hiring a photographer

More is more

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In almost all occupations, the person with more experience and/or more expertise gets paid more. No surprise there, right?

But the big surprise for many people is that this also applies to photographers.

Photographers with more experience and/or expertise cost more than those without the same level of experience or expertise.

If one photographer charges $95 for a business portrait and another charges $600, there’s probably a reason why. If one photographer quotes $450 for some corporate photography and another quotes $1600, again, there’s probably a reason why.

The customer has to decide how important an experienced photographer is to their project. If a customer doesn’t care about the outcome of their project or the pictures aren’t that important, then hiring the cheapest photographer is the best option.

But when a customer needs to trust the photographer to produce pictures with a high level of quality and service because the photos are important to their project, then hiring an experienced photographer is the only option.

It’s not what you pay but what you get that’s important.

 

Dump and run photography

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When a photographer shoots an event, copies all the digital files to a CD, DVD or USB stick, and then hands you that disc or USB stick, it’s called a “dump and run” (aka a shoot and burn).

If this happens, it means the photographer has left the job unfinished and expects you, the customer, to complete the work for yourself. For whatever reason, this photographer is either unwilling or unable to do the necessary editing and post-processing.

If a photographer offers a “dump and run” then you should do the same; dump the photographer and run away. You shouldn’t be expected to finish the photographer’s work.

Would you go to Tim Hortons if they sold only packets of coffee and cups of water and expected you to make the coffee? What if your doctor handed you your test results and expected you to interpret them on your own?

A dump-and-run photographer is one who dumps their responsibility and runs away from their work. Why do business with such a photographer?

 

Photographer shopping

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If you’re shopping for a box of Cheerios breakfast cereal, it’s possible to shop price because Cheerios is exactly the same at every store.

When shopping for shoes, you look at, touch and try on every pair that catches your eye. Shoes usually vary from store to store and shoe shopping is based on look, fit, feel and price.

How do you shop for a commercial or corporate photographer?

Every professional photographer works differently so how do you compare? You can’t see the photos before they’re made so how do you choose something before it exists?

Is the $4,000 photographer twice as good as the $2,000 photographer? Will $750 pictures work as well as $2,000 pictures?
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Better search results

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One of the interesting(?) features available to web site owners is the ability to see what search phrases are used to find their site. One such phrase used several times to find this site is: “photography companies hiring photographers”.

Very few “photography companies” have staff photographers:

• Newspapers. But the newspaper industry is collapsing and the hiring of photographers is rare. The number of staff news photographers in the USA is expected to drop by 30% over the next seven years. Canada should be similar.

• Government. A few government offices have staff photographers but this has been mostly replaced by freelancers and occasional contract work. It’s surprising and short-sighted that municipal governments don’t all have staff photographers and photo departments.

• The military. But I doubt it’s much of a photography company.

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Unpaid photo internships

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Some companies offer unpaid internships to photographers. Typically, the company requires the photographer to supply camera equipment, computer and car. In return, the photographer can work up to full-time hours and get nothing in return except a credit line.

These “internships” are illegal.

From the Ontario Ministry of Labour:

The fact that you are called “an intern” does not mean that you are not an employee for purposes of the [Employment Standards Act]. Generally speaking, if you perform work for another person or a company or other organization and you are not in business for yourself, you would be considered to be an employee, and therefore entitled to [Employment Standards Act] rights such as the minimum wage. There are some exceptions, but they are very limited, and the fact that you are called an intern is not relevant.

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Working for free

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Photographers, do yourself a favour and read this article by US brand strategist Patty Soffer:

Freebies are the scourge of freelance workers everywhere. Beginners notwithstanding (yes, we all pay our dues) many are tempted to work for free because they believe it will lead to paying work. News flash: it won’t. It leads exactly nowhere. When the un-payer decides to ante up, they hire someone else because they want to work with professionals who value themselves. Clearly you don’t if you were willing to give it away for nothing.

– Patty Soffer

 

When someone asks you to work for free, it means they think your photography is worthless. When you work for free, it means you agree.

The best situation is to charge what your photography is worth. But if you must offer a discount, rather than work for free, simply charge less than what your photography is worth but more than what it costs.

 

Pass on this pass

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With the proliferation of cameras and web sites, almost everyone is claiming to be a photographer or a journalist. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a wedding – portrait photographer asking how he can get a Press ID card. And, he was in a hurry because he wanted to get into an event this weekend.

My answer was: Press ID cards are for people who work for the Press.

If you run any event in Canada, be aware that there is no such thing as a generic “Press card” or “Press pass”. Anyone who tries to use such a card to gain entry to your event is a fraud.

Anything that simply says “PRESS PASS”, “PRESS” or “MEDIA” is fake. A business card is not a press pass.
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