Choosing a portrait photographer | SW MN Photography

Photography is fast becoming one of the most popular hobbies. It's the age where every moment of our lives and our children's lives are being captured in images and video and preserved. It's becoming a fast growing profession as well. There are probably many "Open For Business" signs going up this week from all those that received their new camera for Christmas last week. So in a sea of photography options, it's becoming more and more important to not only examine your options for portraits, but to examine what you want to capture in your images when you decide to have your portraits done.

Photography is an art and each artist has a different style, so be sure to look at the photographer's portfolio and work. Many photographers have websites or blogs that are easily accessible on the web. Does the artist's style match what you are hoping to capture in your family's portraits? Be sure to look for more than one image from a session to demonstrate the artist has the consistency and skill to produce many quality images from a session versus one or two nice shots.

Be leery of the artist who can be everything to everybody. Do they specialize in weddings, seniors, newborns, engagements, couples, pets, children, newborns, reunions, and bar mitzvahs? Do they offer traditional portraiture, candid photography, natural light photography, studio light photography, and photojournalistic photography? While I'm happy when my clients come to me with confidence in my abilities to shoot whatever they want, the greatest compliment are those that call having seen my website, are familiar with my style and confirm it matches what they are wanting for their images. I'm not hesitant to refer clients to a photographer that better matches their needs if they are looking for a style that I think would be better matched by someone else. Photography certainly isn't a one- size- fits- all profession.

Having a friend do your portraits? That might be a perfect option for you- if you know what to expect. I recently had someone tell me how disappointed they were in some preschool pictures that were done of their son. I asked if they were "discount priced" and she responded that she considered them MORE expensive considering they were useless to her and paying any amount was too much for something she would never use or look at again. In addition to that, her son's birthday had passed and she was left without any images from his 3 year old pictures .

I came across this IMAGE recently and thought it was a telling image- that shows a little of what goes into a quality professional portrait session. Posing is one element of a portrait session that really impacts the final result of your images. A bend of a joint in a certain way can elongate the torso and eliminate love handles. A turn in a different direction can help hide a thick neck. Understanding light - finding it, molding it, seeing and understanding shadows and highlight and how they flatter (or unflatter).

Focal length, lens selections, lighting, angle and composition can also add to an image that will flatter (or un-flatter) you. After the images are taken, the final editing done by the artist is yet another element that results in a professional final image. Things like skin softening, under-eye touch ups and other finishing touches are something that will vary from artist to artist and is something that should be compared when choosing a photographer.

Consider these elements in addition to budget when choosing your photographer to get results that you will be proud to show off.