Have courage in your convictions

Most people in our society will at some point in their life need (no, not need but want) a photographer, be it for their wedding, to photograph their new baby, their portrait, their pet. Their business products, the list goes on and on.

What do people look for?

Do you search for a photographer who captures something different or has a certain look you like?  A cheap photographer?  A friend who has a camera? Or nothing at all?

Where does the cost of a photographer come into it?  Should it enter the equation at all?

The photography industry is incredibly competitive at the moment and the industry can be very easy for anyone to access with the super high quality of even some of the budget cameras.  I wonder if this is a positive development, but regardless, this is where our industry is right now.  The client has never had so much choice.

What does that choice mean?

I think this depends on what your view of a photograph is.  Do you see a photograph as just a still image that simply records and reminds you of a memory?  Is a photograph a piece of art?  Can a single image really be that important?  Take a while to think about some famous images you can remember. It may be a war photograph from Vietnam or a celebrity portrait, but the chances are it will be a stunning image for one reason of another.

A photograph is history.  Although it is taken at the time the image is immediately assigned historic status.  I shows us what was.

When you are looking for a photographer, what is your main consideration?  I think there are two main perspectives.  Will I love the images or can I afford them?

Take a wedding for example.  This is for many people the most monumental day in their lives (although not for all).  I think it is fair to say that most couples will look for a look they like from their wedding photographer.  There is usually a budget but their first consideration in many cases is the look.  I have been asked if I can replicate someone else’s look for a wedding before………Mmmmm!

Each and every photographer is different, of course there are styles and fashions that you can find over and over, but you have to look at the image, see what has been captured, is there emotion, a certain use of light, a character in there or is it simple a flat image processed to a style?

Photographers are observers, we look for things, we search for a representation.  Some are better than others, that’s just the way fo the world I am afraid.  As a photographer we should always be striving for the next image, that killer image that may not be the most asthetic but one that has that bit of magic.  Sometimes that is not obvious but invariably there will be something.

To look at a photographers images, look into them, try to identify what they were looking at.  You can do this for any photographer and ask the question, why?  I guarantee you at times you won’t be able to answer the question but you will still see something that you like.
My work may remind you of someone elses work but for sure that’s all it is.  Photographers are individuals, our work is unique, we all see things differently and if you hire us you are buying into that vision and experience.  All photographers draw inspiration from the world around us.

As a client you should never look at a photographers work and then wonder if you can get a cheaper alternative by going elsewhere.  Another photographer cannot just step into anothers head.  So if you need a photographer, look around, look for somthing that you like, an edge, a look, a style or a vision and hire them.

If budget is an issue then look for an alternative, but don’t expect the same, you are only setting yourself for disappointment.

Your choice of photographer may, in the end, cost a little more than you wanted to pay but in years to come, those photographs could have more value to you because you will know in yourself that you did not compromise.

Did I mention that I shoot weddings and portraits…………………………………………………………………………..?  😉