Experience essential: 8 things to look for in a professional photographer

A true photographer is not someone who picked up an expensive camera one day and decided to take photos. The true photographer is someone who lives and breathes the artform, who recognizes the difference between a beautiful evocative shot and something that could have been pulled from the last page of Shutterstock!

With this in mind, it’s important to look out for a few select qualities to ensure you enlist a quality artist and not someone who picked up their craft on a weekend getaway in the Blue Mountains.

For the best photographer in Sydney, be sure to look out for these eight imperative qualities:

1. A consistent, quality portfolio

Whether it’s birthdays, portraits, or wedding shoots, one thing is for sure – your artist has to have a consistent, high-quality portfolio. They should be able to demonstrate with absolute simplicity their skills and experience through their body of work.

Naturally, certain artists specialize in different areas, so be sure to check that their portfolio matches the type of shoot you want.

2. Solid reviews

There are two things to avoid when looking at Google reviews, and they are pretty straightforward:

1. Bad reviews, and;
2. No reviews at all.

Of course, someone with no reviews may just be in the process of starting their online journey to success, and best of luck to them, but if they don’t have any other online credentials (a solid website, a comprehensive Instagram), then they probably can’t be too serious about their new choice of profession!

Instead, you should always go with a company that has top-quality reviews and a decent number of respondents. This way, you can know for sure that they have the skills, experience, and artistic vision to provide you with an outrageously good service, one that is complete with fun and joy and a wonderful album on the other side!

3. Experience

Experience is always important when it comes to enlisting a photographer, as it takes plenty of time to truly hone one’s skills and expertise. You can learn a lot about the artist’s experience through numerous avenues i.e. their website, Instagram, and, once again, their Google reviews, as these will all tell you exactly what you need to know about how long the artist has been in the industry and how much work they have put into being where they are today!

4. Their organisational abilities

Organizational skills are essential when it comes to providing this kind of service as the artist needs to be able to meet the client’s required deadlines. Your potential artist should be able to provide you with a clear timeline of how the shoot will transpire as well as an idea of when you can expect your amazing photos to be in your hands!

Finally, they should easily be able to lay out how their system works and how the shoot will transpire on the day. If they can’t do any of this, perhaps it’s a good idea to look elsewhere…

5. Respect for you & your time

Artists should love what they do and, consequently, be kind and receptive to their new (or potentially new!) clients. They should be happy that you have chosen their expertise for their shoot and excited to utilize your request as a blank canvas and a new way to create some stunning art!

It’s all part of the passion of the wonderful world of photography, and a great artist should reflect that passion with a joyous excitement for their craft…