Finding the right professional photographer through price comparison

Finding the Right Photographer: A Guide to B2B Photography Pricing

 

So, you’re on the hunt for a photographer? Awesome! Whether you need a photographer for product shots, lifestyle images, or something else entirely, figuring out where to start can be tricky. If you’re looking for a photographer for your business (B2B), it’s a whole different ball game than finding one for personal photos. Let’s dive into how to find the perfect photographer for your needs and what to expect when it comes to pricing.

 

Your First Step: Searching for a Photographer

 

When you start searching for a photographer, you might begin with simple terms like “photographer near me” or “professional photographer.” You’ll likely see a lot of B2C (business to consumer) photographers offering services like weddings and family portraits. While these are great, they’re not what you need for your business. This can lead to a lot of time spent sifting through irrelevant results.

Or, maybe you head to Instagram and start searching hashtags, hoping to find a content creator or influencer with the right style. While this can sometimes work, it can also be a time-consuming rabbit hole.

 

A Better Way to Find a Photographer

 

There’s a more efficient way to find the right photographer. Try these search terms:

“(Your closest city) (what type of photography you need) photographer”

For example:

  • “Boston product photographer”
  • “New Hampshire lifestyle photographer”
  • “Portland Maine commercial photographer”

Replace “(what type of photography you need)” with terms like “product,” “lifestyle,” “advertising,” “commercial,” “ecommerce,” or “website.” If you’re not sure, just type in what you need photographed and see what comes up.

Pro Tip: Use Google Image Search! It’s a quick way to see photographer’s work without clicking through multiple websites. If you see images you like, then you know you’ve found a potential photographer to contact.

 

Understanding Photographer Pricing

 

Once you’ve found a few potential photographers, you’ll start reaching out for quotes. But here’s the thing: not all photographer quotes are created equal. You will get a range of prices and wonder why they’re so different. It’s like comparing the cost of chairs—are we talking about an IKEA chair, a Target chair, or a Restoration Hardware chair? Photographers vary just as much.

 

What Goes into a Photographer’s Price?

 

Generally, a photographer’s price includes:

  • Time: How long the photoshoot will take.
  • Cost: Expenses like equipment, lunch & coffee, studio/location rental, team/talent (models), props, and everything else you might see in the photo.
  • Use: How you plan to use the photos.

Let’s look at these three types of photographers and how their pricing might differ

The Influencer/content creator:

They often have a price sheet based on the number of photos and reposts. Their style is what you see on their feed, so make sure it matches your brand. Ask about file sizes to ensure they’ll work for your needs (online, print, etc.). Their number of followers influences their price.

Above is a screen shot from Inbeat Agency which is a great article about the range of costs for a content creator.

The Big Box Photo Studio:

They might advertise a low price per photo, but extras like different shadows, retouching, props, creative direction, and more are extra. Those changes can add up quickly. Take a look at this price chart:

This price sheet is an example from a Big Box Photo Studio. It looks do-able if you want a single photo on a plain background, but if you need 10 photos you’re paying close to the same as you would with many Solo Professional Photographers but you have less creative control because it’s a Big Box Studio.

The Solo Professional Photographer (SPP):

They’ll likely ask a lot of questions to understand your needs. This is because they want to give you an accurate quote and ensure they’re the right fit for your project. They’re thinking about time, cost, and use to deliver exactly what you need. There’s no paying for BIG company overheads or them to post and promote your product so often this works out in your favor.

Which Photographer Should You Hire?

 

Each type of photographer has its place.

  • Influencers/content creators can be great if their style aligns with your brand and you want a hands-off approach. Depending on their level of reach, this can be expensive.
  • Big Box Photo Studios might work for simple, straightforward low number of photos, but watch out for those extra charges or when you have more than a couple images you need.
  • Solo Professional Photographers often provide the best return on investment. They work closely with you, adapt during the shoot, and deliver high-quality images you can actually use.

In Conclusion

While photographer and content creators prices can vary widely at first glance, the price per usable image often evens out in the end. Consider what extra services you might be buying when hiring someone. More experienced photographers might charge higher rates but work more efficiently, while less experienced ones might take longer but charge less.

Finding the right photographer is about understanding your needs, doing your research, and choosing someone who aligns with your vision and budget. Happy hunting!

Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson | Down on The Ranch

A few weeks ago, I did a two-day shoot at a ranch in Davie, Florida. This was the beginning of a busy eight full days of shooting for two different clients. This particular shoot was for Cosabella, whose team is wonderful to work with. The location had pastures, horse corrals, a cabin and working windmill, barns, a true western town and an authentic saloon. They also had all kinds of animals including horses, cows, goats, sheep, donkeys and even camels. The baby animals were adorable. It was fun exploring our various options for shooting all around the ranch.

Thanks to the wonderful Cosabella team and Livestock for Reel for a successful shoot.

More work by Miami Still Life Photographer Kate Benson.

E-Commerce Photography Terms Defined | Miami E-Commerce Photographer Kate Benson

As a still life and product photographer, I realized that there are a lot of terms used in the industry that might not be entirely clear. So, I thought I would define them here and explain how my team and I can help you get the right photos for your needs. e-commerce images:  These are photos of your product that customers click on to purchase the product. These shots may be photographed on model or as a still life of just the product alone and can be resized to fit dimensions that your web designer requires. E-commerce images can further be broken into two categories: catalog page images and product images. Catalog page images are the library or the main page that people go to which shows an overview of the products available. The product image is the single image of the product which may show the item from various angles.

Banners and intro images: These are photos that are used as headers and on home pages for websites, like a mini ad, to draw customers in. They can be still life, on location, or on model and use a variety of ways to incorporate imagery.

Advertising images: These are photos that you might need for trade show posters, magazine ads, billboard ads, etc.

Wholesale images:  These are photos for use on sites such as Amazon, Belks, Macy’s, etc. Simply send us the guidelines that are requested by the site and we will cater your photos to these needs.

Social Media images: These are photos for use on sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Using the guidelines from these sites and your brand’s image, we create photos to promote your products on social media.

Lookbook images: These are photos for use in a company’s catalog that portray the “feel” of the product. Catalogs are mailed to clients and serve as a widespread way to promote the products.

Line sheet images: These are photos that are basic and to-the-point which give facts for use in helping retail buyers place orders of your product.

Whatever your product photo needs are, we can work with you to develop images that are right for your company.

More work by Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson.

Miami Advertising Photographer Kate Benson | Light Test for Cosabella’s Upcoming Campaign

Cosabella, a client I frequently work with, hired me to shoot their “resort wear” campaign. Their inspiration shots showed some fairly intricate lighting involving colored gels, which I knew would need to be tested out prior to the actual shoot day. So, instead of waiting until the first day of the shoot to nail down the exact lighting that they were aiming for, I spent some time testing out various light set-ups beforehand. This way, on the day of the shoot we would know exactly what the set-up was and would have it all ready so that the models could simply walk onto the set and we could begin shooting without delays.
We worked with Felipe, a local lighting technician and gaffer, to get an additional perspective on the lighting that Cosabella was looking for. His expertise was invaluable, as he had ideas that ended up being quite beneficial to the test. My assistant Kristin was the stand-in for the model and after each shot we examined the shadows and colors for precision.

When were certain we had the lighting exactly as we needed it, I took careful notes in order to be able to replicate the set-up for the actual shoot days.

Miami Product Photographer Kate Benson | Making an Impact with Your Photos for Email Blasts

As a product photographer, I shoot quite a bit of e-commerce shots which are used for various things such as websites, ad campaigns, and on-model photos for look books. I also shoot social media shots for clients’ Instagram and Facebook pages. In addition, many clients need photos for their email blasts as well. One option is to shoot photos specifically for these email blasts. Another option is to use photos that we have previously shot for e-commerce. Either way, I can help you to create the photos you need to make a positive lasting impression in your email blasts. Here are a few examples of photos that were originally shot on-model for Cosabella’s look book but were included in some recent email blasts:

Here are a few examples of still life product shots that were originally shot for Cosabella’s look book and were then included in their recent email blasts:

And lastly, here are examples of photos that were originally shot as e-commerce photos for Donald J Pliner’s website, but were also included in their email blast:

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