Choosing The Right Photographers To Work With

Is it possible to work with the wrong photographers? Yes. People do it every day.

On the surface it seems like you should just be able to pick a photographer, gather a couple of your salon clients together and go for it––Not so.

If you want to work for magazines like Vogue, Elle, Allure, Essence and Glamour, you will have to prepare like a pro, and part of that preparation is choosing good photographers with which to build your portfolio. Here are some great tips that you can use to improve what you are doing right now.

#1 Make good choices about who to work with.

You make good choices about which photographer to work with by training your eye to recognize good photography. How do you do that? Here’s a secret. There is no bad photography in Vogue, or Glamour, or Allure, or Essence. If your dream is to work for top beauty and fashion magazines, or the faces of the celebrities who grace the covers of those magazines, then study them as if your life depended on it.

Looking at the photography in the best magazines provides you with a benchmark by which you measure all of the photographers that you are or will consider working with now or in the future. After doing that exercise for a few months, you will find that you have developed a more discerning pallet for photography.

With that new eye, you will be looking for something else when a photographer shows you his or her portfolio. You will be searching for a feeling about the work that comes from the inside out, because photography is art and a love of art comes from inside you. You may not know exactly what it is that makes you say no to one photographer and YES to another, but your yes’ will produce better pictures, and your no’s will save you time and money.

When a photographer’s work astounds you and a little voice in your head says, “this photographer reminds me of (X) one of the photographers whose work you fell in love with in Vogue, or Essence, or Elle––that’s the photographer you want to work with.

#2 See the whole picture. When you look at the pages in Vogue, or Essence start looking at more than just your specific discipline––hair or makeup. Its not just about the hair, or the makeup, it’s about six key elements that when put together make a great image. Those six elements are hair, makeup, fashion styling, photography, environment and the model.

It’s important to study the entire image and all of its subtleties, because if one of those elements is out of place, the photograph is ruined. The team creates that beautiful image. Kobe did not win the Lakers championship all by himself and neither will you create great pictures without 100% effort from the entire team.

Have you ever walked into a room and seen an ugly chair in a really great room. When one element is out of place in a photograph, it’s like the ugly chair. Once you leave the room, it’s all you can think about.

#3 Use real models! Your clients are beautiful, but most are not professional models, and paying clients can tell the difference when they see those pictures in your book.

Modeling agencies need great hair and makeup people to make their models look good. Do your research and start approaching them to work with their girls.

Lastly, none of this matters unless you have a goal for the kind of work you want to do, and the right answer is not, “I want to do everything”. No agent is looking for the artist who wants to do everything.

Next week we will talk about goals. In the meantime, this week’s homework assignment is to go to a newsstand or a Barnes and Noble bookstore and pick up two beauty magazines and one fashion magazine. Take the time to study the photography and put post-it notes on the pages of the photographers whose work moves you.

I hope you will meet me back here at UrbanBeautyCollective.com at the same time next week for Blog #2, Setting If working in print, video, film and television is something that you just might want to get serious about, then visit CrystalWrightLive.com where we provide a ton of free information that you can download. You can also grab a copy of Crystal Wright’s book, The Hair Makeup & Styling Career Guide. To learn more about Crystal click HERE