THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO ARE BEING HIRED AND PAID

Whazzup Everybody! This post is different from my other article posts because I don't know, I am disappointed by some hired and paid photographers.This is a reminder for my self, for newbie photographers like me, and maybe for some professional photographers out there.

A friend of mine hired a well-known photography group to document a birthday event. They settled for a certain price, it was quite a big amount. The birthday party started as well as the documentation team bringing their fancy gears, gadgets, and lights. Too professional huh? Well, It went well during the event. 

After a few days, the images and video coverage were given to my friend. They were so excited but their excitement turned into dismay and frustration. The images were not good enough as well as the video coverage. Most of the pictures were dark, blurred, and very, very off. The images were not worth the price.

I was asked by my friend to help her edit the photos captured by these photographers. As I look at the images handed to me, I was really disappointed. To let you know, I am not a professional photographer and not even close to a "good" photographer but the pictures I saw were just... horrible. Sorry for the word. I think the photographers who took this images were 5 years old. 

Dear Photographers, if you are being hired and paid, remember these 6 Do's and Don'ts.

1. BE SURE OF YOURSELF

Be sure of your own skill/talent. Ask your self if you're ready to be paid. Don't just go out there and ask for payment without knowing what you are doing. 

Practice first, dude! Practice a perfect practice!

2. BE PROFESSIONAL

I was observing the photos handed to me and I saw the photographers' gadgets in the pictures. I figure out they had great gears, like D80, D7100, and more camera's through exif; they were also using strobe lights but look at this...

Come on, let's be professional. Tell me if the image above is taken properly. They have strobe & speed lights, is that the image we expect with all your fancy stuff? We may have fancy gears and gadgets but let's not give our clients photographs that looks like a snap from a 10-year-old camera phone. What's the use of your expensive DSLR's and the strobe lights guys?

3. MAKE IT WORTH THE PAY

As hired photographers, we are being paid therefore we should give our clients what they deserve. We all know that everyone sweat before earning some money. 

Do not give them snapshots, give them photographs. Dude, Instagrammers are better than your shots.

4. DON'T FORGET COMPOSITION

Do not forget the basic composition techniques during your shoot. Always bear that in mind. Plan your shots, visualize your desired image, and internalized these basic composition techniques. 

Take and Make photographs. Understand that. Give your clients the happiness they deserve not disappointment. Give them photographs that can make them turn back time and be in that event again and again every time they look at your photographs

5. DON'T THINK OF YOUR TIME BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE IT.

When you go professional in photography, that means when you received payments, do your job as a photographer, a memory hoarder. The moment you agree to accept payments, it means your time is not yours anymore. It's your client's time.

- Cover the events
- Take and Make Photographs
- Capture once in a lifetime Moments
- Post Process your photos
- Make your clients happy

Most newbies in this field thinks that after the event, it's done. You're NOT done yet. It's just the beginning of your job as a photographer. 

You have to carefully choose and edit/enhance your images during post processing. Don't rush, take your time. Make your images more interesting. Correct your images in your favorite post processing app meaning: do Color correction, Brightness and Contrast, Color Grading, etc. Do not give your clients uncorrected images alone. 

6. COMMIT FEWER MISTAKES

It's normal to commit mistakes during your shoot. Over exposed, under exposed, out of focus, wrong focus point, and worse when your images doesn't have something to tell. 

My friend handed me more than 400 images and I found out almost all, I repeat, almost all of the images were dark, out of focus, wrong focus point, no composition, and no story to tell. Sorry but I have to be honest. 

I commit all these mistakes too specially during the first few minutes of the event but I never make it to the point of prolonging these mistakes until the event ends. 

Try giving a quick look at your images on your camera monitor from time to time. Check if your shots are okay or not. If not, then tweak your camera settings immediately to correct your mistakes. 

The important thing of being an event photographer, no matter if you are a newbie or a pro photographer,  as long as you know how to take photographs, not SNAPSHOTS, that matters. You are there to do your job, that is to capture memorable moments and make photographs.