10 Reasons To Invest In An Independent Photographer
There are a lot of photography studios out there that operate in a "fast food chain" sort of way, and thus can crank out photo sessions quite cheap. There are many reasons to spend money on a "gourmet" experience, though, which means hiring a self-employed artist.
1. YOU LIKE THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S UNIQUE STYLE
You want to hire someone for their point of view, their personality and their signature way of capturing their subjects. I am lucky to know a few photographer ladies in the bay area, and we all have such different styles of creating photographs it's crazy!
2. YOUR IMAGES WILL BE TREATED LIKE ART
An artist will not just slap on the same presets onto all images. They'll make sure every picture is post-processed in a way that highlights the important elements in that image.
3. THE ARTIST CAN USE PAST LIFE EXPERIENCE IN THEIR WORK
I used to sub in daycare centers through my 6 years of university. I think this gives me a great advantage when doing documentary images of families and kids, since I can anticipate when some good photo moments will happen.
4. AN ARTIST WILL LEARN FROM EVERY PHOTO SESSION
An independent photographer will use what they learned in their future photo sessions, since there is nobody who is telling them to stick to a certain formula.
5. THE ARTIST WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
Any concerns you may have before the photo session, they can be discussed. I met with an engaged couple in December and by the time we did the engagement session in April we had exchanged around 300 emails! Not all of them were directly related to the engagement session, though, since we seemed to click on many levels we drifted off topic just a few times. Just a few.
6. YOUR SESSION CAN BE PERSONALIZED
Anything is possible really, as long as it is a vision both you and the photographer share.
7. THE ARTIST MAY BE QUITE FLEXIBLE
You don't have to conform to available studio slots. The best pics might be when the kids wake up all dreamy-eyed and snuggly? Let's do 7am then, before mom heads to work.
8. YOU CAN GET ADVICE ON PRINTING
You may want advice on where to print the images to make the best of them, unless the photographer takes care of the printing, too.
9. AN INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER WILL INVEST TIME IN YOU
In general, an independent photographer will invest a lot of time in your session outside of the actual session time. Thus the photographer can only book a select amount of clients a month; they'll have to ensure that every client gets the same amount of attention.
10. YOU WILL FEEL MORE LIKE A FRIEND THAN A QUICK BUCK
This is the most important part for me. I want time to connect with my clients, because that will bring out the best of them in the images. And when I have time to listen to the parents and what's going on, I can use that information to determine which seemingly ordinary things might mean the world to the family if they were captured in photos.
AN ADDED BONUS: YOU WILL SUPPORT A LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER
I really hope this post has been helpful to you, whether you are a client looking for information about independent photographers, or a photographer looking for a post that explains why custom photography is worth more than studio chain photography.
Any other reasons you can think of?