First time hiring a photographer?

You’re hiring based on my work and style

I’m going to tell you horror stories below. These will help you understand that these things CAN and DO go wrong.

RE: MOOD BOARDS

We live in an era where everyone can create a sick mood board. Throw together some fonts, some colors, and a bunch of images you found on Tumblr or Pinterest and suddenly you have a vibe.

High-End mood boards are simple: They usually have 5-9 images total.

You hire based on artists wheelhouse.

Bad mood boards are a shit-ton of cool images that “make sense” but aren’t practical. And, if you haven’t hired someone before.

I have a stylist friend - I love her to death - but she spends all this energy on building moods.

I have another friend who doesn’t use mood boards. The conversations are “Let’s bring these clothes and this model, this hair and makeup artists and this location and see what we come up with,

BRAND MARKETING USUALLY SUCKS

Think of some of the most viral campaigns: Glossier,

They had a few common elements: They hired artists and let them run, they threw money in to marketing.

What followed: all these other brands wanted to copy that aesthetic

QUALITY vs QUANTITY

Here’s another pitfall: people find an artist and love their personal work. They then say “I have enough budget to get 10 setups in 8 hours, you can do that yeah?!”

The short answer is “Yes, I can.” but there will be some sacrifices. Seasoned clients know hat

I’ve had people contact me and say “

For me, it’s typical to get

I need time. So if you need 12+ looks to be shot

Moods also require atmosphere. I had someone request fog for a video shoot. I explained “We can’t control that.” They wanted me to

In another situation, a client wanted rain. It had been raining all week and the schedule was that it would rain the day of the shoot. We were excited. Well, the rain stopped. The sky was clear. It was sunny and beautiful. Everything was contingent on

CASTING MODELS

This can go sideways. People often say “I want THIS model.” I usually see what the client wants and, if all is well, I go forward with the client. But sometimes there are things the client doesn’t see if they haven’t done many shoots. I’ve been shooting people for 20+ years. I can tell who will move and who won’t. I can tell who is using old images in their portfolio and who isn’t.

Things to look for: Hands.

MOOD vs SHOT LIST:

I had the client mood board. It was good. Very simple and I knew I could give them extra images because it was similar to some old work, and similar to the work some friends do. This would be easy. I told them my approach and all was well.

We went to the location. We shot. An hour passes and the client explains “We actually need the shots in the mood board.” I was confused - the shots in the mood board had a mood, but they didn’t make ANY sense with the product.

LOOK AT THE IMAGES AND SPEAK UP

I show my camera to clients often. This is for your safety.

If you like my work, then I’ll do that. If you show me

A good mood board will include my work so I have an idea of what I’m doing that you connect with. It doesn’t help to see 40 images of other peoples work. It’s easier to see 9 clear images, with about half of the images mine. This gives me boundaries. But, if it is all work by others

(and think about it: if you hired another photographer and showed them a mood board with mine and other peoples work, would you expect them to know how to capture the energy I capture?)

MODELS

I’ve worked with Victoria Secret angels, models who frequently shoot Prada or Italian Vogue, lifestyle models, regular people, amateur models, e-com models, art models, influencers, and so many more. I’ve worked with old, young, male, female, trans, and intersex. I’ve worked with black, white, asian, indigenous, south American, Brazilian, etc.

I’m jaded.

I can tell if someone is going to be easy to work with, if they will photograph well, and if they

I can also tell if their hands might be an issue, or if they are using older images

I have a network of models.

BUZZ WORDS ARE USELESS

“Hero shot,” “Edgy,”

These have some rough meanings but they have become buzz words and many people are talking out their ass. Say exactly what you need. “I need a picture where the model is small and the scene is enveloping her.” "I need a photo where her face is tight “

What I capture:
Emotion, Movement, scenes,

DON’T THROW IN SURPRISES

I was on a job. We drove 3 hours to the location. The client waited last minute and pulled out a giant posterboard with a mood board I hadn't seen before. I was told “We are going to do this now.” The images were wacky. None of them went together.

Her brand had been failing for 3 years. She previously told me how she has gone through a dozen photographers and suddenly it made sense.

I created some images based on our previous conversations mixed with something I felt was close to this “new” mood board.

I’M GOING TO DO WHAT I DO

I’m being real here. I can only do what I can do. I’m an artist with a distinct style. I’m not some new kid trying a million different styles to try to please everyone - I tried that and it didn’t work.

Someone asked me to shoot clean luxury on the beach. That’s not my style.

EXPECT TO PAY

Everyone wants the cheapest shoot possible. I get it. Margins are tights. Some brands have been in biz for 2+ years and are still in the red.