Unseen Elements of Hiring a Professional Photographer

There are lots of photographers in the world. The ubiquitous GWC (Guy With Camera) is everywhere offering a “really good deal” on what they assure you will be the photographs or video of your dreams.

So if there are so many people available to shoot your wedding/business/advertising, why should you pay a professional? What are the benefits to you?

Obvious Answers

There are a million blogs out there that will regale you with all the top reasons to hire a pro. Things like:

  1. Quality
  2. Consistency
  3. High-grade equipment
  4. Experienced creativity

And yes, all of those things are important. But there are also some background reassurances that go into being a professional. Things that, while invisible to the customer, are part and parcel of providing professional services in the digital world.

Not-So-Obvious Answers

  1. Redundant backups: This cannot be stressed enough. Here at Stenbakken Media your digital files are backed up multiple times on separate hard drives. Your files are safe no matter what.

Yes, those extra drives cost us money, but preserving a client’s product is part of being a professional.

  1. Insurance: This includes
  •             Ÿ Equipment insurance
  •             Ÿ Workers compensation insurance
  •             Ÿ Professional liability insurance

If something goes wrong on a shoot and people or equipment are damaged, the fallout can be expensive. It is the professional’s responsibility to insure their own staff and equipment so that in the event of a snafu, no one comes to you with their hand out, needing you – the customer – to pay for something that happened while shooting your project.

Yes, these policies cost real money that the professional has to pay whether they are doing jobs or not. But a professional photographer or videographer carries the insurance anyway, and can provide you with certificates of insurance (COI) before any shoot.

  1. Licensed Software: Digital photography and videography requires software to manipulate and perfect it. And a professional photographer or videographer will have licensed software to be able to complete that work. Don’t risk your files getting caught up in a software audit. When you hire, hire a photographer or videographer that works above-board.

Yes, the licenses are ongoing and expensive, but they are part of being a professional in the field. Expect it from any professional you hire.

  1. Speaking of above-board… Everything a company does should be ethical and transparent. They should be able to explain to you why they charge what they charge and what you can expect for your money. Contracts should be up front and easy to read so that both parties are clear on expectations.

At Stenbakken Media, we are here to produce great work that we are proud of. We want you to be excited with the results too. Just remember, there are lots of important parts that may go unnoticed at first – but add real value and protection for our clients.

We maintain all of the things listed here (including the Obvious Answers listed above), and yes indeed, those amounts do go into our overhead, but they also go into our value. All aspects of a professional shoot are covered, from the smallest camera cord to the final work we produce. We work hard to make your job as safe as we can and still be competitive.

Having the Right Voice in Marketing

When marketing your business to a world that could pretty much care less, your brand is crucial. It must be unique, catchy, and memorable. Ideally, your brand presents a strong impression of who you are and what you’re about.

And then there’s your company’s voice. That voice continues your message past the first blast of branding and into your blogs, Q&A, and advertising.

Examples…

Want to buy a revolver?

Glossy photo of revolver

Oh boy…that’s sexy! What voice is transmitted here?

  •             Ÿ I am gorgeous
  •             Ÿ I am classy
  •             Ÿ Start saving your money
  •             Ÿ I’m worth it

How about this one?

Low quality revolver photo

How about this voice? Can anyone say sketchy?

Two photos of revolvers. Very different voices!

Don’t Take that Tone with Me!

Statistically, you have 10-20 seconds to convince people to stay on your site – that’s your branding and web design’s job. After that, your voice must keep your visitors there.

You’ve put a lot of care into your logo, tagline, and website design. Continue that care with your ongoing voice to maintain resonance and eliminate dissonance. One business blogger describes the reaction from an audience to a dissonant voice as, “Don’t take that tone with me!”

When your voice causes your audience to draw back like that, they will vote with their feet – or maybe more accurately, with their mouse finger. They will disappear to shop elsewhere faster than you can say, “But wait…”

Elements of Voice

Forbes defines the elements of a business’s voice as:

  •             Ÿ who you’re speaking to,
  •             Ÿ what you’re saying, and
  •             Ÿ how you’re saying it.

One writer put it this way, “Online, your voice is who you are. Readers take that voice and construct their sense of your identity around it.”

Better make sure yours is accurate.

Stenbakken Media

When you hire Stenbakken Media to do a shoot for you, you can expect us to ask a lot of questions. Questions about your company, its history, its goals, its audience. We need to really understand your voice so that we can capture it accurately and let people really understand what you have to offer.

There are a lot of commercial and creative projects out there for a professional photographer and videographer. The ones we like to spend our time on and the ones that are the most successful are the projects where the vision is clear and the voice distinct. Give us a good target like that and we’ll hit it every time. You can browse our client feedback and portfolios for evidence of the quality we deliver.

There are plenty of voices out there waiting to be heard. Make sure yours reflects your business as it should.

How to Request a Video Bid

How much does it cost to create a video production?

The answer is: it all depends… Costs can easily range from $500 to $500,000 per minute. The answer simply isn’t simple.

It’s easy for a potential clients and professional videographers to get frustrated with each other during the bidding process. There is one reason for this frustration: the job isn’t clearly defined.

Let’s Start with the Client

Why does a client contact a professional videographer? Typically, it’s to request a bid for a job they want done. A common initial contact goes something like this:

Client:               Hello, I want to make a promotional video about my company, can you give me an estimate of how much that would cost?

Professional:  Can you give me a little more information about the video you want?

Client:              I want videos that promote my business to potential customers.

Professional:  Videos. Okay, how many? And how long do you want them to be?

Client:              Maybe between 3-10 minutes each?

Professional:  Where are you going to use these videos? Will you put them on your website? Show them on TV?

Client:               A TV ad would be good. Look, I just want a few videos that I can use for TV and on our website. And I’d like to incorporate our logo into it with some motion graphics. How much does something like that run?

It’s a problem for the client when the job isn’t clearly defined because they can’t get a clean number.

Moving on to the Professional

In the mean time the professional is searching for parameters that will guide him in giving an anywhere-near-accurate bid.

  • The average documentary costs $2-3,000 per minute to produce;
  • A hit TV show costs about $87,500 per minute to produce;
  • The last few Pixar films have averaged about $1.3 million per minute to produce.
Pixar Scene from Inside Out

Anger from Pixar’s movie Inside Out

See the problem? Vastly different costs – all in the same field. If you, the client, want an accurate bid, then you need to present an accurate view of the project.

If you don’t have an accurate view of the project, then you need to say that directly so the professional understands that you need help defining the project from the ground up.

It’s a problem for the professional when the job isn’t clearly defined because they can’t give a clean number.

Some Questions You Should be Prepared to Answer

Chart showing complexity and cost of video project

  • Ÿ What length do you want your final product?
  • Ÿ What is the complexity of the project? (Think number of locations, b-roll, and how many people you want to see on-camera.)
  • Ÿ Will there be on-camera interviews? If so, do you already have scripts ready?
  • Ÿ Are there additional expenses such as a drone operator, equipment rental, permits, and props? Who is doing the pre-production?
  • Ÿ Can you describe the tone and feel of the piece? Do you have music in mind or will we need to find it?
  • Ÿ What type of graphics or logos will be involved in the project?
  • Ÿ If at all possible, show examples of what you like and what you don’t like. Pictures really do say a thousand words, so plan on playing show and tell.
  • Ÿ Be prepared to give an expected desired turnaround time for the project.
  • Ÿ Know what your budget is. Really truly. Both your desired budget and your absolute budget.

And So They Lived Happily Ever After…

As with most situations, the key to success is good communication. Come to the discussion table as prepared as possible, be ready and willing to go round up a few answers to things you hadn’t thought of, and you will be pleasantly surprised by how smooth and accurate the bid process becomes.

SONY A6300 REVIEW

Have you ever read the comments at sites that regularly release information about new video equipment? Sometimes they’re insightful. Sometimes thought provoking. Sometimes, it makes me wonder, What in the heck are people thinking? So, as a tribute to the latter type of commentator, I did a review of my new Sony A6300, just in time for April 1.

I too wish there were a perfect camera for every occasion. A perfect lens. One single tripod that would work for everything. One light. But there isn’t (sadly). Yet… that does not stop some folks from commenting freely about their wishes and desires with new releases — many of them utterly silly.
Erik Stenbakken photographer doing review of Sony A6300 Review
It’s hard work making a camera. I’ve made a couple, and let me tell you: it’s not easy. Mine were made of wood and leather when I made my 4×5 and 8×10 cameras. They had very few moving parts and zero electronics. I cannot imagine the engineering, R&D and testing that must go into the incredible computers we use as cameras today. But as this satirical video demonstrates, if you look hard enough, there’s always SOMETHING one can find to complain about.
If you don’t get the full humor, that’s okay. They’re pretty much all inside jokes.
Until they DO make the perfect camera for all occasions, let’s go out and make pictures with the tools we do have! Cheers.

Spinning Fire — and Not Burnin’ Down the House

Why film someone spinning fire poi? Well…because fire is pretty. And as a still and video photographer, at the root of things I’m in this business because I admire stunning visual art. Plus, I have had a Sony PXW FS7 and I wanted to see what good slow motion would look like… and let’s face it, spinning fire is more interesting than watching me toss a ball up and down.

Most of my work is for commercial, advertising and editorial clients. I love what I do, and it opens doors to meet amazing people, see interesting things, and in the end, help convey their message clearly and effectively.

But back to fire. Yes. The fire. Fire is pretty. And not everything has to be about the bottom line. So when a fire spinner I know came through town for a family visit, I snagged him. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

Here Are a Few Things I Learned About Spinning Fire

1.     It’s hard to shoot indoors. The original idea was for an outdoor shoot, but outdoor shoots require cooperative weather – which we did not have. At all. And since spinning fire in a snow suit is no bueno: we had to do it indoors.

2.     The smell of kerosene takes a while to fade from your indoor studio. Three cheers for a smart spinner (Raymond Moore), who knew how to remove excess fuel from his poi before starting a new spin! Yes it makes for a shorter burn, but there was not a single drop of flame or fuel that ended up on walls or floor. Amazing control.

3.     One small wobble in the spinning can result in very singed whiskers for the spinner. After one fast spin around the back of his neck, Raymond commented, “Well, there went some beard…” It took a split second in real life, but later when we watched it back in slo-mo, the ball of fire rolled right across his cheek. Yikes! You definitely have to know what you’re doing with fire! He wasn’t burned, but he did get a shaggy shave.

4.     Not much beats fire in slow motion. I mean, I knew fire was beautiful, but seeing it in slow motion in the hands of an expert and spun over hot music takes it straight to mesmerizing. I’m betting you watched parts more than once.

fire spinning, fire poi,

Here Are a Few Things I Learned About Shooting a Fire Spinner

1.     If the stunt is going to look good, you have to have an excellent stunt artist. Anything done on camera has to be done with more precision than normal (because the screen shows it over and over), but in slow motion, it has to be even tighter.

2.     It’s faster than it looks. To point above, as we were shooting, I really didn’t know WHAT I was seeing, until we slowed it down to 12% of real time. To perform that in real time must take amazing practice.

3.     Music helps kinesthetics. Raymond chose the track you hear on the short we produced and spun to it in studio, so that’s what we chose for the video track too. It was interesting to see how much more relaxed — yet precise — Raymond was when performing to music. It was like adding a solid floor below a dancer — it gave him something to perform on. Remember, the studio was completely dark except for his spinning flames. Imagine yourself in total darkness spinning flaming chunks with no frame of reference. Music provided a bearing.

Yeah, there will be a Part II

Just have to get Raymond here when it’s not 15 degrees and storming outside and we’re set. Stay tuned. Northern Colorado weather might be fickle, but spring’s coming and I’m ready to do this again!

Beauty is where it’s at. It’s what called me to this business over 20 years ago, and it’s what continues to inspire me today. Get whimsical. Get creative. Make time to follow those things that feed your soul. You’ll be a better artist (and human being) for it.

Erik Stenbakken is a professional photographer and videographer (and partner in Clear Summit Productions), and is based in Greeley, Colorado. He serves the Fort Collins, Loveland, Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs areas, as well as doing out of state assignments.