When and Why It Pays to Hire a Professional
The photo above on the left is a selfie I took last fall. Awkward hand-on-the-chin pose aside, it’s not too bad. Good enough for a quick post on Instagram, anyway.
The photo next to it was taken on the same day, in the same space, during a branding photoshoot with Karen Hibbard of Karen Hibbard Photography. If you compare the two images, you’ll see that Karen helped me get over my nervousness at being photographed by having me do something more natural with my hands. Karen also is an expert at making the most of natural light to bring out the best in her subject.
Take a look at a couple more examples below from the same photoshoot. At left is a behind-the-scenes photo I snapped on my iPhone to catch Karen in action. Again, good enough for Instagram. Now, look at the fun photo at right that Karen took from her vantage point. I loved how she trained her lens on the rearview mirror to capture me smiling. She also expertly blurred the background so it doesn’t distract from the main image. And again, there’s that talent of hers for using natural light to make her photos lovely and engaging.
Doing it yourself has its place in your marketing efforts, whether it’s using your iPhone to take photos for Instagram or writing a quick bio for your website so you can finally get your site up and running. But when you really need something to be done with panache and you’re not an expert in the subject, turn to someone who is. It can pay off to bring in a professional. You’ll save time and effort letting a pro do what they’re great at doing, and you’ll be much happier with the results.