What makes a ‘Professional’ Photographer?

It’s a common question.  The advances in cell phone and affordable consumer cameras have made this a more challenging question for anyone that doesn’t know what questions to ask or what to look for in a photographer.  Photography is a field where virtually anyone can pick up a camera and start a business.  It doesn’t require a degree or a specific certification to hang your title and begin to accept paying clients.  Here’s a great video about Senior Photography and why hiring a Pro is so important:

So does hiring a ‘Pro’ matter and if so, what to look for and why?

What DOESN’T Make you Professional

Let’s start with a simple list of things that likely have nothing to do with the quality of work:

• a big a$@, expensive camera
• a Facebook business page with pictures of your kids, pets, or anything else that will stand still long enough to have their picture taken
• a cute logo that looks like handwriting with the word ‘photography’ somewhere in it

Things we believe are required from a Professional Photographer

• Customer Service
• Knowledge of Photo editing software and techniques
• Boring Business stuff (Insurance, Taxes, Backup Gear, etc)
• Ongoing education and training
• You LOVE their work enough to pay them for it!

Customer Service

To us, this is the core distinction between a hobbyist and a pro.  When you hire me to create photographs for you, I need to understand what your expectations are and I need to exceed them.  I can’t create a photograph if I don’t take the time to get to know you as an individual and I certainly won’t get your repeat business if you aren’t blown away by the experience of working with me!

Photo Editing

It’s my job to make you look your absolute best.  That starts with posing and lighting but experience with editing software is the extra 10-20% that puts our work over the top and gives our images a unique look.  Every photographer can improve their work by understanding and using photo editing software.

Boring Business Stuff

You cannot own a business without Insurance!  What happens when you fall over a light stand in my studio (obviously we take all precautions but nothing is 100%)?  What happens when my primary camera stops working in the middle of a shoot?  I better have a backup!  Does your photographer collect sales tax and are they paying Federal and State taxes?  A professional takes more time working their business than they do actually making photographs!

Ongoing Education

Practice and working with clients is great but you also need to network and learn from other photographers.  We attend 2-3 conferences and workshops every year to learn and grow so that we can deliver amazing images to you.

$$$

The reality is that not everyone values photography.  Those that do all have different budgets so this item is less about the specific dollar amount and more about how passionate you are about the final result.  Would you have been willing to pay even more than what you were charged?  Will you return to this photographer when you need images in the future?

Summary

These are just a few points to consider as you look for your Senior Photographer.  We’d love to talk to you about what makes us different!

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