You want to invest wisely when hiring a brand photographer, so what questions should you ask them?
And it is an investment…of money and your time.
Finding the right brand photographer for you and your business relies on asking the right questions. You will also need to prepare a photography brief that gets down to the essentials.
Hopefully, you’ll have already checked out the photographer’s style on their website before you approach them. Style is something you either like or don’t. It’s generally something we can’t change.
So, if you like their work, you don’t want to waste time building a relationship with that photographer and then discovering further along down the line that you’re not quite the right fit after all.
Save yourself some time and anguish by asking these questions.
Your Top Five Questions to ask your brand photographer
1. Are you a brand photographer?
It seems like such a simple question, doesn’t it?
But not all photographers can do every genre. In fact it’s a common myth that photographers can take photographs of anything… we might excel at what we do, but that doesn’t mean we can do everything. We choose to specialise in different areas and will have different skills that work along side image-taking.
A brand photographer will have a long experience of working with companies to help them build their story in the way that is right for that business. They will have a different way of working with you to make sure you get the right messaging across. Which will result in images that reflect your values.
2. How will you work with me?
There should be an easily communicated process that your photographer can share with you. Brand photography generally needs more preparation than other types of photography. The process should include:
- Photography Brief – if they have a form to use, if they do this with you.
- Providing you with a quote
- Details of your contract
- How to book in your photography sessions
- When the photographs will be delivered
- When you’re expected to pay
- What happens if you need to postpone the shoot?
3. What is the cost?
Not all quotes are equal.
It can be frustrating to receive a quote that hasn’t been broken down into what’s included. This can make it harder to compare quotes with other suppliers. If you don’t receive a list of inclusions (or exclusions), make sure you ask for one.
Some photographers, like me, work by a packaged price. This should be clearly written down for you so that you know what’s included in the final delivery of images.
Other photographers might charge by the hour. You will need to know what their time estimation is for completion and if their hourly rate includes editing time or if that is charged separately. Some photographers will charge for a number of photographs within that shoot, and have an optional fee to purchase more afterwards.
A quote should include:
- What’s included/excluded in the price
- Additional fees/expenses
- If it will include V.A.T.
- Travel costs and expenses
- How long the quote will be valid for
4. How will I be able to use these images?
Professional Brand photographers will license their images to you so that you can use them in certain ways.
While I believe that you should have an almost unlimited license (with the exception of reselling the images for profit), other photographers can have stricter terms of use. For example, there may be time limits on how long you can use the images for. If that’s the case, they may send you an invoice in the future for the right to continue to use them.
You will also need to know whether or not you can edit the images in any way. As a general rule, other than the odd crop or minor changes, most licenses will not allow you to add your own filters or changes that will impact the quality of the images provided to you. If you want your photographs graded, it’s always best to go back to the photographer and ask them to do a professional job for you.
5. How will my images be delivered?
How your images will be delivered (and when), will depend on your photographer.
Your images will almost always be delivered as jpeg files, and usually as a full-sized version that’s suitable for printing. But some photographers, like me, will give you website quality versions so that you don’t have to downsize them yourself.
They might use a service online to send you your images in a Zip file as a one off transfer. Or, like me, they may have a secure online platform where you can view and download your images at any time.
It’s also useful to know how long the photographer will keep your images stored. It can give you peace of mind to know that, if anything happens to your copies (for example, if you have a hard drive breaking down), then you can ask for a fresh download.
Booking your brand photographer
Hopefully you’ve been able to ask those questions in person. There’s nothing like getting to know your photographer to make sure they really are the right fit for you.
I offer a free photography brief session so we can get to know each other, and I can find out all about your brand and your project.