You have decided to invest in a commercial photographic shoot to produce a set of new images for your company to use in their upcoming marketing campaigns or general ongoing marketing content.
You’ve researched and found a specialist commercial photographer that you like the quality of images in their portfolio, and that comes highly recommended! You like the vibe and passion that enthuses from their website as they talk about their approach, experience and values. You’ve spoken to them, and they’ve produced a photographic proposal that gets signed off from your marketing budget and secured a date for the shoot to take place.
Then what. How do you minimise the chance of wasting your money on the shoot? Here are five tips to help prevent you wasting your money on commercial photographic shoots:
Deadline?
When do you need the images for? Communication is essential for a mutually satisfactory outcome, so be clear about your time scale and deadline when booking the shoot.
Intention
Be clear from the outset on what you want to achieve and what your intended use of the images is, and identify your target market.
Requirements
Identify any specific requirements when booking the shoot with the photographer. For example, do you need deliberate tactical space left in the image for design purposes, i.e. to drop text over?
Planning
You will find it helpful to bring the photographer into your thinking around the shoot as early as possible, as part of their role is to deliver images that help your marketing work - they have experience of delivering results over the years in a range of situations and for a variety of clients and may be able to suggest ideas that win for you.
Flexibility
You probably have set images in your mind (which the photographer would be happy to work with), but, in addition, you may find it helpful to give the photographer the freedom to suggest their own ideas from their personal expertise and experience. You never know; this image may work better in achieving your desired goal!