A professional photographer has the potential to be a blogger’s best friend, churning out visually compelling content that sets an Instagram that covetable cut above the rest – but finding the right person for the job is no mean feat. While influencers are often their own one-man operation, street-style photoshoot stints and outfit lookbooks can eventually reveal the need for an extra set of hands trained in attaining the perfect shot.
Victoria Magrath of the infamous In the Frow fashion blog knows just how challenging it can be to mesh creatively with a new recruit. Striving for her own aesthetic whilst simultaneously welcoming in a fresh pair of eyes is a balancing act that Victoria has achieved through a set of definitive steps.
Victoria says: “there are a number of traits that a photographer needs if they’re going to enable the blogger or Instagrammer to progress and constantly up their game. This blogger game is big business now and there are so many Instagrammer especially, who are totally killing it. They wouldn’t be killing it half as well without their photographer.”
She claims the key to a perfect photographer/blogger match is down to searching for someone with the following prerequisites: a thick skin, patience, an eye for location, an ability to shoot and edit on demand, and the knack to transform into a personal location stylist.
The photographer must be able to put the blogger’s style first, and show a desire to capture this essence in an image. Victoria admits “even if the background and the sunset is beyond perfection, if my face isn’t looking its best, that photo is going in the trash”.
This plight for perfection must be understood by the photographer. “…It’s a collaborative effort. If there needs to be a reshoot, or the photographer needs to wait two minutes whilst you brush your hair or reapply lip liner, then they need to wait for you. If you’re not ready, the photographs will never work and then everyone wastes their time. A good photographer will wait for you if you’re paying them.”
Peppered with idyllic locations and immense attention to detail, the In the Frow Instagram grid has a hefty 769k followers to its name. The page is just one of the many odes to the astounding impact that outsourcing photography can have. “They’re helping you do your job, and for me – that’s gold,” Victoria says.
She reminds fellow bloggers that collaboration is rarely easy, but the results bouncing off a likeminded creative will remind an influencer why they sought to ask for help in the first place. “Both of you just need to keep your calm, stay cool and don’t get mad about how frustrating it might be. Trying to photograph or be photographed when you’re in a bad mood is one of the worst times you’re going to have. So stay collected and think of how cool the end photographs are going to be.”
All images via: @inthefrow | Written by: Genevieve Phelan
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