Chances are, the success of your business and brand rely heavily on selling products and services. We as humans are visual creatures. And when it comes to marketing and advertising, having the right visuals to promote your products and services can make all the difference. This is because people are wired to respond to visual marketing. In fact, "studies suggest we are 10X faster at taking in image-related information. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text. It takes up to 2X as long to process and recognize words. Our brain is made for visual processing. People remember 80% of what they see and only 20% of what they read" according to Entrepreneur Magazine (Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/312551)
Taking these statistics into consideration, it's clear that we respond to visual information. That's why hiring a professional image maker to help visually communicate your brands message is vital to increasing your chances of success as it relates to your marketing and advertising strategy, sales goals and brand recognition.
What Is Commercial Photography?
Before you hire a commercial photographer, it's a good idea to first know what commercial photography is and how it's different from other professional photography services. Simply put, commercial photography refers to photographic imagery that is used to sell a product, service or idea. (You can read more in depth about this topic in a previous article that I wrote: What is Commercial Photography? How Is It Different From Other Professional Photography Serivces?
Step 1 - Scope Your Project - Identify Your Needs and Prepare Documents Ahead of Time
Before starting your search for a commercial photographer, it's important to have an understanding of your photography needs as it relates to your marketing, advertising and sales goals. There are two documents that that are critically important when hiring a commercial photographer (or any creative service for that matter). These two documents are a Creative Brief and a Shot List.
In short, a Creative Brief is a foundational document in which a marketing/advertising campaign or creative project is outlined. It’s a document that establishes and outlines the parameters of commercial artwork being commissioned by you, the Client. This document often includes but is not limited to items such as creative/visual strategy, art direction, mood boards, target market information, brand positioning statements, pain points, budget as well as media plans regarding usage of the photographs. Having a creative brief in place helps assure that the visuals being produced align with the strategic needs and creative vision of the project. It helps provide the photographer with a visual point of reference in which to gauge the needs of production. (For more in depth information on creative briefs, check out the article Why Your Company Needs A Creative Brief When Hiring A Commercial Photographer And How To Write One.
A Shot List in its most basic form is simply a numbered checklist with a corresponding description of each photograph in the form of an outline. Shot lists work best alongside a creative brief and can apply to any type of photography being commissioned by you, the Client. So whether you’re hiring a photographer for a product photography shoot, an architectural photography shoot or a commercial advertising shoot involving hired talent, makeup artists and a catering crew, having a shot list in place can serve your project well. (For more detailed info on Shot Lists, check out the article Why Your Company Needs A Shot List When Hiring A Commercial Photographer And How To Write One.
You might be asking yourself, who’s in charge of creating these documents? Documents like creative briefs and shot lists are most commonly prepared and created by your company’s internal marketing team. If you’re a larger business, you might have the outside digital marketing agency or advertising agency that you've hired for creative strategy, public relations and media management create these documents for you.
If for any reason you find yourself in a position where you’re asking the photographer to create these documents on your behalf (whether in the literal sense or by means of a requesting a series of meetings or discussions to figure it out), it’s important to note that these interactions would be considered "consulting services" and that you, the client, would ultimately be charged for.
To reiterate, if you're looking to get an estimate for a commercial photography project, it's best to identify your needs and have these essential documents ready to go ahead of time. This will save everyone time and money.
Step 2 - Determine Your Budget
Let's talk about establishing a budget for your project. There's a good chance that your business has invested a significant amount of time, energy and money into the products and services that it sells. You've probably invested heavily into things like research and development, prototypes, test marketing, manufacturing and distribution in addition to other processes.
Other factors that might influence your budget are your overarching marketing and advertising budget for the year, sales projections as well as the role this project will play in the growth of your company. For example, you wouldn't invest thousands or even millions of dollars into a product or service only to let it fall short in the marketing and advertising stage, right? After all you need photography that successfully conveys your brand’s message. Ultimately, your budget should be a proportionate reflection of what you’re asking for in the creative brief, shot list and intended usage of the photographs.
The costs for creative services like commercial photography can vary widely based on the scope of work, usage of the final deliverables and expenses required to produce the work. It's important to effectively communicate your budget up front so the commercial photographer that you’re hiring can better align your wants and needs with the production costs required to accomplish your goals. This also helps the photographer provide you with a better understanding of what can be done for the budget you have to work with.
Step 3 - Find An Expert
The term "commercial photographer" refers to a photographer that creates imagery used specifically to promote and sell a product, service or idea. In the world of commercial photography however, photographers often specialize in specific genres of the industry. For example, although I shoot headshots for companies and have done a fair amount of automotive work in years past, I specialize in product photography and architectural photography with an emphasis on the post production process. All of which are specialized skills within the commercial photography industry.
In terms of finding and expert, while you can certainly use word of mouth as well as platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, I would highly suggest using tools like Google, Behance and Linkedin instead. While it's great to have a social media presence, finding a photographer with an official website (like this one) not only shows professionalism, it also allows you to get a feel for the photographers work, personality and provides the opportunity to contact them directly. Wherever your search leads you, ultimately you're looking for a portfolio of work that represents the genre, style and aesthetic that best aligns with the goals of your project.
A word of caution, when looking for a commercial photographer, I would Be Wary Of Large Freelance Websites for Creative Work.
Step 4 - Reach Out and Request An Estimate For Your Project
Once you've identified your ideal candidate for a commercial photography project, then it's time to reach out. These days, when most people get a phone call from a number that's not already in their contacts, they choose to simply ignore the call and often block phone numbers that don't leave a message. Which is why, in my personal opinion, the best way to get in touch with just about any creative service is through a contact form on their website. I know that for me personally, I've spent a lot of time and energy tailoring my contact form to not only make it straight forward and easy to use, but I've also distilled it down to the essential information that I need in order to prepare for a follow up conversation and to potentially put an estimate together for any given project. Email is also a great way to start the initial conversation, that is, if a website provides an email address of course.
Once you've filled out the contact form and provided enough information for a follow up, chances are, there will be some additional questions regarding the project. Once you've established the basic framework of a project and engaged in some conversation, at this point, it's never a bad idea to request a phone call or Zoom call whenever possible. I work with clients all over the country, which means it's not always possible to meet in person. In my experience, leveraging video conferencing technologies like Zoom has been the next best thing to actually being in the same room. It allows you to put a face with a name, get a mutual sense of the personalities at play and communicate more freely and openly. With this communication in place and questions answered, there should hopefully be enough information gathered for the photographer to put an estimate together based on the specific needs of your project.
At this stage, you've scoped your project, determined your budget, found and expert, reached out and now you should be requesting an estimate based on the discussions that you've had with the commercial photographer. An estimate for commercial photography services should communicate the following:
The scope of work
The deliverables
The Usage License
Total cost after all fees and expenses
Terms and Conditions of the agreement including payment terms
As with any service, it's never a bad idea to get multiple estimates for a project. That being said, it's also important to be respectful of everyone's time. Putting an estimate together for creative services like commercial photography requires a thorough understanding of your project which can take a significant amount of time and effort on the part of any photography.
Step 5 - Hiring A Commercial Photographer
At this stage, it looks like you have some decisions to make. Who do you want to hire? This decision should be based on a number of factors like, does the photographer have a complete understanding of your project? Was the photographer punctual in the interactions you've had? Does the photographer's style, skill and experience align with the needs of your project? Does the cost align with your budget? Once you've made your decision and signed an estimate, you're on your way to getting the commercial photography you need to help your brand succeed.
