How To Interview A Photographer

Specializing in fine portraits of Families, Children and high school Seniors for over 30 years in Hawaii.

 I've been creating portraits and commercial images in Hawaii and in California for about 35 years now. I remember when, oh maybe 15 or even 20 years ago, it wasn't all that unusual for a person who wanted to hire a photographer to ask questions like, "how long have you been a professional?", and "who have you done work for in the recent past?" These are good questions.

In the last 12 years or so since so many hobbyists have "come out of the woodwork" with professional DSLRs and offering their services for hire, a strange thing has occurred...It seems the only question people know to ask a photographer they are considering hiring is "how much do you charge?"!!

With some things, you just know that what you want is the 'more expensive choice'. When buying fish for example. If you have 2 fish of the same kind, and weight, one is $5 per pound, and the other is $1 for the whole fish... Pretty obvious there's something wrong with the dollar fish! No Thanks!

When shopping for cleaning supplies, and the local grocery store has the detergent you're looking for priced at $10 for 24 ounces, and the "big box" store right next door has the same thing for just $6, it makes sense to walk next door to buy it! Detergent isn't going to "spoil", so you're not risking anything buying the lower priced product.

With photography, as personal as portraits are, price really is the least important qualifying aspect to use when comparing photographers! I always say, "Price is what you pay, Value is what you get". When it comes to portraits, and hiring a photographer to create portraits for you, this is indeed true! This is one of the main reasons I wrote the book, "The Guide To YOUR Perfect Portrait". (It will be available by June 1, 2012 on Createspace.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com)

For now I'd like to share a few excerpts from my book with some important questions to ask photographers you are considering to hire, and the answers you should hear from a photographer before you hire them...

First thing to ask is: “What is your guarantee?” I mentioned this before, and I believe it is vitally important. If the photographer doesn’t have a guarantee, or doesn’t guarantee that you will be really happy with your portraits, then he doesn’t have confidence in his work. If he isn’t confident in his own work, how can you be?! If he doesn’t guarantee you will be happy with your portraits, or he’ll refund your money, cross him off your list and move on to the next photographer!

Here’s another important questions to ask: “Why did you choose photography as a career?” I really don’t know why many who are in this business got into it. I’ve met a number of photographers who seem completely devoid of personality. I’ve met a lot of photographers who only complain about how demanding their clients are, and what jerks they are! If a person doesn’t love people and love working with them, portrait photography is just the wrong career for them!

In my case, I was raised in a family of artists. My dad was a professional pianist. My older brother was a great horn player. I took to drawing and painting at a very young age. It was just a natural expression for me, and I always loved drawing people. People have always been my favorite subjects, so when I discovered photography in junior high school, I fell in love with photographing people. (Especially pretty girls!) 

I remember being so excited when in the summer of my junior year I got a job with the local newspaper as a “stringer” photographing local sports events! That progressed into working in the paper’s darkroom, and I was just in heaven! That only lasted for the summer, but from then on I have been constantly photographing people. I love making portraits, and I absolutely love

the reactions I get from the people I photograph when I show them their portraits! 

If the photographer you’re talking with answers this question without any passion, you should move on to the next one on your list!

These 2 questions are, I believe, far more important than the question of price. I know we all have to live within our budgets, and investment is important...just not the most important qualifier when looking for the right photographer to create YOUR portraits!

Why Should I (YOU) Have A Portrait Made?

Specializing in fine portraits of Families, Children and high school Seniors for over 30 years in Hawaii.
Here's the first page of Chapter 2 of my new book, "Creating Your Perfect Portrait". This book is all about helping people who want to have a great portrait made to succeed in that quest...And encourage more people to have a portrait made.

Why Should I Have A Portrait Made?

You may think that only people who are important, or
famous, or wealthy have portraits made of themselves or
their families. You may think that you aren’t a good subject
for portraiture, or that people will think you are egotistical if
you were to have your portrait made.

Let me assure you that people of every status in life have and
enjoy portraits of themselves and their families. And that
every person is a good subject for a portrait! And if someone
should think poorly of you because you have a portrait of
yourself, well, that’s his or her problem! Now, if you have
every wall of your home covered with larger-than-life
photographs of yourself, well, maybe your ego is a little
inflated…That’s a subject for a different kind of book.

It is true that wealthy, famous and important people have
portraits made of themselves and their families. You may not
consider yourself to be wealthy or famous, and that’s fine.
Most of us aren’t. But you certainly are important! You are
important to your family and friends, and you are most
definitely important to you! But let’s consider your family,
progeny and society in general for a moment.

You are important to your family no matter what part you
play in the family dynamic. If you are an unmarried child,
you are no doubt very dear to your mother and father. If you
are a husband or wife, you are very important to your spouse.
And if you are a parent, your children depend on you. You
are a very important person within your family and circle of
friends. For that reason alone you should have a nice portrait
made of yourself.

Who Do You Trust

Let's say you go into a store to buy a "weed whacker". You see two on display side by side. They both look like they'll do the job. One is $150, comes in a box un-assembled, and has no guarantee. The other is $250, comes completely assembled and has a full 90 day guarantee. Who do you trust?

Now let's say you're shopping for a car for your teenage daughter. At the car lot you see two cars that look to be in excellent condition, and are the same year model. One is somewhat less in price and has a sticker that says, "AS IS". The other is a bit higher in price, and is offered with a "Satiafaction guaranteed or trade it in for 30 days". Who do you trust?

For some things, like chopsticks for example, a guarantee isn't a necessity. They're very inexpensive and you use them once then toss 'em in the trash. If you are going to invest in something that will have an impact in your life and that of your family, it makes sense to to invest with someone who has a good reputation, and backs their product with a guarantee.

Fine family portraiture can certainly have an impact in your life and that of your family. The one-hour labs, and "Big-Box" stores photo processing is fine for snapshots, but they aren't going to do the art work and re-touch required to turn your snapshot into a portrait for you.

Photographers using the "shoot and burn" business model, that is, they make photographs and burn them onto a disc and give the disc to you to have prints made...or not, will no doubt save you some money on the initial investment, but.... If the photographer isn't willing to finish the portraits for you and guarantee the quality and your satisfaction with them, essentially what you're doing is gambling!

You see, it's virtually impossible to guarantee quality and satisfaction if you simply put parts in a box then turn it over to the buyer to figure it out for themselves! And if a photographer isn't willing to finish their work and back it up with a guarantee that you will be happy with the results, you are better off continuing your search for a photographer who will!

When I started my full time portrait business in 1993, I did everything I could to make sure I made a pleasing composition, guiding my clients into attractive poses, making sure the lighting was just right, and making perfect exposures. Then I gave the film to the lab and left it to them to make the best possible prints.

One day my partner was delivering an order to a gentleman who after looking at them said, "These aren't portraits! A portrait has enhancements done to it!" And he was right! With all the care I took in creating the photographs, there was still shine on his forehead, nose and chin, and every line and wrinkle was boldly captured in my perfectly lit and exposed photograph! Of course back then I sold my photography for a fraction of what I sell my portraits for today. But that encounter left a lasting impression on me.

Now days I guarantee three things to my clients: 1) Everybody will have a good time and enjoy the experience of having the photographs made; 2) My clients will look better in my portraits than they do in "real life"; and 3) They will be THRILLED, not just satisfied with the portraits I make for them!

I can make the 2nd and 3rd part of that guarantee because I personally do art work and enhancements to each photograph they select. I take the time to reduce or remove the shine on faces, I soften lines and wrinkles, I enhance contrast, and I vignette. I make sure that the final portrait prints are as beautiful as they can be. And I guarantee it! Yes, you will need to invest more with me than with the photographer who will photograph you, burn the images to a disc and turn it over to you, but really, who do you TRUST?!

I invite you to visit my website at http://www.paramountphotography.com and see the work I do, and the testimonials from my clients. ALOHA!

Art & Photographic Portraits

What is art? Art is subjective, and not everyone agrees on what makes something art. Something like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

A client told me not long ago that while she had no problem hanging large art pieces on her walls, she just couldn't see a large family photo on her wall...She didn't want to look at herself "that big!"

Wow!

I know my ears turned red because I could feel the heat coming off them! I stood there in stunned silence for a minute, then said, "So, you don't consider portraits as art?!" I felt like I had been slapped in the face!

You see, I have dedicated myself to creating the most beautiful family portraits possible for the last 16 years. To me, and to the vast majority of my clients, (I must say all my real clients), a fine family portrait truly is an art piece. A family art treasure! And I would venture to say that even the client I referenced at the beginning here would, in the case of a fire, grab her family portrait and run for safety....but I could be wrong...it's happened before.

Since I was a very young boy and to now, I have always taken my inspiration for my work from the Old Masters of painting. Their ability to show personalities and emotion in their images has always drawn me in. Most of their works were portraits of friends and patrons. Yes, portraits. Are they art? Absolutely! Very few would disagree.

Back when the "Old Masters" were contemporaries, film hadn't been invented, so there was no photography as we know it. And as I said, the majority of their works were portraits commissioned by their patrons, or inspired by their friends. Certainly landscapes and city scenes, slices of life as it was then were also subjects for paintings. Very much as it is today with painters and photographers alike.

For the most part, the job of creating portraits has been turned over to photographers, and those who specialize in portraiture have received the baton from the portrait painters of old. The art of portraiture largely remains the same. Only the tools have changed. The ability to 'see' and to compose remain the cornerstone of the portraitist's art, along with the ability to draw out the personality of the subject and transfer the vision to print media.

There are many parallels between the painting masters portraits of old and today's photographic portrait artists. Not the least being that we are commissioned to create the portraits in the first place, and it is our passion and livelihood. Depicting personality, emotion and moment has always been about lighting and featuring certain aspects of the subject whether captured in oils or on film or by digital sensor. And today's portraits will be the future's historical record of our contemporary life.

So, are photographic portraits art? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Keiki O Oahu Project for Charity

Back in 2004 I embarked on a project, the purpose of which was to highlight local Oahu people who are involved in charity work. I called the project "Local Heroes", and asked people I knew to recommend or nominate subjects to be highlighted. I determined that there would be a total of 12 people that would be selected for the project, and I would interview them to find out what charities they worked with and what motivated them to do so. Then I would create a portrait of each of them.

The 12 portraits would be exhibited at the major shopping malls on the island accompanied by the written interviews explaining what they did for the charities, and their motivation. The 12 portraits and interviews were on display for one week at each of the 4 major malls.

As I got to meet and interview the subjects for the project, first I was impressed by the selflessness of each of them, and then I became driven to find other ways that I could help. Originally I intended to repeat the same project each year, but the cost involved turned out to be more than I could take on the following year. And so I discontinued that project. However, I was still very much wanting to help deserving charities in the best way I could.

As a subscriber to Professional Photographer magazine, I read each month about the different "good deeds" that photographers around the country are doing to give back to their communities. One such "deed" is a project to raise money for a local children's hospital. This struck a cord with me as one of the charities I had highlighted in 2004 was the Shriners Hospital for Children.

The project I had read about was being done in Chicago, and when I contacted the photographer there I learned that he was copying a project that had been done in Los Angeles, and that photographer was copying the project as done in Australia!

Anyway, in each case the call to action was basically a call for children to be photographed for a coffee table art book. All the session fees are being donated to the local children's hospital, as well as a portion of the sales of the art book. This appealed to me a great deal, so I contacted the Shriners Hospital here on Oahu and presented the project to them. They loved the idea, (of course), but didn't think their headquarters would approve of the Art Book part as it hadn't been done here before...

Of course anyone with any sense can see that the whole project hinges on the Art Book part of the project to make it work and get parents to sign up to have their children photographed for a charity project! After all, if they were inclined to make a donation without being given an incentive to do so, they would! They wouldn't need me to photograph their kids in order to make a donation!

Long story short, I finally decided to do, and publicize the project without the help of any hospitals or other charities. And I chose 3 local charities to benefit: Helping Hands Hawaii, which among other things provides school supplies to under privileged children; The Ronald McDonald House of Hawaii, which provides a place to stay for families of children who come here from out of state and who need special care; and the Shriners Hospital for Children of Hawaii, which provides care for children in need without cost to the families. All very deserving charities.

I have set a goal to photograph 100 Oahu children (keiki) for the first book, and raise $10,000 to be divided to the three charities. The session fee for this project is only $100, and 100% of that is being donated to the charities. If and when I have photographed enough local keiki to reasonably fill a coffee table art book, a portion of the sales of the book will also be donated to the charities.

The challenge I've been facing is getting the word out about this project. Without the help of any of the charities, when I send out a press release, as a for profit company it doesn't get much support from the newspapers or the radio and TV stations. And as a small business owner and only employee, I don't have a lot of time to go out and personally distribute flyers and posters, although I have put in quite a few hours of effort doing just that!

I'm just one guy who wants to help. Unfortunately since I began this project in November, I've only had 5 responses that resulted in keiki portrait sessions. If you have any ideas on how to get the word out about this project, excluding paid advertising, please let me know!