5 Ways to Find a Good Photographer

It’s tough to find a good photographer that is reliable and professional for your business. They are worth their weight in gold, and a good photographer can help you gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. You should do all that you can to treat them right, give them fair pay and send them work. Here are 5 ways you can find one:

Source #1 – Referrals

There’s more to a good photographer than taking great photos. You need someone who is also a professional. If it takes you all week to track down the photographer or if he cannot meet deadlines, then he may not be worth hiring regardless of what his photos look like.  You can get the real scoop on the professionalism of photographers from colleagues, family and friends who have worked with them. Ask everyone you know who they recommend and sift through referrals to find a good match.

Source #2 – Approach Photographers at Events

The next time you’re at a function and there’s a photographer, ask them for a card. Someone else made the investment to hire them, so it’s worth checking them out.  You may need to have a pen and paper handy in case they don’t have business cards in order to collect their information. You can look through their online portfolio to see the quality of their work. You can also look for the photos a photographer took at the event on the website that belongs to the event organizer.

Source #3 – Search the Web

You’ll have to weed out your options when you conduct a search on the web, but at least you can get some leads. One way to narrow you search is to type the location and specialty of the photographer you want to hire. For example, “Atlanta photographer black and white” may give you better results than “photographer” or “Georgia photographer.” You can conduct phone interviews with the photographers that you find online to see whether you want to hire them. Ask them for client references and examine their work online. You can then enter their name into your favorite search engine to find reviews and other information that may influence your hiring decision.

Source #4 – Check Photo Credits

The incentive for a good photographer to have others use his photos for free is the photo credit. If you come across a photo you like while reading a web article, on a photo sharing website or in a magazine, then pay attention to the image credit listed. Research other works by the photographer and contact him if you like his work. You can either get their contact information on their profile or online by doing some research.

Source #5 – Ask Advertising Agencies

Advertising agencies must use good photographers or they’ll be run out of business. You can find a good photographer by asking the marketing or creative director of an agency. It may also be as simple as checking their websites to see who is on their team.

You should plan well ahead to find a good photographer. If you wait until the last minute, you may end up with bad results.