Photo & video: how to choose a photographer or videographer
The price depends on what you get at the end
Buyers often compare photographers by hourly rate, but the real difference is in the result: how many edited pictures you get, how soon, whether you have usage rights, whether editing is included. Two providers with a similar rate can offer completely different things.
So start not with the budget but with the question: what is this shoot and what is the result for — a keepsake, a website, advertising or an online marketplace?
Which direction you need
For a celebration: wedding photography. For products, catalogues and online marketplaces: product photography. For portraits, photo sessions and retouching see photography and photo retouching. For films, interviews and an event with a single camera operator: videography and video editing, and if the footage is already shot and you only need editing, ask for video editing alone.
For property, construction, land or an event seen from above there is drone aerial photography. And old reels, tapes and family pictures can be saved by digitising and restoration of photos and video.
What to put in your request
- Type of shoot — event, portrait, product, interior, interview, aerial.
- Date, time and length — how many hours the provider needs.
- Place — city, studio, location, whether there is a room.
- Scope — number of pictures, products, minutes of video.
- Final result — edited photos, edited video, raw files.
- Delivery time — when you need the material.
- Purpose — personal or commercial use, advertising.
- Style and examples — what you like.
How to choose among offers
A photographer is best judged by the portfolio, not by words. Look at work of the same type: a wedding photographer and a product photographer work very differently. Ask to see a whole series, not just a few best pictures: that shows consistency.
Compare what the price includes: the number of edited photos, retouching, shooting time, travel, a second photographer, hire of a studio or lights. For video, sound, colour grading, music and the number of editing revisions matter. Check the delivery time and format: an online gallery, a pen drive or prints.
Agree the rights separately: whether you can use the material in advertising and whether the author may publish it. For commercial work this must be written down clearly. Be sure to ask about backup equipment and a replacement if the provider falls ill, especially at a wedding. An advance usually secures the date; agree the refund terms beforehand.
For drones, ask whether they have experience flying in your location and whether airspace restrictions and permissions have been taken into account. For digitising, ask about resolution, file formats and whether the originals will be returned.
For product shoots, decide whether you need a white background, lifestyle shots or product video: online marketplaces often have their own requirements for size and background. Agree how many angles per product, and ask for a sample on one item so you don't redo the whole batch.
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
You don't have to scroll through photographers' social media pages. Describe the shoot once, and photographers and videographers in your area reply in the chat: what exactly they will do, the price or what it depends on, dates and examples. They see where their offer stands among the others and can improve their terms to win your request.
The site shows the most useful one first, with reviews beside it. Your phone number stays hidden until you choose, and it is free for the buyer. Also read “How it works”.
