"Digital files only please!" My Decision to Shift to Offering Print Packages

Until now, I can still hardly believe that it's been 10 years since I started becoming a full time photographer. Well, make that 11 years if you count the time I worked for a mall-based studio. I was also a photographer for them then, come to think of it.

When I was still working for that studio, I thought to myself, "PhP 850. Whoa, that's a whole lot to charge for an 8x10." That's $28 back in 2004. And in Philippine Pesos, that was a lot of money. The owners and managers explained the logic behind the costing but it still didn't make sense to me. So when I resigned to pursue my solo photography career, I didn't offer prints. I just shot, edited a gajillion photos, burned them onto a DVD, then mailed it to the client. Very straightforward. Sure they appreciated it, but I didn't get a lot of raves. Why? Read on. 

Through the course of the decade, I saw different the scenarios my clients and friends went through. Almost 90% of the time they just view the pictures from the disc, then they say they're gonna have some photos printed, then life gets in the way, and the disc gets shelved somewhere and gets forgotten.  

Once, I had a client who contacted me 4 years after her son's event to tell me that she finally has the time to make the album but the DVD has become unreadable. 

Then there's the time my friend lost her files from a crashed hard disk drive. (Gotta admit, happened to me too. So now I have back ups). 1 Terrabyte of data. Gone. Wooosh. I know. Kills me too just thinking about it.

Some people are quite diligent, though. Which would make you think I'd be elated when I see the photos they printed. Quite the contrary, I'm afraid. Although the files I give have been color-corrected and all, it didn't translate well to print because they just went to the print shop 'round the corner. No offense to those lab technicians, but they won't redo the printing if the skin's too yellow. And neither would the client. They just don't share the vision that I had for those photos. Why? Because I had failed in educating my clients.

So now that I have the opportunity to overhaul my business, here I am with a new brand and a new business model. I have the chance to change things that pained me the last 10 years. Looking back, $28 in 2004 isn't such a hefty price tag after all. Especially when you make sure that you only give the absolute best to your clients. Even if it means, reprinting the photo several times to get the right colour. (Yep, that happened to me too. All profit lost there. sigh.)

I make sure I do the tedious job of getting the photos together, lay them out, and print them, so you'll end up with a gorgeous photo book in your hands. Not in 4 years, but just a couple of months, tops.

My mum was wise to decorate our house with all of our wedding photos (my siblings' and mine). A smile never fails to make an appearance on my face when I see our family pictures on the stairwell. That's the feeling I want to share with each one of my clients. Because pretty soon, the kids are gonna grow up and get jobs, leave the house, get married, and all that jazz. Photos are great reminders of the best parts of our lives. And I wouldn't want you to have that memory in framed pictures with greenish skin tones and blown out white spots. No, no, no. If I ask you to pay for great quality, you will certainly get great quality. I will even help you decide what size to print and how to display them. :)

All this brings to mind a friend whose grandparents' house got burned down. They were so thankful that among the things that they were able to save were photo albums. Sure, the insurance can pay for the damage, but they were right in saying you really can't replace those things. 

To reinforce my decision, One News came out with a news report about people not backing up files despite knowing the consequences. Experts say the best way to not lose precious files is to just print them. Watch the news clip here.

Scary as it may be for me to learn how to "sell" my images (cos I was never really a salesperson), I'm going to have to overcome that fear so I can serve my clients better. I'm not merely selling paper. I'm offering a service, an experience, a reminder of your best days.

Will I withhold your digital files? No, my friend :) I still include the web sharing files so you can use them for emailing to your friends and relatives, and for uploading to all your other social media sites.

So the next time you think I'm just being greedy about your pictures by not selling just the digitals, please scrap that thought. I'm just giving you the very best I can offer. :) 

Wish me luck on this reboot!