You know, it’s funny to think about how photography has changed in the past several years. Yesterday was my 7th wedding anniversary (woohoo!), and it has me reflecting. I’m not a wedding photographer, but I follow quite a few online and have noticed how many of them package their products.
Dallas and I don’t have a disc of full size images from our wedding. Instead, we have a beautiful album and then a disc with tiny image thumbnails. Files that are so small that they probably couldn’t even be printed into a quality 4×6. Sure, Facebook existed seven years ago, but it wasn’t being used as a mega photo-sharing site like it is today. It never even crossed my mind that I might want digital files, and I don’t think it was ever part of the discussion with our wedding photographer. Fast forward to 2012. I bet the vast majority of wedding photographers include a disc of images with a custom album in their price lists/packages. I’d be willing to bet that pretty much every bride nowadays wants that, too.
Because life today is digital– people constantly on email, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.– clients desire and expect digital images. Portrait photographers actually often disagree over whether or not clients should have access to digital files, so many of them price those files extraordinarily high to try to avoid some of that. Wanting digital access makes sense to me and is one of the main reasons I give discs of edited images to my clients. When I take my family to get photographed these days, I want digital files so I have flexibility to use and print them however I’d like.
Herein lies the problem: we then have to take the extra step to have prints made if we are only walking away with a disc. Sometimes, I wonder if client photos get shared online and then are never actually printed and put in frames. I’ll be honest– I have done this myself. <<Head hanging>> One way that I do try to help this is by passing along discounts when I see them on Mpix.com or other quality printing companies. All of this is to say– please PLEASE take the time to print out your favorite images, whether they are from a shoot with me or a snapshot from your family vacation. Digital files are wonderful, but they don’t do a whole lot of good if you don’t display prints of them where you can enjoy them. One of my favorite things in our house is this frame in our kitchen that displays family photos. Seeing those smiles each time I walk through the kitchen or as I eat a meal is priceless.
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(Total side note for my local clients– the Ritz/Wolf Camera store [one of the printing locations I recommend] in Cool Springs Mall closed several weeks ago. The Brentwood location on Franklin Road is still open, however, and they assured me that they are sticking around. I believe there is also a Nashville location, so you could check their website for more information.)
Ok, and because I mentioned my anniversary, here’s a page out of our album:
(And yes, he wore his dress blues! LOVE.)
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