After working as a London corporate photographer for many years, and also having worked in a corporate photography London agency for several years, I thought it might be interesting to compare the pros and disadvantages of both.
Availability. There is nothing more frustrating than when a client wants to book you for a specific date but you have another date booked. I used to scratch my heads when I didn’t have work scheduled for a given day. If this happened, the client would not have their first choice photographer. Instead, they would have to search for a new photographer who is familiar with the client’s needs. The advantages of a photo agency are that they can assign more corporate photographers to your commissions, and have specialists available. If a client needs multiple photographers for a large London event, then a coordinated agency will be able to provide them.
Pricing. If they have a strong creative style, independent corporate photographers can charge the market rate. Although a photo agency may have a solid reputation with loyal clients, they must price their services to be competitive with the market.
Quality. You can expect the best from both services. If it isn’t delivered, the client will likely go elsewhere. The client is responsible for ensuring that the photographer they choose is consistent and quality. An agency can send a different photographer to work on a project. The client is not responsible for quality or consistency.
Post-production and delivery. As clients are likely to use a corporate photographer agency, they will also benefit from having a professional post-production team. This allows the agency to focus on post production while their photographers are free to take on more commissions. An agency editor can take care of the invoicing, travel arrangements and post-production so that their photographers can concentrate on their photography.
