5 Tips to Find the Right Photographer for your event

Are you in the market for a photographer for your next event? Not sure who to hire? Whether you are hosting one of the biggest events in town or a smaller, more informal affair, finding the right photographer is one of the most important things you can do to get ready for the big day!

Before you hire a photographer, here are five tips to help you decide if the person you are considering is right for you:

• Check out their website – Every photographer worth their fees will have a website which should also feature a portfolio of their work. When you sort through a photographer’s photos on their website, ask yourself if their style could help you sell tickets online, or even encourage conference registration. Photos have a big impact on how people make decisions!
• Schedule a test session – Before your event begins, schedule a brief consultation with the candidate you are considering and let them show you the kind of work they do and any ideas they have for photographing your event. Mention that you use online event registration software as well as event management software and ask them how they think their photos might be able to integrate with these. Perhaps photos could be used to craft a post-signup email thanking someone for registering.
• Review their work in print  – While you might have already seen their online portfolio, if at all possible ask to see some of their photos in printed form. You may want to use their work in the future for printed promotional materials and knowing how they will turn out could help you make your decision about whether or not to hire this photographer.
• Make sure you work well together – Nothing will spell disaster for your event quite like a clash of personalities with your photographer. Before you hire anyone, make sure your vision for your event and their plans for photographing it are compatible with one another.
• Ask for and contact their references – Have they ever worked with conferences and similar events before? How did they perform before, during, and after the event? These are important questions to ask any references your prospective photographer is able to provide.

Events can be very consuming for the host; whether it is a conference or some other business event, you are likely not going to be focused on capturing the moment, but rather seeing the event through from start to finish. This is where the right photographer will come in and make your event the best it can possibly be, so choose wisely!