How to Choose Your Photographer
static snapshots of fluid memories
your photographer is just as important as your location and outfits
Choosing a photographer can be a simple process, if you don’t care about the end photo result.
You scroll google’s search engine for “photographers near me”, “Peterborough photographer”, or “family/engagement/wedding photographer in Peterborough”, find a website that looks good, the session doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and you book. That’s great, you’ve got a photographer who will take your photos!
However, weeks later you get your album back and theres two things that could happen. One: you love them, their perfect, you are completely satisfied, and print them immediately; or two:you like them, but the photos are too moody, or very bright, or look too cinematic, they’re gorgeous but not what you had envisioned or what you had saved on your Pinterest board. Maybe they are extremely posed or all candid, maybe they look too much like a Vogue magazine cover. All too often, many people receive photos that are beautiful and they like, but don’t quite love them, there’s something wrong with them that they just can’t figure out.
So what happened? Why didn’t the photos you receive look like the photos you had in mind?
There are many factors that can affect a photos end result - lighting, location, colours in the shoot, camera gear, etc. However, there are some important factors related to the photographer that need to be considered when you are choosing who you hire for your session.
The first being the photographers prompting or posing of the subject. Photographers typically have standard poses and prompts that they use for each session type. Examples include your standard stand and smile at the camera, a child running to their parents, or dancing shot of a couple. However, every photographers set of prompts or style of poses is different. An editorial photographer might have more frozen, magazine style poses - think vogue or a wedding magazine. A documentary photographer might have more candid, in the moment prompts - think of grandma laughing at a wedding. A cinematic photographer might have more movement, movie based styled poses or prompts - think of running through a floral field. Many photographers mix and match different “category” poses based on the sessions end goal. But it is important when booking your photographer that you assess the posing in their portfolio. Choose a photographer whose posing and portfolio meets the vision you have in mind for your session. You may want a very classic family session with only posed photos or you may want a candid family session with lots of movement prompts - both are fantastic, just make sure you chose who aligns with your goals.
The second being the artistic edit of the photo itself. Every photographer has their own artistic editing style which results in a different finished product. If you gave 10 different photographers the same RAW photo, you would have 10 different results. Some photographers produce a bright and airy edit, focused on brighter highlights and more vibrant colours. Other photographers produce a cinematic edit, focused on emotion and story telling, typically with darker features and and playful colours such as heavy greens or yellows. There are many different editing styles that you will see when searching for a photographer, all of which are beautiful and fantastic in their own way. Each photographer might have a slightly different way to edit different lighting situations or locations as well. The best way to choose your photographer, focused on editing style, is to find a session in their portfolio that is similar to what you envision for you session. If you are thinking of a golden beach family session, find a golden hour beach session in their portfolio. Thinking of a romantic resturant engagement session? Find a fancy indoor session in their portfolio. Most often, photographers do not post all of their sessions, so they may have what you are looking for in their archives. There is no harm in asking a photographer whose editing style you like if they have completed a session like your vision before booking them. Choose a photographer whose end artistic result you really enjoy.
At the end of the day, it really isn’t a challenging process to chose your photographer. You research local photographers, you assess their portfolio, and you book. The newly added steps to your search of assessing editing styles and posing may add some time, but will make you much happier with the product you receive in the end. Next time you look to book your photographer, make sure to think about your Pinterest board and vision, and not just about ease of booking!
Good luck and happy hunting!