You have decided to get a professional photographer for the event you are organizing, awesome! Now, how and where do you find it?
There are several options on how you can get some photography profiles for your event. Let’s check them out.
Looking inside, known circles
Check your contacts
If you organize events regularly, then there is a high possibility you have already worked with a photographer in the past, and her/his contact details are known to you. If you are happy with their work and had a good experience overall, get in touch with them as soon as you can to see if they are available.
One of the good things about working with a known photographer is that they probably know your events and how you work as a team, removing friction from first-time engagement.
Ask colleagues and friends
If you have exhausted your contact possibilities, then you may want to ask your colleagues if they know a good professional photographer or someone that has worked with your team in the past. Who knows? Maybe they have the perfect person for your event. Referrals are always an excellent way of finding the people you need. Remember to ask your reference about their experience with the photographer and try to understand if she/he is the right person for your event. Last but not least, be sure to check their portfolio before getting in touch with them. I will talk more about it below.
Hopefully, by this point, you found the photographer you were looking for, and they are available to cover the event.
Looking outside, online search
Let’s imagine you didn’t find someone, so now it’s time to head into the internet and look in the ocean of choices out there. With such a vast array of prospects, how do you even begin? Let’s start with the basics, using a search engine.
Use an online search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo)
Let’s imagine you are looking for a photographer in your city. I’ll use Brussels as an example. Then, on your favorite search engine type anything like: “event photographer in Brussels,” “photographer near me,” “Brussels photographer,” “professional photographer in Brussels,” or something similar. The way you input your search sentence may vary the results you obtain, of course. So if you are not happy with the results, maybe try a different variation.
Go through the options offered by the search engine and try to open every page that sounds appealing to you on a new tab, even ads if you find them relevant. Leave the search page open, as you may want to check the second page if you didn’t find anything interesting yet.
Use the Google Maps search engine
Google Maps offers a neat way to find a business in a specific geographical area. To do this, open Google Maps and write “photographer” on the search bar. You will get the local listing and will immediately see the rating they have on Google. You can easily access their website from there. Remember to open each site on a new tab on your browser, so you can always go back to the search results. If you want different options, you can move to another area on the map, and the results should get updated.
Check out the websites
Now it’s time to check each website you opened. Some small tips to understand if you are viewing the right person:
- – Do you quickly recognize if they do event photography at all? Sometimes a profile pops-up, but the services offered have nothing to do with what you are looking for, so maybe it would be best to look for someone else.
- – Can you navigate their website with ease? The website should be user-friendly and remove friction and bad navigation experiences. If you find yourself wandering around without getting any information, that’s a no sign.
- – Can you find information about their experience? Ideally, you will be able to understand the level and experience they have by looking at the biography, the portfolio(s), and references. Finding work cases and previously done work is a positive sign.
- – Can you easily spot their contact details, and see their social media profiles? Finding contact information should be super easy; this involves being able to navigate to any linked social media profiles, as you can often find relevant information about them there.
If you answered yes to all my questions above, it is time to move to the next step, checking the portfolio.
Check the website’s portfolio(s)
I will write a different article to talk specifically about this topic; however, let me start by saying that this is a gray and subjective area. A portfolio can leave a very different impression on people. We are all different and have different tastes, so it isn’t straightforward to know what works well and what doesn’t. There are, however, some signs that should help you understand if the portfolio is up to your standards:
- – Do you like what you see? It might seem obvious, but if you find it difficult to like the pictures, then maybe you should move on and check another profile. Don’t waste time looking at pictures you don’t enjoy as you will probably end up getting something similar.
- – Do you see pictures similar to what you would like to get? Maybe you don’t necessarily know what you are looking for, but if you have an idea, and see pictures similar to what you want, then you know you are in the right place. Otherwise, you can always contact the photographer and ask if they have examples resembling what you want. Photographers are creative individuals and could be capable of creating what you like.
- – Check other galleries. You might be surprised. Get curious and investigate a bit further, you might find that extra gallery that allows you to understand if you want to work with them or not.
- – Do you want to see more? Check out their social media profiles. Most often than not, photographers are engaging via social media profiles, giving you the possibility to see more of their work and understand how they interact with their audience and clients. It might sound like a silly thing, but trust me, it can be revealing.
If by this point you are convinced about what you are seeing, the next obvious step is to get in touch with the photographer and tell them about your event.
Online search, other methods
Alternatively, you can use other methods to find photographers. Here are some quick tips:
- – Go to the second and third page of your search engine; your preferred option might be a page away from you. Some photographers are not on the first page, but that doesn’t mean they are not good, they are just not on the first page.
- – Check out online listings that group photographers in your geographical area. These listings are like another search engine, but you might find different profiles.
- – Use your favorite social media platform as a search engine. If you use social media for your organization, you may be able to find more profiles there.
- – Try another search engine. Not all search engines are the same, so there is a chance you can discover someone new.
There are plenty of techniques to get the person you are looking for, and hopefully, after having exhausted all of these methods, you were able to find some impressive candidates for you and your event. Now you can get in touch with them and tell them about your project. Good luck!
Do you know other ways of finding a photographer? I would love to hear your methods! Leave a comment below or get in touch with me, and I’d be glad to adapt my article to make it better.
This article is part of a series related to the process of hiring a photographer from A to Z. I’ll be writing a new one every week, so be sure to come back, so you don’t miss what’s next. Thank you for your time!
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