First off, I recommend finding someone who has been in the business awhile. You will never see a brand new photographer have all of the bugs worked out regarding color, exposure control and workflow. Over 91% of new photographers don’t last 2 years before they quit. So when you want to order more prints or finally get that big wall portrait, they’ve gone out of business. Also parents with multiple kids who want their portraits of each child to have a consistent style and color grade prefer coming to the same photographer for each child.
A big clue to how long a photographer has been in business is if they have a storefront. If they are investing in a studio, and all the backgrounds, lighting equipment and business license that go with that, then they are much more likely to be serious.
Also be aware, there are some photographers who don’t use Pro-Labs to make their prints and canvases. They print everything they sell you on a big inkjet printer. Needless to say, this is not anywhere near the same quality and will fade from any sunlight much faster. It’s like a homemade car versus a BMW.
All three of these photographers get their prints done at a Pro-Lab which print on the finest quality archival photographic paper, then all of their prints are sprayed with a protective UV varnish so there is no fading. These Pro-Labs use the highest trained color technicians that get the best skin tones and color depth out of an image.
Some people think a photographer is a photographer; they all do the same thing, just find the cheapest one. Well that’s not even close to the truth. Just like all cars aren’t the same or all clothes aren’t the same. Some photographers use the cheapest cameras and cheapest lenses, shoot jpgs, with no retouching, and print your pictures on an inkjet printer. No wonder they are cheaper.
All three of these photographers use the most state-of-the-art cameras with the highest quality lenses. This stuff costs 10-20 times more than the cheap stuff. They shoot RAW files to the camera and later in their studio, process those files. Shooting RAW allows them to get the color and the exposure of the image just right. This process takes far more time but the final images are so much better and offers a consistent high quality result. Then they hand retouch each and every image you get.
You will LOVE their work. When you see a photographer’s website or portfolio, and if the images don’t rock your world, why would you think yours will be any different. Also some studios, I will not name names here but they hang photography on their walls that they didn’t do. Usually it’s the big chain outfits but not always. Legally, they get away with this but it’s very unethical. None of these 3 photographers hang or show anything they didn’t create!
Most photographers these days don’t have a studio; they just shoot outdoor locations. That’s all well and good, but photographers who have a studio and shoot outdoor locations gives you twice the variety.
A big clue to how long a photographer has been in business is if they have a storefront. If they are investing in a studio, and all the backgrounds, lighting equipment and business license that go with that, then they are much more likely to be serious.
Also be aware, there are some photographers who don’t use Pro-Labs to make their prints and canvases. They print everything they sell you on a big inkjet printer. Needless to say, this is not anywhere near the same quality and will fade from any sunlight much faster. It’s like a homemade car versus a BMW.
All three of these photographers get their prints done at a Pro-Lab which print on the finest quality archival photographic paper, then all of their prints are sprayed with a protective UV varnish so there is no fading. These Pro-Labs use the highest trained color technicians that get the best skin tones and color depth out of an image.
Some people think a photographer is a photographer; they all do the same thing, just find the cheapest one. Well that’s not even close to the truth. Just like all cars aren’t the same or all clothes aren’t the same. Some photographers use the cheapest cameras and cheapest lenses, shoot jpgs, with no retouching, and print your pictures on an inkjet printer. No wonder they are cheaper.
All three of these photographers use the most state-of-the-art cameras with the highest quality lenses. This stuff costs 10-20 times more than the cheap stuff. They shoot RAW files to the camera and later in their studio, process those files. Shooting RAW allows them to get the color and the exposure of the image just right. This process takes far more time but the final images are so much better and offers a consistent high quality result. Then they hand retouch each and every image you get.
You will LOVE their work. When you see a photographer’s website or portfolio, and if the images don’t rock your world, why would you think yours will be any different. Also some studios, I will not name names here but they hang photography on their walls that they didn’t do. Usually it’s the big chain outfits but not always. Legally, they get away with this but it’s very unethical. None of these 3 photographers hang or show anything they didn’t create!
Most photographers these days don’t have a studio; they just shoot outdoor locations. That’s all well and good, but photographers who have a studio and shoot outdoor locations gives you twice the variety.
