiring photographer is if they do not ask questions along these lines. 

Sidonie Warren (co-founder of Papersmiths) for Lionheart Mag by Karolina Wisniowska

3) Share examples of photographs you like. 

Think about the overall image you want to portray as a company, and find other companies who do that well. Whether its a creative agency, dentist’s office or financial firm think about the impression you want to give with your photos ‘’ Clean and professional’’ is not enough. Also your idea of clean might be different than your photographer’s vision. 

At EightySix Studios after meeting with our customers and finding out what they want we always create a vision board (very often from images from Pinterest) to see if our vision after the conversation we had is is the same as theirs. 

Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, Casamia for Square Meal by Dominika Scheibinger

4) Understand the photography pricing

Most people only have experience with “retail” photography like wedding, family and portrait photography. In these cases, a photographer takes the photo and provides you a copy of the images in digital and print form. Most times, a photography session is a certain price that is listed on a website as they know what to expect and/or the shoot is “typical.”

Business photography is a bit different as every photoshoot has different expectations and needs. Some will be a lot like retail if you are hiring a photographer for office space photos or employee portraits as there is a set expectation. But, a lot of the time, pricing will be a bit different for business photography.

Now, before your jaw drops to the floor, know there are a lot of factors involved in what the pricing will be:

• Photographer consulting time/planning
• Photographer time
• Photographer travel
• Photographer editing
• Photographer services (hair, makeup, model calls)
• Wardrobe planning
• Location renting or studio work
• Photographer printing and copyright rights

Since there are so many factors involved in branded business photography, at EightySix Studios we don’t offer a standard pricing menu. Instead, we consult with potential clients and then provide a quote based on the requirements, time and labor necessary. As a business owner, it’s good to understand the many factors in which a photographer will consider their pricing.

Do not assume photographers just show up, shoot and send you photos. There is a lot of planning and time that goes into successful business photography sessions! 

SUMMARY: 

Do some digging 

Be clear about your brand 

Think about overall image

Understand the photography pricing

EightySix Studios