If you are in the middle of looking at videographers and photographers to hire for your business and you can't seem to pick which creative agency you should partner with, then you have come to the right place. Here are:

3 Things You Should Look For When Choosing A Video Production or Photography Studio To Work With.

• Portfolio

• Budget

• Process

1. Portfolio and Video Showreels

A portfolio is a photographer's collection of photos and works in the past that shows you their skills and experience. This can be found on a photographer's website, Instagram or Pinterest. A video showreel is a collection of video shots or works of a videographer cut together to form one video. It showcases all the different skills and experience of a videographer. Video production agencies will usually have a video portfolio page that showcases all their video production work for each clients.

Here is an example of a photographer's portfolio:

Here is an example of a video showreel:

Now, what should you look for in a photographer's portfolio?

When going through a photographer's portfolio, you need to look for 2 things:

• Style

• Brands/Business/Products/People they worked for

Style in photography encompasses the overall look of a photo, including how it's composed, the choice of colours, props, lighting, and the emotions it conveys.

If you are a brand, you need to ask yourself:

• What emotions do I want my customers to feel with our photos and videos?

• What style do I want to identify with in all of my creative assets? .

For brands, it's essential to identify the emotions they want their audience to feel and maintain a consistent style across creative assets. This consistency strengthens brand identity and improves customer recall.

When choosing a photographer, find one whose style aligns with your vision. Insisting on a style outside their expertise may lead to issues such as inadequate equipment, higher costs, or subpar results due to a lack of passion for that style. Passion and artistry are closely linked, and a lack of enthusiasm can impact the final product.

The brand, business, product or people that a photographer has worked will also be an essential factor in looking at their portfolio.

A behind-the-scenes truth: owning a professional camera doesn’t mean a photographer can excel in all types of photography.

I learned this from art school, artists have different skills and techniques. And it is true for photographers that specialize in specific areas.

For example, real estate photography requires distinct tools, techniques, and styles compared to product photography. If a real estate photographer would do product photography, you will find that they may not have all the equipment needed to do the job.

As a product photographer, my expertise lies in small products, with props, backdrops, and equipment tailored to them. For larger products like furniture or luggage, additional props, backdrops, equipment and studio space may be needed, which can increase costs in your quote and package.

2. Budget

Not all photographers and video production agencies have the same rates. Obviously, beginner rates are lower than expert rates. So, how would you pick the best deal for you?

Professional product photos and video commercials are ESSENTIAL in your business. It makes your business look more professional and perception is KEY to gaining TRUST with your audience.

If you are a small business or a start-up and would like to compete with the big brands out there, you definitely NEED to invest in your photos and videos at least once.

Include the photography and video quote in your budget and don't just blow it up on product development. Your people will not know how good your product is if you can't market it well.

Here is my advice for every situation and stage of business:

Small businesses - invest in good and high quality photos and videos for your product launch and website photos. Cheap out using UGC or self-made videos for your marketing and paid ads.

Medium businesses - invest in a professional photographer for a consistent basis (bi-monthly or quarterly) to build a consistent look across all your media assets. It is necessary that every product launch, you will have high quality photos and videos for your brand.

Big businesses - invest in your own studio and hire in-house product photographers and videographers for your brand. This will cost you a LOT of money in the beginning but will save you money in the long run when you are consistently pushing high quality, professional product photos and videos. A downside for this is having a team that is stagnant with ideas because they are only working for one brand. Occasionally, invite external photographers and videographers to train your employees so they can have a fresh perspective.

Here are the average rates for product photographers in Australia:

Beginner photographers: Less than $1000

Intermediate photographers: $1000 - $9000

Expert photographers: $10,000+

These rates are based on small deliveries such as 10-15 photos.

Here are the average rates for product videographers in Australia:

Beginner videographers: $1000 - $5000

Intermediate videographers: $5000 - $100,000

Expert videographers: $100,000+

These rates are based on 30-60 seconds video.

What are the differences between the different level of expertise of photographers and videographers?

Beginner Level Photographers and Videographers

Pros: Cheap, available and accessible

Cons: Lack of expertise, equipment and tools and the experience or discipline to deliver a good service with good communication. You also risk reshoots and lots or revisions if they haven't developed the skills to understand what you want.

Intermediate Level Photographers and Videographers

Pros: Skilled, professional, fresh, excited, you're usually working with the artist directly

Cons: Unavailable at most times, hard to book because they will likely be doing all the work themselves and don't have the flexibility to accommodate everyone. A lack of business process efficiency will sometimes result to having some delays in delivery and a lack of communication. Costs are higher than beginner photographers.

Expert Level Photographers and Videographers

Pros: Access to their own studio. Own account managers. Swift Communication. Expert and Professional TEAM of Photographers and Videographers.

Cons: Expensive. You are also not directly working with the owner but you will have a team of pros working for your brand. You will have to follow and adhere to strict processes, terms and conditions. Big agencies will have their processes and systems well laid out so getting an "extra small job" will usually not be an option or if it is available, it will still cost you a significant amount of money.

3. Process

Having good photos and videos also relies on having a great relationship and experience with your photographers and videographers. So, knowing if they have a good system in place is one way to predict if you are going to have a good client experience.

Here are red flags to look out for on photographers and videographers in terms of process:

• Their inquiry process in clunky - no forms to fill, no meetings, no website, no phone calls, just texts or Instagram DMs.

• They don't tell you the process - very obvious but a LOT of beginner photographers actually don't tell you this because they don't even know what process they should go through. I am not just talking about the production process but also their intake, onboarding process. invoice and delivery processes.

• If they don't require a deposit before doing the work - big signs they are beginners

• If they don't have a process to get to know your brand - they just ask what you need, how much photos and videos but not actually looking into why you need the assets, how you are using them, who your target market is and what you want your audience to feel when seeing your photos and videos.

• If they say everything is POSSIBLE! - chances are, they are a YES man, overselling and underdelivering.

Here are green flags to look out for on photographers and videographers in terms of process:

• They have an efficient inquiry process - they have forms, websites, meeting appointments

• They meet you and ask a lot of questions - this means they are trying to figure out if you are the right fit for each other and understand what your vision is.

• They explain to you the process and set expectations - You will know how to book, when to book and what the next steps are until delivery. There are no surprises. The process is easy and clear to understand.

• They tell you upfront what they can and cannot do within the scope of your budget and other limitations.

• They are upfront with costs and payment processes. Usually asks for a deposit or full payment upfront. Reading their refunds, cancellation policies, terms and conditions will hep you get an idea of their process. A creative agency that has all their legal set in place is a good sign of an established agency.

You don't need a massive checklist when looking for the best photographer and videographer for your business. You just need these 3 things to check when hiring your photographer and videographer:

1. Portfolio

2. Budget

3. Process

If you are looking for a product photographer and videographer, check out our packages and portfolio.