All Photographers aren’t created equally: Why you should hire a photographer who specializes in Headshots

I recently lost out on some work because the client/company wanted to go with a co workers recommendation for a photographer. This photographer happened to primarily do weddings and I asked the potential client if they have seen this photographers headshot portfolio. They said they saw his wedding portfolio but he didn’t have a headshot portfolio but they liked his wedding work and the price he quoted them.

I told them to keep in contact if they need any more work done or wasn’t happy with the Headshots the wedding photographer did. About a month later they emailed me saying they should have just gone with me because they weren’t impressed with the headshots from the wedding photographer.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against wedding photographers, I actually shoot about 25 weddings a year; I have just also shot hundreds of Headshots for many different clients and it takes a long time to get proficient enough to be called a headshot photographer.

Another thing you have to take in account for is the equipment. What I use for my Headshots is totally different than what I use for my weddings. Different lens, different lights, along with a bunch of gear that I only use during Headshots.

Another thing is, as a photographer my job is to be a problem solver. I hardly ever walk into a clients offices and set up my lights and the first picture I take is perfect. Light is getting reflected around from office windows, waxed conference tables, the narrowness of most conference rooms where I end up shooting many Headshots also doesn’t help. But I make do, I work to fix these problems so the pictures come out like the pictures in my portfolio which many of them were taken on location.

So how do you avoid making this mistake? Well first off look at their portfolio to see if they have the types of photos you are looking for and then to make sure if they are any good or not. There’s a few more questions but those are good for starters.