Creative talent is not the place for the lowest bidder. Good artists, photographers, and designers are well paid because they consistently produce quality work. Another consideration is that well equipped artists spend a lot of money on their equipment. That equipment allows them to give you highly quality results.

 When you commission an artist you are also paying a part of the cost of that equipment. The average, well-equipped, graphic designer has invested over $30,000 USD in professional graphic computers and peripherals. That investment has a useful half-life of 14 months. The basic software for graphic design will cost about $4.000 to start with and about $500 a year, or more, in up grades.

 A modern professional photographer using high-resolution digital medium format equipment will have an estimated $70,000 USD invested. That equipment has a useful half-life of about 18 months. Now that you have an idea of what happens at the top, lets take a look at the other end of the spectrum.

 We frequently travel all through the developing world and see the whole spectrum of available talent. What I have discovered is that the real problem is usually not one of talent but a problem of experience and equipment. When I was learning photography I went to two schools run by major film manufacturers and apprenticed under a couple of very talented professionals. I learned a lot of tricks and a firm grounding in the technology of imaging. Another photographer in a less advantageous atmosphere might have just as much talent (not hard to do) but a lot less opportunity to cultivate that talent.

 The crazy thing about creative techniques is that you cannot possibly know what you do not know until you learn it. It’s like climbing a mountain in thick clouds: every time you reach a plateau you think “ at last I’m there”, until you go a bit further and realize that the path is still climbing. There is also the question of equipment. Trying to produce professional images with amateur equipment is like taking the family salon car into a formula one race. It simply doesn’t work no matter how hard you try or how well you drive.

 I’ve met some very talented people trying to make a living at photography with amateur equipment. They always have a vast store of reasons (excuses) why their equipment is the best, most creative, equal to, blah, blah, blah. I follow the market very closely, my equipment is my competitive edge, and I also hate spending money on things other than my own selfish pleasures. If I thought I could get the same results with cheaper kit I would have that equipment in my camera bags.

 All of that was designed to alert you to the fact that there are vast differences between “ professional” creative people. Remember that professional only means that the person in question has chosen to feed themselves by practicing that “ profession”. It does not in any way indicate competency. There are several things you want to consider when you hire talent.  Ability to produce, experience, equipment, creativity and past results should be the most important.

 The first thing I like to see is a portfolio of past works and creative samples. That should be a mix of past work and things the artist has done for “ fun”. As you look through a portfolio compare what you see to the magazines you like to read or to your favorite international advertisements.

 Find out what time span the portfolio covers. Mine usually covers the past 6 months and a sampling of the past years personal projects. A portfolio that covers several years really doesn't tell you what the artist is doing now. Their current style maybe totally different from that “great little picture on the back page”.

 Look with a critical eye. Does the photographer have out of focus images in their portfolio? That could mean your results might be also out of focus. Are the colors balanced or are they all blue and lacking saturation? Those are the colors you can expect your results to have. Are the images sharp and crisp or soft and mushy? Are the drawings clean and full of expression or flat and lifeless?

 Be critical, because what you see is not only what you will get, but also what you will get if everything goes just right. Remember the artist selected those images as representative of the best they can do! Just one other point, you are looking for images that communicate messages, not images that would look great hanging in a museum.