Guide to Hiring & Working With a Professional Photographer

By Steven Turville

This introductory guide outlines the basics of working with and hiring pro photographers – from searching to hiring, and ultimately ensuring you get the shots you need. Knowing what to prepare, asking the right questions, and setting expectations will help you maximize impact and keep your photo project running smoothly, from start to finish.

Why You Need a Photographer

We live in a world saturated with images – they speak when words fail us and have an unwavering way of capturing our attention. From daily social media posts to international brand campaigns, photographers and the photos they make now play as important a role as ever for businesses and brands. As experts in the medium, photographers can translate ideas into visual narratives that can help define your brand’s identity and achieve real business goals.

With photos appearing in so many different contexts, it's important to consider where and how you plan to use them before rushing through the hiring and production process. Having a clear understanding of the scope and scale of your needs will help you better manage other key elements you’ll also need to prepare, like budget and timeline.

Develop a Photography Brief

A written photoshoot brief is the perfect starting point for understanding your creative needs and setting things into motion. It brings together all the most important shoot information and condenses it into a concise, yet detailed document that you can share and develop with your team, as well as prospective photographers when the time comes. A good brief should be as inspiring as it is informative, so don’t be afraid to include visual references and creative language that aligns with your brand’s goals. You’ll need to keep things organized, so try working through the example brief checklist below as a template for getting started. We’ll go into a little more detail on the most important steps as well as what comes next.

Example Photography Brief Checklist

• Introduce your brand, business, and team

• Give context and establish subject matter

• Set goals

• Gather research and references

• List deliverables

• Establish a timeline

• Set a budget range or gather quotes

Setting Your Goals

You’ll need to clearly communicate your goals to any photographers you work with, and it often helps to give a little bit of background as well. For more straightforward photoshoots, like portraits or real estate listings, goals may be relatively straightforward. However, if your project is part of a larger product launch, marketing campaign, or brand activation, additional information about the company and team as a whole can give the photographer vital information for meeting and exceeding expectations.

Regardless of scale or complexity, you’ll want your goals to align with your audience and strike the right visual tone. Consider framing your goals not only through the lens of what the photos should be, but also how they should communicate a core message or drive action from viewers.

Research and Visual References

Doing research and gathering visual references can be doubly helpful when preparing to work with a photographer. Not only are you gathering potential ideas and analyzing the competition, you may also discover a photographer that matches your needs in the process. If you find yourself inspired by a particular brand’s imagery or visual presence, try to understand what about the photos is contributing to that feeling, and even further, try digging deeper to see who may be behind the lens. With VSCO Hub, businesses can search by image to connect with photographers and discover photos that align with their own inspiration and research.

Photographers are visually driven people, so reference photos and images can cover a lot of ground where words may fall short. Keep research relevant to your audience and consider sharing any key demographic information in your brief so everyone understands exactly who the images should be speaking to. You may even consider looking for photographers that have a keen understanding of, or may even be part of, the community you’re trying to reach.

When and How Much?

If not addressed in your initial brief, two of the first questions you’re likely to hear from potential photographers are When? and How Much?. Timelines and budgets can often make or break your options when it comes to hiring a professional photographer, so even if you don’t plan to share that information upfront, it will need to be prepared and perhaps open to discussion as you get closer to booking and signing any contracts.

It’s also reasonable to ask for a quote, or few, to better understand how photographers may formulate their rates and how they compare. A quote will break down costs with varying levels of detail, sometimes allowing you to better understand a photographer’s full suite of services and any options for bringing cost down or scaling things up. A good brief should give a photographer everything they need to formulate a solid estimate.

Remember that different photographers approach pricing in different ways – some may offer flat rates, while others may take a much more catered approach. If a quote seems far off your expectations, consider asking for a more itemized breakdown or adding more detail to your brief to clear up any potential confusion.

What is a Deliverables List?

A deliverables list is a more technically oriented breakdown of exactly what you expect to receive from your photographer. It should list exact numbers of photos, any technical file details or requirements, and expected subject matter. The information here will help the photographer know what they need to complete the job – whether that’s a studio with models and props for some product shots or a camera rental to get the resolution needed for a billboard campaign. Additional deliverable information like how the images will be used, and where, will not only inform decisions related to the photo making process, but also the formal licensing terms you’ll need when pulling together a written contract. Before anyone signs anything, you need to find a photographer.

How to Find a Photographer

The actual process of finding a photographer comes only after you’ve done the work of getting your brief ready and gaining a clear understanding of your project. Take time to review your brief as a whole and start using it to narrow the requirements for your search. Focusing on the things you need, or your constraints, will make the process much less daunting. With VSCO Hub you can search and filter photographers by location, experience, and more, making it easy to find a potential match. Additionally, you can take advantage of search-by-image matching to get connected with a photographer that can create the look you’re after.

You may also want to tap into your professional network for any direct references or recommendations. A personal connection can go a long way in gaining confidence in a photographer and their work. If a photographer lets you know they are unavailable and you feel like you have a strong rapport, it may be worth asking them for any recommendations. Photographers know other photographers and are generally happy to refer work within their own networks if things don’t work out.

Social media and search engines can also help, but can often lack the specificity needed to really refine a photographer search. Marketing agencies, photo agencies, and independent photo editors offer all inclusive services for finding and hiring photographers, but expect to pay a premium for their expertise.

Contracts

After you’ve engaged a photographer, reviewed their portfolio, discussed your brief, and have come to agreement on general expectations, it’s time to get things into writing. A contract is a legal document that includes important terms like payment, intellectual rights, and attribution. Contracts can get complicated, so consult an attorney if you have questions or need specific guidance. To avoid any misunderstandings, or worse, never start work without a signed contract in hand. For more information, take a look at our simple tips for navigating photography contracts.

Communication and Collaboration

The photographic process can often take twists and turns, so questions inevitably pop up along the way. This makes open communication and collaboration vital for maintaining an atmosphere of confidence and creativity. Let your internal team and photographer know the best ways to get in touch with each other to regularly share updates and confirm plans. Always leave room for questions and suggestions to ensure everyone is clear on their role and responsibilities. This could be done through email, a shared messaging app, or planned meetings.

A photographer will also want to work with you to get the perfect editing looks and image selections, so consider this process during your photographer search – it’s not just about clicking the shutter, but also everything that comes after.

In Summary

Working with photographers should be creative and rewarding, both in experience and outcomes. Approach the process methodically and take one step at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed and lost in the process.

Lean on your brief to inform your decisions and don’t overlook potentially intimidating technicalities like contracts, budgets, and timelines – a little outside help can go a long way if you need it. Most importantly, learn from the process of doing and don’t be afraid to use your own creativity.