How To Choose Your Outer Banks Family Photographer

After photographing for 16 years, one question keeps coming up. “How do we decide who to choose as our OBX photographer?”

5. Price
   Very simple, if you can’t afford the photographer, then there’s no reason to even contact them. I like to price myself so that I am able to do what I love as often as I can. And I love to photograph people! You can find my prices clearly marked on my web site.

4. Photographic style
   When it comes to family photography, photographic style has to do with the way people are posed in photos. Don’t like “striking a pose”? That’s OK! When you have multiple people in a photo, however, the way the photographer directs the group to stand together is incredibly important. You can discover a photographer’s style by looking through the galleries on their web site. Look past the beautiful scenery, and see how the people appear in the pictures.

3. Efficiency
   No one wants to stand out on the beach for hours while the guy behind the camera messes with his equipment! The best smiles come when you are enjoying the process and don’t feel like you are wasting your time. Plus, an efficient photographer can create multiple poses and groupings in the time allotted.

2. Availability
   When it all comes down to it, is your preferred photographer available on the dates of your vacation? Are they able to be flexible during your stay if there’s bad weather on your reserved date?

1. Personality
   This might not seem that important. Sure, maybe you can endure an annoying photographer for an hour if they take good pictures. But are you going to look forward to coming back to them year after year? Does your photographer bring out your child’s lovable characteristics? The best photographers have great personalities that make it easy to smile. I have people walk up to me nearly every time I photograph and say, “I love watching you work. You had me laughing and enjoying everything.”

Everything else aside, you are paying money for a person to capture your family’s image. On top of that, you are paying someone BEFORE you see the photos they have taken of you. That requires a level of trust that needs to be taken seriously. Look through their galleries. Listen to what others have said about them. Above all else, trust your gut.