Most families entering into the quest for the perfect photographer will undoubtedly have to settle on price vs quality. The fact is that at this point in the digital age, photographers are a dime a dozen. There is absolutely no pre-qualification in the photography industry to state who can say they are a professional and who cannot. But that doesn’t really matter. There are plenty of surgeons, dentists, or other key professionals who have schooling and a degree that lack talent and intuition. Talent is the key ingredient in great photography. Just like a fingerprint, each person’s eyes see things differently. Hand the same camera to a hundred different people where talent and skill are equal and each one will come up with something different in a given situation. The key is to find an artist that communicates visually with you. You’ll have to look beyond the well-exposed image and consciously ask yourself; do I feel something looking at this work, and then figure out if you enjoy the feeling you get.
A great way to sum it up is to visit the gallery district in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. You can walk through over 100 galleries on any given weekend and see a wild array of art. You’ll come out of some galleries perplexed, emotionally drained, or simply thinking how weird you feel based on what you just experienced. Photography should grab you emotionally and shake you up. If it doesn’t it’s probably time to move on and find something that does. It’s out there, but you may have to seek it harder than imagined.
