What makes a Photographer a Pro?
A Professional Photographer is one who is experienced and knowledgeable about cameras, poses and customer service. Pro photographers know how to approach a variety of situations. Knowing the correct techniques to use and how to use them is a staple of a pro. Even though a professional can be hired, the question is, do you really need to hire one?
Let's be honest, it's 2022 there are a multitude of devices that can take a high quality photo. From cell phones to wrist watches, a semi-quality photo is usually only a few swipes and clicks away. Most people in the world know how to take a photo with a cell phone and even how to upload and share that photo via social media.
This makes the need for a photographer confusing for some small businesses and entrepreneurs. Seeing the ease at which a photo can be taken, often makes hire a pro photographer seem senseless.
Not all Images are the same
The recent influx of cell phone photographers into the industry has warped the definition of a pro photographer. Consumers of photography often can not tell the difference between an I-Phone Photograph and a DSLR Photograph when viewed on a mobile device. That is because the screen resolution on mobile phones are not large enough to display the difference between a cell phone's quality and a DSLR's quality.
However, once that same cell phone photo is viewed on a laptop monitor, you will begin the see the grain in the image from lack of pixels. Cell phone sensors are small and therefore do not house as many pixels as a pro or even consumer level camera.
Plan & Budget
Knowing the final destination of your photos will help you decide whether you need to hire a pro photographer or not. If you are only uploading to your social channels for reference and not for marketing, you can simply use the nearest camera. However, if you know your photos will end up on your website or business social channels, then you most likely need to hire a pro photographer.
Pro Photographers do more than just take high quality photos. Professional event photographers strategically choose moments to capture the essence of an event. Helping viewers get an insight into how the event went, who sponsored it, what happened, and how to follow up. A professional portrait photographer will work with you to find the right light, pose and background to ensure beautiful photos are captured.
Planning your photography sessions out ahead of time allows you to control your photography budget. Knowing what you need photos of and blocking out specific times for photos lets you shorten the amount of time the photographer is onsite. Ultimately lowering your costs but also ensuring your photos will be high quality and effective when used.
Conclusion
Photography is a necessity in the world of marketing. High Quality photography is a requirement for branding and market outreach. There are moments when a cell phone or available consumer level camera can be used, maximize these moments with strategic planning. Taking just a few days out of the week to learn how to use a DSLR camera could save time and money, which are essential to businesses and entrepreneurs.