What do you provide to clients

[kaiser]

Following on from a couple of threads I've been reading in regards to pricing, I am interested to see what on media you provide images to clients: Digital, prints or the option of both.

I can see the benefit of providing digital files to the client as it may prevent them from hassling you down the track for re prints etc. It also makes for a somewhat less complicated pricing scheme.

However I'm thinking of one potential disadvantage to not handling the prints yourself (albeit a very minor one).

In giving the client the digital images they can go re-cropping, editing, resizing the images etc perhaps degrading the quality of what you initally provided. Also the prints are printed at any lab , which may or may not have a proper colour management process in place.

So the prints that the client eventually get, still have your name associated with them, but may not be presented how you intended them to be.

So the advantage of handling the print yourself is that you have more control over the final output of the image and you are able to proof the images with your professional labs printer profiles so you have a pretty good idea of what the final product will look like.

A small issue for some, a non-issue for others. Some amy prefer saving time by providing digital files only. What are your thoughts?

[ving]

i think it is very important that the client is made to feel at home... i give them a nice big glass of steaming hot gravy. works a treat every time

(digital files, but one should find out what they require i guess)

[Dylan & Marianne]

I was tempted with gravy (reminds me of that Bugs Bunny cartoon) - but I went wiht the truth which is both :P

[jasevk]

I recently saw a well known local tog speak about their work. This person supplies a disc upon request ONLY if they purchase an album of their wedding. Not a bad way to go IMO

[etherial]

I'm interested in peoples thoughts here too. I voted digital only as that is what I have done to date BUT...I am considering prints. I recently sent digital files to a client and they have been used in a news article in a magazine and will be used in an advertisement next month as well as on their website.

They wanted them printed as well so took them to a Kodak photo lab and the prints came out with a yellow hue and were cropped. Needless to say she wasn't happy and asked me if I have any recommendations re printing. So I'm thinking I need to get something sorted so I can cover this type of request. At least she is more than happy with the images and they printed very nicely in the magazine so that is good. But as the client said herself, she doesn't want to see my good work presented poorly due to bad printing.

Something to think about.

[kaiser]

Mic I have used Pixel Perfect. Helpful tech advice and good quality / value.

[Paul G]

This is a good question/topic to raise Kaiser!

I'm looking at this from the angle of weddings.
For those that give a disc of images to clients do you also include your watermark somewhere discreet in the image?
I remember my parent's studio photos from their wedding in 1969, and quite a few of their friends too, all had the studio/photographer's name visible in the corner of the framed print.

By just giving a disc you do stand to lose a lot of your control of the finished product if your client/s have their own printing/resizing etc done at a lab your reputation may suffer.

Personally I will be considering some way of tying in any prospective printing work with a local photo-lab that I have a good relationship with. But how do you go about enforcing something like this? Provide only 800 x 600 jpegs on the disk or full res images with watermarks?

[jeffde]

I provide both as i nreally think there is an onus on you to keep the files for a long time if you only provide prints and what/how that is done is changing so rapidly.

I sell prints from the studio shots but also offer low res & high res images for sale.

Many people want digital images for facebook/ website etc so i go with what the client wants...

[Dan Cripps]

I can see the benefit of providing digital files to the client as it may prevent them from hassling you down the track for re prints etc.

Anyone who considers selling prints to a customer 'a hassle' is clearly in the wrong business.

[jasevk]

I would also assume that most photographers who sell prints to clients would be using quality ink & paper, and 're-printing' wouldn't really be a problem?

[kaiser]

Anyone who considers selling prints to a customer 'a hassle' is clearly in the wrong business.

I was just trying to provide a view from both sides of the fence on what potential benefits for each case may be for some people.

I'm all for offering both options, as I enjoy and like to have more control over the printing process. But it is more work, and, for some people, they may prefer the option of digital files only - so they don't have to worry about cropping to specific sizes, collating albums etc etc.

[Dan Cripps]

I'm all for offering both options, as I enjoy and like to have more control over the printing process. But it is more work, and, for some people, they may prefer the option of digital files only - so they don't have to worry about cropping to specific sizes, collating albums etc etc.

They might also not have to worry about the long term viability of their business, I guess.

[antongorlin]

I'd prefer to sell prints only. Because in this case client gets exactly your product. He pays you for your experience, your time, your vision, so he gets all these with the prints. Moreover, you can always ask lab to re-print if you are not satisfied with their work.
digital - as an additional package.
so, basically I agree with:

I recently saw a well known local tog speak about their work. This person supplies a disc upon request ONLY if they purchase an album of their wedding.

[Paul G]

So when it comes to prints what sort of packages are people offering for what sort of dollars?

I know at a pro level most are over the $100 per hour mark for their services on the day plus a fee per hour for PP of images but obviously prints and frames would add to this again? How do you structure this - eg cost plus (x) percentage for the prints/frames? Do you have demo packs of frames to show clients?

Also for those doing prints and framed prints do you show your watermark discreetly in the image as I referred to above from older wedding shoots in decades past?

[jasevk]

For enlargements, I ordered an embosser which I'll use to stamp the bottom corner of the print, like a common seal. But ATM I'm doing cost plus 100%

[kiwi]

I do not watermark prints or digital photos

[Longshots]

I wondered if it was worth saying that the question would be different if asked about various different subjects matters (ie portrait/wedding/sport/commercial), and what you the photographer had agreed to be paid for. I would be concerned that ithout those distinctions, any "results" for the poll, could be quite misleading.

[Raven]

I've been a disk giver through my time of PBing.

After having a recent client contact me to complain after getting pictures printed at Kmart, I'm leaning to the side of prints only. They did an awful job with them so I told her to take them back. The prints I got for her via the lab I use were perfect (I was curious so sent some off to see) and she was so happy I've asked her to write a testimonial to support me if I decide to do down that way.

Having been the client a few times I think it would be nice to have the files supplied for email or FB. I think if they are reduced and saved as sRGB then it will be better for your reputation because they will probably end up scanning them or just taking a picture of them with a P&S (I have friends that have done this) and uploading something that looks washed out and flat.

[campo]

On my discs that I give to clients, I provide one folder of images for printing (high res) and one for email (low res). I also throw in a few professional prints so the clients know what the images should print like.

[Natsky]

When I first went pro I struggled with giving a disk because everywhere I kept reading that this was not a "pro" thing to do. As far as I am concerned, a couple's wedding photos are theirs to have and keep and print as many copies as they want.
However, most people are unaware of just how much variation there can be in printing and even viewing on different computer screens. I always advise my clients not to skimp on printing and recommend a local lab who I know will do a great job for them. My comeback when they protest that it is a bit more expensive than Krap Mart or Hardly Normal is that they have spent a chunk of money to get pro photos of their day, don't waste it on cheap prints.
I have a shopping list where couples tick off the options they would like. Most choose a book so they get an idea of how their photos should look and for those that don't tick that option, I will print off some 5 x 7's as a reference.
Watermarks are for images on the web not my wedding pics, although I do like the sound of an embossed print. The books I make always have my details in the back, but again no watermark on the photos.
Hope I haven't prattled on too long and somebody finds this helpful.