If you’re looking to hire a professional photographer for your event, then it wouldn’t be hard to guess that you want to have the best pictures taken on that day. Certain events like weddings, birthdays, your child’s graduation ceremony, and other happy occasions form special moments that deserve to be treasured for the rest of our lives. Taking pictures is the best way to capture and store those memories and feelings, and make them lasting. So here are important tips to help you choose the best photographer for your event.
1. Focus on specialty
The mistake most people make when hiring a photographer is thinking that anyone with a camera could easily be a good fit to handle just any event. Most often, they’re wrong. Just like other professions, professional photographers also tend to specialize and focus their trade on one or two areas of photography: weddings, families, portraits, newborns, nature, landscape, etc. For example, wedding photographers may not be the ideal choice to shoot your newborn photos. And likewise, hiring a nature photographer to shoot your wedding pictures may turn out to be a mistake. So always hire a photographer that specializes in the event you’re organizing.
2. Pay attention to their experience.
No doubt, everyone started somewhere before getting to whatever level they are. But if you want to have the best pictures taken at your event, capturing all the memorable moments down to the slightest detail, then you should get an experienced photographer to do the job. Feel free to discuss with him, and inquire about projects he has handled in the past.
3. Check their credentials
Anyone can take photos, even a ten-year-old kid can take a shot if you show him where to press. But there’s a wide gap between taking photos and having an understanding of how setting up a perfect shot, providing perfect lighting, and photo editing work. These are skills that require some degree of training and mastery. So you should go for photographers with better credentials and skills that will favor excellent work.
4. Check the tools and equipment
You should know that the quality of your photos will largely depend on the tool and technologies used for the photography. Normally, you can’t expect pictures taken with a smartphone to be the same quality as those taken with a Canon 6D Mark III or a camera with a sigma 35m 1.4 lens. So as a general rule, when choosing a photographer, go for the ones with more advanced and up to date photography equipment if you want the best experience.
5. Consider your budget.
Price is a good measure of quality. When you go to a supermarket to buy a product, and the salesperson shows you different brands of the same product, with different prices, you will notice that the one with a higher price has more quality. The same thing applies when comparing price quotes of different photographers. Those with higher charges are usually more experienced and work with more advanced and better equipment. That’s why you shouldn’t base your choice on photographers that charge the lowest. Go for those that charge within the ranges of your budget, but do that after you must have considered other factors.
6. Check out their portfolio
You shouldn’t hire photographers blindly. No. Don’t do it. Of course, everyone you approach will claim to be the best. But don’t just take their word for it. If someone is claiming to be good, he should be able to have something to show for it. There should be something to convince you. Ask for samples of his previous work. You can also review their portfolio by visiting their website or social media pages. Check the lighting, angles of the shot, and the photo edits. Do you like the quality of the photos? Are you impressed with what you see? If you’re impressed with his work samples, then chances are that you’re also going to love the pictures you’ll be getting from him.
The takeaway
Good events deserve good pictures, and a good picture can only come from a good photo man. So be sure to let these tips guide you whenever you’re choosing a photographer for your event.
