Hiring a photographer vs a professional photographer

I find that I am not like some professional photographers. Being in the photography industry for more than a decade, I have met a lot of photographers.

At photography conferences, training sessions or even just out and about, I see photographers (we can spot our own:) and I have made it a habit. If they are not busy, I go over and say “Hi”. If they do photography for a living, a common topic that comes up - “nice camera photographers” or NCP’s.

An NCP is a person who has purchased a “nice camera” and is in the process of learning it and the art of photography. A nice camera does not have to be high-end DSLR’s or Mirrorless cameras that we use here at Infinite Eye, all it needs to be is a camera that can take really great images. Included here are the higher-end smartphone camera’s too!!

The discussion typically goes in this direction…

“Is someone a photographer just because they have a “nice camera” or even just “a camera”? Some of my fellow pro-photogs say a resounding NO!

I disagree. I believe that ANYONE with ANY device that capture’s an image is a photographer. That’s it. No other details are needed. They could be just a first timer that picks up a camera, sees something they like and take a picture of it. They just took a photo - so they are a photographer.

Love this. I encourage anyone to get out and do this. It’s fun and makes people happy. It creates art and we can all do with more art in our lives!

For me, the bigger and more important distinction is whether they are a “professional photographer”. Let’s unpack what a “professional photographer” is and is not. For me, the bottom line definition of a professional photographer is someone who can create value for others through visual means using images they capture.

Notice that I did not say “Anyone who charges for their photography services is a professional photography”. I have heard plenty of stories where someone has hired a “photographer”, they take photos, and the person is not happy at all with the end results. For whatever reason, be it a lack of communication or lack of skill, was no value delivered here. The buyer did not get value for the work done. Or worse yet, we have all heard the stories about the photographer who “shoots” but never delivers. No value shared. The buyer in this situation was outright scammed.

Those are not professional photographers.

A professional photographer brings value to their customers. And the value does not have to be in monetary means, just loving an image can be of value (and speaking from experience, it is so satisfying when people love something you created!!). The street photographer who wanders downtown taking photos and shows their work to only to a single person and the images are loved, to me, wholeheartedly YES they are a professional photographer. Same with landscape photographers who photograph in the wild and then create a calendar or thank you cards with their work, YES they are professional photographers. The same with headshot photographers like us, through our understanding of the human body and body language, we provide value.

How to Ensure Value when Hiring a Photographer.

So the next question I hope you are asking is, how do you ensure you get value when you hire a photographer?

Experience counts. No matter what profession you are looking at, when you hire someone who has done it or has been doing it for some time, you are more likely to get what you are promised. Check their past work, ask questions, and listen to their answers. Someone who has confidence in their work will not try and convince you to use them. They have been doing it for a while, including talking to people like you, so they should be able to guide you down the path, asking questions that help you define what you are wanting and have solutions to issues you never even thought of. Basically, they should have most, if not all, of the answers. That is the value a professional photographer brings you.

A professional who has done this before and can guide you to success.

A “nice camera photographer” looking to build their portfolio, is great but they are asking you to pay them to learn and make mistakes. If that is what you are wanting, or what your budget can afford, great. But be aware you are taking a chance of not getting what you are wanting.

Don’t Hire a Photographer

Hire a specialized photographer. Photography has specialties. We will admit, Infinite Eye can’t photograph anything you want, nor do we want to.

For example, if you are wanting amazing star images with stars, comet trails or the Milky Way, although I love it and understand how to capture images for you, we would refer you to another photographer for these images. We don’t specialize in astrological photography and would not provide value to you if we tried.

But if you are talking portraits, now there is something we specialize in. We do literally 1000’s of portraits annually. Focus it even further on Business Headshots, we do 100’s of headshots each year and have created a system to ensure we guide each client successfully through the full headshot process.

Why? Because we are professional headshot photographers. As professional headshot photographers, we bring a large amount of value to people looking for headshots.

Looking to book a professional headshot session with us?

Questions? We would love to connect.

If you are wanting a professional headshot photography company to guide you through the process and can help you look your best, check out what we can provide - More Details Here