Why Get Professional Prints?

Many photographers do not even extend the offer to purchase a CD of images to their clients. I do. I know that if it were me, If I were the client, then I would want the option of having all my images. Prices for a CD of 20-30 images vary by location and by professional level of the photographer. Currently, I am offering a CD with all your images for $149. This is without a doubt on the lower end of the spectrum. Many will charge well beyond $1000... and for good reason. If you are not a photographer, you probably do not realize the time it takes for your photographer to process your photos... hours.

Some photographers offer their clients the option to purchase a CD of their images, but have a stipulation within their contract/model/print releases that they are not to print their images at certain (common, often 1-hour pick-up) labs. They also do this for good reason. If you are a photographer, you (hopefully) take great pride in taking your clients photographs. You know which settings to use, when to use a larger aperture, and when to use a smaller one. You know which lens is best for the type of image that you are hoping to produce. You know to set your ISO depending upon the light for that place and time. Then, when you are home from your session, you upload your client's photos to your computer and begin to post-process them in Photoshop. In Photoshop, you know when and how to sharpen it just right so that the photo is crisp, but not overly so, you know when you have use your curves adjustments to add a contrast boost, or too lighten or darken areas of a photo. You even have monitor calibration software installed on your computer so that the colors that you are seeing on your monitor are 100% accurate to real life colors. You also know to set your Photoshop default to open your client's photos with the same color profile that your professional lab will print in. When you are finished, you can be happy knowing that you have done all that you can do to ensure a beautiful photograph for your client.

So why do some photographers prohibit their clients from printing at certain labs? Because they are afraid if people see their photographs printed at a local 1-hour pick-up lab, that it will not represent the true caliber of that photographer's work. Often times, a local (or even online) lab will turn beautiful photos into... well, something not quite so beautiful.

The only way I (or many other photographers (I don't speak for all)) can guarantee that you will get what I see on my screen is if you order from me. I print my clients' photographs at a 100% professional color lab. Each photograph is scrutinized for color correctness. They are printed on (your choice) of professional papers and printed on machines that are far superior to any machine a local lab will print with. If you printed a photo at both a professional color lab, and from a 1-hour pick up lab, you would no doubt see the difference in color and quality.

I will always offer my clients an option to purchase all of their images. I will probably never include such a stipulation in my own contract either. If you have paid for them and have gotten a print release from me, then they are your photos to print wherever you'd like. I just want to make sure that my clients are at least educated in the differences between a common lab and a professional one. My best advice if money is an issue is, at the very least, get professional prints of the photos that you want to have framed and displayed in your home.