Tina, my wife, and manager of Westmount Photography (the friendly voice on the phone when you call) got asked a not so random question by a random encounter with someone today.
“Do you include the files in your sessions.”
“We don’t” she replied “we only sell reprints for wall displays and gift giving.”
“…then I’m not interested then.”
Alright.
But let me explain something in three BIG reasons why we don’t include files. Once you read this you’ll understand.
REASON NUMBER ONE WHY WE DON’T include digital files:
- we won’t make any money and we’ll go broke. Yes, this is our living. It’s how we make money and pay our taxes, our mortgage and put food on the table. We’ve invested 35 years honing our skills to create top quality portraits that you’ll cherish. We work very hard at creating images that are professional, beautiful and unique. #yougetwhatyoupayfor
REASON NUMBER TWO WHY WE DON’T include digital files:
- When we give away files, and you print our creations on your printer, or at Walmart or Costco or wherever, and you create crap looking images on our beautifully lit, and composed and posed portraits…how long will it take for the world, the community and everyone in our fair city to think to themselves…:“Whoa, they create crap images….yuch”
REASON NUMBER THREE WHY WE DON’T include digital files:
- Artistic Workflow. The mindset for many nowadays means bulk buy. You know, like Costco. Think about this for a second. I spend about 30-45 minutes workflowing each image using decades of experience and artistic vision.
If you had say 20 files. And I spent 30 minutes on each. That’s six hours.
Some say: “Then just give me the raw files, save all that time”.
That won’t happen because whomever works on my images are in fact representing our studio.
Say bu-buy to any reputation we may have had.
It’s like going to a fine restaurant, and asking the chef to simply bring the food out. Raw. You’ll take it home and cook it, thank you very much.
“Yes, we’ll bring it home and cook it ourselves. We want it wholesale. Or, pffftt, I’m not interested.”
Try it and see how that goes over.
Ask: Who’s going to print your images and do a top notch job? Better yet, who’ll retouch, enhance and put all the expert time into enhancing your portraits?
Let me guess, you want all the files, and you want them all enhanced?
The truth is, you want a good deal.
And you can get a good deal. Just hire your cousins sister-in-law’s niece….she just bought a camera and an illegal copy of photoshop. Yea, let me know how that turns out for you.
Quality and low cost don’t go hand in hand. I’m not being cynical here, more a smartass. Because thankfully we have many clients who respect us and what we do.
Quality costs.
You pay now or later. Just ask the bride who hired her nephews best friends sister with the new camera.
yours in photography,
Rob Provencher
the guy with the huge investment in professional photography gear….:)
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