What is Photographer Expertise?

 A client called me last week in preparation for their upcoming photoshoot. They just had a few questions. This particular session was scheduled by another person in the company who would not be part of the session, and the person that called would be photographed.

This is fantastic, and in most cases required. I have a lot of questions before I shoot. The questions are certainly specific to the kind of photography we are doing. As you might imagine, the questions about an architectural shoot are different from the questions about headshots of the people of the firm..

During the conversation with this client, we went back and forth with our questions of each other. A number of times, when I asked a question, she said "we can leave that up to the expertise of the photographer."

This seems perfectly reasonable, as I was being hired for that expertise. However, what does that actually mean?

 What is the expertise of the photographer?

 I imagine that every professional photographer, as well as a great number of amateur photographers, have some expertise. But the critical piece of this question is to what expertise is the client referring? What assumptions are being made on their part?

Any photographer has expertise in the use of their camera and equipment. Any photographer has expertise in the processing of their images after the shoot. Is this what the client is referring to? No, I don't believe so.

 Photography is about communication.

That old cliché "worth 1000 words" has been around so long because it's true. So the real question is not "how can I make a beautiful image?" (hopefully a given), but "how can I say what I or the client wants to say?" It is this ability to "speak a certain language" that separates photography niches, and gets more to the matter of photographer expertise.

What is the difference between the graphic, artistic nature of a design, and the feeling of being in a space? How does one capture those concepts and ideas? Which is the aim of the client?

I have been interested in photography since I was about 12 years old. Suffice to say that is a good number of years. I have photographed LOTS of different subjects. But I do not offer to shoot all those subjects in a professional capacity. My business is just not configured for certain client expectations. Do I have the expertise to shoot these other subjects? Possibly. There are certainly similarities in making images of any sort.

Expertise involves knowing what to look for, where to be, what to expect, and what the client might expect. Sometimes these concepts are obvious, sometimes more subtle, and this is where experience (expertise?) makes the day.