A gorgeous model?  An awesome make up artist?  An uber stylist?  A great photographer/retoucher?

A:  All of the above.  Images are only as good as the lowest common denominator in the creative team – and I really swear by this.

Most of my facebook feed is full of creatives, and I see imagery of varying quality – which is understandable of course.  My early days imagery I wish I could erase now, but it’s there for posterity, and is a mark of the journey I continue to make to improve my work.

But recently I’ve seen people rant about amateur creatives be they photographers or models or makeup artists, and how someone or other let them down…

There are 3 key things I do in order to select creatives for future commissions:

1.  Review their portfolio – online, tear sheets…  Little alarm bells ring in my head if people can only provide links to facebook pictures.  I look for well presented portfolios, and their profiles on industry networking sites.

2.  Meet the person – nothing beats meeting someone face to face to see what motivates them, and stimulates them creatively.  It’s really important to have elements in common, yet I’m also looking to be inspired and learn from colleagues in the industry.

3.  Testing – proof of the pudding is in the eating!  Collaborate on a test shoot to really build relationships and find out if you’re on the same wavelength and gel together creatively.

If you don’t invest time to select the right people to work with, you’re just gambling on quality of results.  I’m not much of gambler…