I’ve got to admit I used to hate it when companies started running back to school ads not even half way through summer, and I didn’t want to be that killjoy, so I’ve dawdled just long enough to still give you time to start planning if you have to organize one or more profile portraits for the fall get-back-to-serious-work-and gear-up-for-a-successful-fourth-quarter season.
Regardless of the time of year, if you need to get a quote for business profile portraits (aka headshots, a catch-all term which anyone who knows me knows I avoid… this checklist is a big part of the reason for that) there are some things it will help you and the quoting photographer(s) to know in order for them to quote efficiently and accurately, because photography is not a one size fits all proposition.
1) First off, just to get this out of the way, is there a specific date or dates on which you need to shoot? If so this would be the first point to cover as there’s no point getting an estimate from a photographer who is not available when you need them.
2) What is/are the photos for? For example, if for a website is there a designer and/or layout into which the photos have to fit that will be dictating the number, shape, size and look of the image(s)? Do the images have to match a previously existing set of portraits?
3) How many people are to be photographed?
4) Do you need head and shoulders, torso or full length shots? This could impact the time and space needed to achieve them.
5) Is the subject or are the subjects executive level or support staff level? This could affect the amount of time and the budget you’ll want to dedicate to the shoot. For example, an executive portrait might be scheduled for a 30 minute on-site session which would allow that executive time to review images and make selects during the shoot (which, by the way, can be much more efficient and less work for the organizer of multiple portraits who otherwise may be tasked with managing the selection process - ie. sending contacts to individuals, getting them to respond with selects, and forwarding the list to the photographer, etc.). In another example, if there is a team of support staff (which could involve anywhere from 5 to 100 or more people) requiring photos the shoot and individual session duration, logistics, and cost, would necessarily be very different.
6) Further to #5 how much time do you have for this shoot, on an individual basis or for the whole shoot if it’s for multiple individuals? Keep in mind that more time will generally be more conducive to great photos. It’s not about a photographer being able to shoot fast, it’s about making sure you put aside enough time to make the whole exercise worthwhile…a more relaxed, not-rushed experience will generally result in better pictures.
7) If there are a number of individuals to be photographed do you also need a group shot or shots of them?
8) What kind of background do you want? For example, do you want a fairly simple, clean seamless, or do you want an environmental background? If environmental do you have somewhere suitable (aesthetically pleasing, adequately spacious) for the shoot, or does an off-site location need to be found and arranged? Or can we use digital backgrounds?
9) In tandem with question 8, if shooting on location is not a necessity for aesthetic or logistical reasons, would you prefer the photographer to come to you, or for you or the subject(s) to come to the photographer’s studio? In my case if we come to you, you save travel time but incur additional costs such as that of an assistant (who I hire only for location shoots). There are other considerations re shooting in studio vs. on location which you can discuss with your photographer, as these will vary depending on the photographer and your circumstances and needs.
10) Will you want a hair and make-up artist? Sometimes this is a very good idea and sometimes it’s less necessary. It’s something to consider. (Talk to the photographer.)
11) How many final files do you want? Meaning, how many high res, retouched images? Every photographer will do this a bit differently. In my case I have a flat rate for a basic portrait retouch, per individual image and I only release high res files once they are touched up, because having unretouched high res portraits out in the world will serve nobody. (This issue of retouching, whether to do it, how much to do it, etc. is for another post, but the thing about high detail, professionally shot images is that they tend to render detail to an extent beyond which the human eyes perceives those details IRL(not necessarily a good thing). So in my opinion some level of retouching is a must.)
When you reach out to a photographer for a quote it will help the process tremendously if you have an idea of the answers to these ten+ questions or are at least open to discussing them. Which brings me to one of my biggest tips…talk to your (potential) photographer. They can help you figure out the best way forward and I’d assert it’s way more efficient to have a conversation than to e-mail back and forth at this initial stage, especially when for many seeking quotes the language and logistics of photography are not necessarily familiar. Professional photographers are problem solvers and we have the experience to guide you through the whole process of organizing a shoot.
As for the quotes you receive, keep in mind that if a photographer seems really cheap or really expensive there’s going to be a reason for that. They are doing, or not doing, something different. Assume photographers are not charging wildly disparate rates for the exact same thing. And watch out for false economies like quantity over quality.
Finally, a request on behalf of all providers of proposals, assuming you did actually ask them to quote: get back to the quoters as to why they did or didn’t get the job. It’s the nice, courteous, professional and right thing to do and it will better serve everyone involved, in the long run. It’s impossible, for anyone, to function effectively in a vacuum.
(If you need more convincing that getting back to quoters is the right thing to do there’s this: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kathrynhollinrake_why-ghosting-is-harmful-to-your-reputation-activity-7025967576300085248-EVI_/?originalSubdomain=mu )
Good luck organizing your next shoot! Let me know if I can help.
kathryn@hollinrake.com
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