Are you wondering how to find the perfect brand photographer?

How do you decide on ‘the one’?

I’ve written this guide to help - I’ve thought of everything so you don’t have to. It’s a useful, practical guide that’s helping clients go through the process of choosing a brand photographer - because finding the right brand photographer is key to ensuring a great experience and having a set of images that you can use again and again in your business.

Read on to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes that many other  businesses have made in the past, so that your own photography story has a happy ending!

Where do you start?

Not as daunting a task as you may think. 

Below I’ve listed several paths for you to take - quite detailed but well worth taking the time to explore each of them - and by the end of it, you’ll know exactly who is the best brand photographer for you. It’s up to you how many you choose to explore - I’d recommend doing all of them - but definitely explore at least three before making that decision.

Word of mouth.

They say this is by far the best recommendation - and it’s true.

When a brand photographer comes recommended, don’t take it at face-value - ask questions, probe, find out why, how and everything else in between. But with word of mouth recommendation, it’s crucial that you trust the person making the recommendation. Do you both have the same values, do they have an invested interest in you using their photographer?

Don’t be shy - ask away.

Did I mention that this guide is available as a pdf download? If you don’t have time to read it now, or you’d like to save it for later, I’ll email it to you.

Click the button below.

Google search.

Google is probably our best friend when it comes to finding out something - so do a Google search.

What do you search for?

What you put in the search bar will depend on what Google shows you - so try variations of the same theme e.g. brand photographer near me / personal brand photographer london etc.

When the list pops up, don’t be swayed into thinking that the first brand photographer at the top of the page must be the best one - all that means is that she’s nailed her SEO - but look at brand photographers who rank slightly lower too.

Make a note of the ones that appeal on first appearance - and things like  location, imagery etc will probably influence you at this point - but for now, make a shortlist of no more than five.

Check out their website.

Now that you’ve got your five brand photographers written down, block out some time to take a good look at their website.

The first thing that will probably catch your eye are the images - but look beyond those.

Read the Homepage to get an initial ‘feel’ and then go straight to the About page - this is where you’ll get a real good idea of whether this brand photographer might be the one.

Read the About page - all of it - and then take a moment to think about how you feel now that you’ve read it.

• What does she talk about - is it all about her, or has she told you the benefits of working with her?

• Do you get the feeling that she’ll understand what you need?

• Do you feel that you’d both be a good match?

A good About page will leave you feeling that you could spend a couple of hours with this person and enjoy some great conversation - and at the same time, you know that you could trust them with something as important as your brand shoot.

Do the same for each brand photographer - and make notes so that you don’t muddle them up when you come back to compare.

Social media platforms.

You’ve checked out the websites, now head over to all the social media platforms to do a little more digging.

Depending on the platform, we all have a habit of dropping our guard when it comes to social media - so find the brand photographers’ business pages AND their personal page and take a good look.

No, this isn’t stalking - it’s researching! But I can almost guarantee that this will give you an insight from a different perspective - and by now, you’ll be crossing names off that list - which is the name of the game.

Some brand photographers have more than one business page - and you’ll discover this when you land on their first one - check the additional pages out too.

One thing to consider at this point - if you discover that the brand photographer has two or three business pages - each for a different genre of photography eg weddings, families and brand photography - does that sit comfortably with you?

Or would you prefer a brand photographer who specialises in brand photography alone?

There’s no right or wrong answer to this. Lots of photographers do offer different types of photography. However, it does raise a further question around specialisation - if the photographer doesn’t specialise in only brand, have they spread themselves too thin? Do they have less experience in brand photography?

What does that mean and how might that affect your brand photography experience?

Less experience means exactly that - limited experience of working with a variety of business owners, all with their own needs and desired outcomes from a shoot - limited experience in turning the ordinary everyday ‘thing’ (e.g. working with clients) into impactful imagery that will connect with your wider audience. A good brand photographer will understand this intuitively, it’s all they do.

And of course, storytelling - how much experience will this brand photographer have in using storytelling through imagery?

Don’t forget I can send you this whole post as a pdf guide! Just click the button below.

There’s nothing wrong in spreading yourself thinly across different genres of photography, but the very nature of it means that their experience in each one will be limited.

Testimonials.

This is a great place to find out what their clients’ experience was like - especially places like Google My Business where business owners have no control over testimonials.

Check out testimonials on websites and all the social media platforms - and read them all. Is there a common theme running through them? For example - if they talk about the brand photographer’s quirky personality, or having an eye for detail, or infectious laugh - can you live with that? Or is that a quality that would irritate you?

Read them, absorb them - they’re a great resource for finding out the finer detail.

Price alone.

If there’s one piece of advice I’d like you to take away - it’s this. Don’t be driven by price alone. Things are priced the way they are for a reason.

Primark price their clothing to reflect fabric, quality and the quantity that they’re able to produce - and the same goes for White Company.

It’s the same for brand photographers.

Fees are based on, amongst other things, experience and skills - so don’t be tempted to hunt around for a photographer who can deliver the cheapest experience - it’ll end in tears.

Photography is an investment.

Once you’ve received your gallery of images, there’s no changing that. These are the images that represent you, your values, your story and your business - you’ll be using these everywhere. You’ll want to enjoy choosing from your collection, having favourites you pick out, and special ones that you use from time to time.

Unlike purchasing an item of clothing - you can’t take your images home, look at them and return them if you’re not happy. If only it were that easy - you’d have to do the shoot all over again.  So don’t be governed by price alone - it WILL end in tears!

If you have a specific budget you’re working with, keep reading - I’ve included a section on budget in this guide. A good brand photographer will help you out here.

Don’t forget I can send you this as a pdf guide.

Click the button below.

Time to meet.

You’ve whittled your list down to three brand photographers - well done! Now you need to meet - and this is beneficial for both photographer and you.

Choose a neutral location - coffee shops always work well - and it’s up to you whether you meet all three in one day, or you may want to split the meetings over a series of two or three days - which ever works for you.

Go prepared with pen and paper (or equivalent) and a list of questions because this is your opportunity to find out the detail and get a real ‘feel’ for them. Here’s a list of questions for starters:

• How will you get a shot of me teaching workshops (or anything else that is key to your work)?

• What if it rains on the day?

• How long will it take?

• Do I need different outfit changes - if yes, where will I change?

• I don’t have an office - how will we get those shots?

• I don’t understand how the images will share my story - how will you do this?

Remember that a brand shoot isn’t just about photos of you looking great - you’ll need images of you doing what you do - working with clients, working alone, delivering talks, creating your product - images that share your story, including downtime when you’re not working.

Find out how each brand photographer will approach this.

Make a note of responses and don’t feel awkward if you need to explore an answer a little deeper - this is your only opportunity to find out those answers and you need to feel happy that you’ve got a response that you understand and feel comfortable with.

These meetings should take no longer than 45 minutes - and do the same for each brand photographer - ask the question, make a note of the response.

One piece of advice - don’t be tempted to put words into the photographer’s mouth e.g. the previous brand photographer does it like this, how do you do it?

And yes, be open with each brand photographer and tell her that you’re talking to other photographers.

If you have a budget for photography.

Now’s the time to say.

Don’t leave this crucial piece of information out because up to this point, the photographer will assume that you’ve seen her packages/prices and that they are within budget.

If you really like the look of a brand photographer online but notice that she’s out of your budget, STILL shortlist her as a potential and meet up with her because at some point in your meeting, there will be the opportunity for you to say that the prices are not within budget.

Don’t feel embarrassed or awkward - I always prefer that potential clients let me know this right from the outset because it’s a great opportunity to discuss price and create something bespoke to fit their budget.

So this is the point where you ask if she can create something bespoke to fit your budget whilst still meeting your needs.

If she can’t, then cross her off the list.

Now choose!

You’re now in the perfect position to be able to choose your perfect brand photographer! In fact, you may even have known who’s the best fit for you before now - but you have enough information to be able to make that decision.

Don’t be tempted to choose after meeting the first or second photographer - see it out to the end - meet that third photographer - you just never know - you might be surprised!

Inform your preferred brand photographer that she is the chosen one and then arrange a date to talk again about the next steps.

In the meantime, don’t abandon the other two - after all, they gave up their time to meet with you and share their expertise - so inform them that you’ve gone with someone else.

They may request feedback - be honest and polite.

Before I sign off.

Whilst all this may sound quite laborious, it’s not - but following this guide will save you dividends in the end because what’s important to you is having a brand photography experience that will capture you and your business in a way that shares your story and connects with your audience - so finding the perfect brand photographer who can do all that is key.

I do hope you’ve found this guide to finding your perfect brand photograper useful, and don’t forget, I can send you a pdf version so that you can save it to your “Brand Photographer Search” folder on the desktop - I know you have one!

Happy hunting! x

Don’t forget - this guide is available as a pdf download. If you don’t have time to read it now, or you’d like to save it for later, I’ll email it to you.

Click the button below.