Hiring an associate photographer is a sometimes touchy subject. We avoided bringing them on ourselves for a long time. As our business grew, we eventually reached a point where it was a necessity. It’s a difficult decision to navigate so we’ve put together a little guide if you need help making a choice!
What Does an Associate Photographer Do?
First, an associate photographer is when you hire a company and their leadership cannot attend your event, so they send a stand in. In our case, you would hire Becca to do your photography but she is already booked for another wedding, so we offer you one of our associates as an alternative. Becca would handle all communication, timeline creation and editing- but someone else would physically show up on your big day.
What are the benefits of hiring an Associate Photographer?
We can only speak to the experience you’d have here at Rebecca Ann Aesthetic, but there are two main benefits. First, you’ll have the RAA Experience even though we are technically already booked. You’ll have access to our world class communication and streamlined suite of tools at your disposal. All of your communication will be done directly with Becca, just like normal.
Second, you’ll get our services at a lower price point. We know that many people hire us because of US. Our personalities and years of experience put many couples at ease and have garnered us lots of life long friends. For that reason, we provide couples with a discount when booking an associate to show our commitment to keeping our clients happy.
What are the drawbacks of hiring an associate photographer?
The issue with hiring an associate is that they haven’t gained the trust that the leads of the company have. We wont lie, we are in tons of online groups where we see other photo and video folks posting things like “Need a stand in for THIS WEEKEND!”. This was actually one of the reasons why we hesitated to start an associate brand in the first place, that felt icky to us.
The number one thing we can tell you to avoid this happening to you (other than hiring us) is to ask to speak directly to whomever will be shooting the day of your wedding. A solid photographer will have a roster of associates who they work closely with on a regular basis. They will have contact information available for you immediately and will be happy to provide that to you.
At Rebecca Ann Aesthetic, we have several associate photographers whom we have either personally trained or who own their own photography businesses that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt meet our strict standards for quality and consistency.
I’m Still Nervous- What Else Should I Know?
If you’re still not sure exactly if this is a good road for you- contact us at the link below. Even if you have no intention of hiring Rebecca Ann Aesthetic, we’re more than happy to sit down and talk you through this part of the wedding business. We want to put your mind at ease and show you all of the flags to watch out for.
