What To Look For When You Hire A Photographer

Most of us have a complicated relationship with being photographed.  We dread the school picture, we un-tag ourselves on Facebook, and we have never once liked our own driver’s license photo.  And yet the right image of us, the one that actually looks like who we are on a good day, can do real work in the world.  It greets people on your LinkedIn profile, it goes on the company website, it sits framed on a grandmother’s mantel, and it becomes the family portrait you actually want to send out at the holidays.

So how do you find the photographer who gets you there?  A quick search turns up dozens of names, and it is hard to know who will deliver.  After years behind the camera, shooting everything from corporate head-shots to family portraits, here is what I would tell a friend to look for.

Lighting

Good light is most of the work.  Natural light has its place, but a skilled photographer knows how to shape and control light so it flatters your features, whether that is one face in a studio or a family of six on a porch.  Look through a photographer’s work and ask yourself if the lighting looks clean and intentional, or accidental.

The Right Approach for the Right Photo

This is the one people miss.  A head-shot is not just a cropped portrait, and a family session is not just a bunch of head-shots standing next to each other.  Each has its own demands in framing, posing, and pacing.  You do not necessarily need someone who shoots only one thing, but you do need someone who treats each kind of session as its own craft rather than pointing the same camera at everyone and hoping.  Ask how they would approach your particular shoot.  The answer tells you a lot.

A Strong, Consistent Portfolio

Do not judge by one or two lucky frames.  Look at a full body of work.  You want to see consistent quality across many different people, clean and professional results every time, and natural, confident expressions rather than stiff, deer-in-headlights stares.  Recent work matters too, since photography standards and styles shift.

Coaching and Direction

Almost everyone feels awkward in front of a camera.  A good photographer does not just take pictures, they direct you, guide your expression, and help you relax into looking like yourself.  I work with people every week who tell me they have never liked a photo of themselves.  Watching that change over the course of a session, watching someone see a picture of themselves and actually mean it when they say “oh, I love that,” is my favorite part of this job.  That only happens with real coaching.

Reviews and Testimonials

Read the Google reviews and testimonials.  Real client experiences tell you more than any marketing copy.  Pay attention to whether people mention feeling comfortable, whether they loved the final images, and whether they would go back.

Clear, Transparent Pricing

A professional should be upfront about what things cost and what is included, session length, number of finished images, retouching, turnaround time, and how you receive your photos.  If pricing feels hidden or confusing, treat that as a flag.

Natural Editing

Your photo should look polished but still unmistakably like you.  Be wary of work that looks heavily airbrushed or filtered into someone else’s face.  When people meet you in person, your photo should look like you, on a good day, at your most relaxed.

That last point is really the whole thing.  A good photograph is not about turning you into someone else.  It is about catching you, the real you, at the moment you forget to be self-conscious.  Finding the photographer who can do that is worth a little homework.

Deborah Heinlen is a Hebron-based photographer specializing in professional head-shots and family portraits, serving Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.  She can be reached at deborahheinlenphotography.com.