commercial photography

The true value of professional photographers

In a world where good quality camera equipment and production software are both increasingly affordable, it’s easier than ever for anyone to buy decent photographic tools and set themselves up as a ‘professional photographer‘. There is, however, a huge difference between a true commercial photographer and a hobbyist who advertises and takes payment.

 

Equipment is important

A photographer should never turn up to a shoot they’re being paid for without a backup camera, a commercial photographer will no doubt have a selection of camera’s and lenses each used for specific purposes. At Ikon, we invest in only the very latest, up to the moment equipment to make sure that we can create the very best imagery, using the very latest techniques. Expect to see multiple cameras, tripods, light sources and a myriad of ways to reflect and absorb light in order to make the subject of your photographs to look their best.

 

The legalities are important too

It’s not the first thing that springs to mind when you engage a photographer, but if things go wrong, you’ll be glad that the paperwork is in order. A commercial photographer will take the time to go through the legalities of licensing with you, there’ll likely be paperwork to sign and complete so everyone knows where they stand when it comes to image use and reproduction. Insurance is something that’s often forgotten too. But what happens if one of your staff trips up over a wire, a tripod scratches a car in the car park, or you knock a camera off a table. A commercial photographer will be fully covered by comprehensive insurance which might be beyond the reasonable reach of a hobbyist.

Also, don’t forget the reassurance offered by the safe storage of photoshoot files and an agreement in place as to how long they’re stored how they can be accessed should the need arise and an agreed fee for so doing. Professional photographers should offer a proessional service.

 

Software is also important

No matter how well a photo shoot goes, there’ll be some work to do afterwards in post-production. The post-production process itself being more about making a good photo perfect rather than correcting a bad photo. Decent image editing software can be obtained at a reasonable price, however, the very best editing software requires much greater investment in terms of the money required to obtain the license to use it, in terms of processing power of the computer necessary to run it and in terms of the experience and skill necessary to get the best out of it. Once again, all three are likely to be well beyond the reach of the hobbyist.

 

Experience is the most important

Probably the most compelling argument for the choice of true professional photographers over an enthusiastic amateur is that of experience. Someone who captures images every day for a living will always give you more than someone who does it in their free time.

Photography is an art and the photographer is an artist. The more you practice at any skill, the better you get and therefore the more experience a photographer has, the more adept he or she will be at spotting the perfect angles, avoiding those which might ruin a shot and giving creative input which might be completely transformative.

It’s not something you’d think about, but a photographer needs to work with people. They might be your staff, they might be models, they might be other contractors you have on site, but professional photographers are skilled in working around others, not getting in the way of day to day operations and in getting their work done without disrupting your day. Time is money for you as well as it is for them, s the soft skills and people skills of a good photographer are likely to make the whole process smoother, which in turn saves you money.

 

 

In a world where a picture has to be spectacular to catch the attention of your audience, photography which is merely good might not get any traction and therefore represents a waste of opportunity as well as a waste of time and of money. This is the reason an experienced commercial photographer makes sense and why a cheap photographer might well be a false economy.

To discuss what our experienced commercial photographers can do to enhance your brand and provide first-class imagery for your business, please get in touch, we’d be delighted to hear from you.