What May happen In 50 Years....

What May Not Happen In 50 years.....

While looking at my feed in my smartphone, as many of us do occupy with the technology which surround us, I came a cross an image posted by a fellow photographer Brian Joseph Calabrese 

This may be a truly beat on subject for those of us who own a professional photography business with a 'Print Your Images" and not a 'Shoot & Burn' mentality or model.  For some a great educational read and perhaps, not such joy for others.

But, in all truth.... I know that my clients already know my reasons for NOT shooting and placing all images in an USB [I have not delivered a DVD with images in a very long-long time] to just be printed at some random retail print service "At the Corner of Happy and Healthy" - No offense 'Walgreens'

My theory for not delivering ALL images in a storage device proves in the fact that these may never get printed.  There is a sense of ownership when you have ALL your images, but also there is something about the feeling of accomplishment, when your images are printed and delivered to you, by your professional photographer!

Although, in the past I may have lost potential clients to my strong belief in printing images. I rest in the comfort of knowing that one of my many responsibilities to ALL my clients as their Professional Photographer is to deliver Professionally Created Captures that will be printed/preserved by using professional labs and not that 'retail printer - At the Corner of Happy and Healthy"

That said, my lab partners offer prints that will last 100 years in a typical home display and 200 years in dark storage - Meaning that your kids and your kids' children {the upcoming generations} will enjoy these memories... Therefore protecting your INVESTMENT!

You made it this far... Great!!! Now, food for THOUGHT:

- How long ago, all PC's and Laptops had CD/DVD burners?? 

Now, think about this too -  Most of the major brands are developing PC, tables, iPads, and laptops with only USB ports or NONE at all! So, only the prints will make it to your hand assuring you of great moments when they are printed.

However, I do offer delivery options on the most loved images from their sessions via USB or downloads with perfect resolution for e-mail/screen-savers, social media. I also deliver a few images in an APPs for their smart devices. Making it fun to enjoy visually, and then the prints are delivered to them at home.

The process in framing and placing images in albums is still practiced, in these cases I offer my clients a great discount when they order their prints in already framed products or BULK printing for their albums and lastly, I offer album design!

I love that most people still want to preserve memories in albums and such!

Please ENJOY creating memories and PRINT all captures - Even the ones in your devices! You will never get these memories back and they are so important!

Protect your investment, obtain prints from your photographer, as professional we guarantee our products. I bet your retail " At the Corner of Happy and Healthy" cannot!

"How to avoid getting burnt from the latest wedding photographer trend" Re-Blog - written by Mike Allebach via Brandmash *

Re-Blog - written by Mike Allebach via Brandmash *

Ding – the email sounds an alert of an incoming message on your client’s computer. A ransom note appears warning 7 days to upgrade their gallery – or else. For less than $30 they can save their photo gallery from expiring. A short few weeks with all those cute pixels but now a strange company has taken them hostage and is demanding money. Pay up or these photos are taking a ride to the river in a beat up Cadillac to go for a swim with cement boots. And we all know pixels can’t swim. Especially after they’ve been shared, shot, sprayed and prayed at 11fps.

Thousands of photographers have used the system which boasts sharing freely and giving up on physical products in order to serve clients. Or does it?

Who does The System really serve?

In the beginning the concept of sharing photos freely sounded good. Sprinkle a little Jesus juice – as Michael Jackson called it – with words like serving and sharing and caring and loving. You’ve got something that sounds like an idyllic hippie community. Sign me up - I’d love to live in rainbowville and ride my unicorn and share photos everywhere. But then I’m reminded of M Night Shyamalan’s “The Village,” a perfect ye olde village living in harmony until it’s elders can’t maintain control. Suddenly, monsters and carcasses of dead animals start appearing everywhere. Spoiler alert. It’s a cult. Don’t mess with the village elder of a hippie commune built on sharing, eating organic food together & caring. Ugh. I digress. Just. watch. the. movie (or the trailer )

So back to ransomed pixels. No sensible business model would allow another company to step in and ask for a sale. Sure $30 isn’t that much but it is $30 your business isn’t getting. So what if a client wants to purchase a real life picture to place in a photo frame? They can buy that at rock bottom prices and you’ll get credit. It’s like those tokens you get from Chuck E. Cheese, you can put those tokens towards…paying off ransom notes for your clients!!! I’m not kidding.

How can we really serve our families?
Although we all love photography and many of us would take photos for free if we could, we all need to make a sustainable living. We might have a furry pet counting on our income or a spouse or a few bambinos. The idea that artists must be starving or freely share their art has…well…expired. I mean to earn the distinguished name of “professional photographer” and not hobbyist, you actually have to make $, right? Whether you have a high volume studio or luxury brand, each photography business can benefit by serving clients through tangible products.

How can we serve our clients?
The first step is to find out what your client really wants. The first answer usually will be “high resolution files” or something like that. Drill deeper and you’ll find out whether they want art for their walls or an album heirloom to pass down. In 10 years will they really just want those photos on a website? In 100 years, will finding a hard drive in the attic get the grandchildren excited to look at a spinning harddrive platter on a hunk of metal? Of course not. Our clients want more than digital. Our clients want mementos of love that celebrate milestones on display in their homes! Our clients already have 2,000 photos on their cellphone and a million websites they can pin, share and tweet. Give them physical items they can touch, feel, see and smell (I love that new leather album smell)!

So here is a next step…

If you haven’t tried In Person Sales (IPS) or Projection Sales. I dare you to give it a try. Shake things up. Host a viewing party. The best tool I’ve found has been Salesographer. Honestly, I’m still new to In Person Sales and Projection Sales and have gone through the material several times. It taught me the process to get out of the mindset of shoot & burn and into a more profit minded and truly client serving approach.

Let’s start treating our photography businesses like a business (not like a charity) and go back to taking pride in our work and pricing it accordingly. The best way we can serve our clients is to give them products they will cherish 10, 20…30 years from now.

Until next time, I’ll pass on this new trend and hope that making an honest living comes in vogue.

As for this article, remember…

Sharing is caring

-ma

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Mike Allebach: Founded Brandsmash as a marketing resource for small business owners with his mantra “Your story changes everything.” Communications & Marketing Director turned Photography Business owner he hosted 4 episodes of a failed webisode called brandsmashTV and writes this blog thingie. Hailed by a Rock n Roll Bride as “the Original Tattooed Bride Photographer”

This site is sponsored by lots of wonderful companies as shown in the side bar. Click on the affiliate links. Support them and you support me with $ which is better than credits or Chuck E Cheese coins. Of course you don’t have to click on a dang thing. The comments are for hate mail and love notes. Leave some.
POSTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY, UNCATEGORIZED

You cannot Afford Not To Order Your Prints From Your Photographer... This is WHY!

Image Copyrighted [Improve Photography]

You Cannot Afford Not To Order
Your Prints From Your Photo-Studio

To all photography business owners, this is an always issue during the booking process and I often wonder, if every pro-photographer gets the same questions about all images on disc, print rights releases and the "why" on the higher quality product we offer being more 'expensive" -

I have, for a while decided that I am not a shoot & burn photographer.  I have also opted that only a proper amount of low resolution images are offered in a discs or USBs in my packages and the reason why my discs/USBs are low resolution and the reason why I 'rarely' release the print rights for my work, is because the quality from retail sources such as Walmart, CVS, Costco, Walgreen's and other online services etc. will not produce a good quality image and I am also protecting YOUR investment.

That being said, there is a considerable amount of editing effort placed to accomplish that right color tone and clarity as well as high premium artistic affects.  Often times in lower end labs the color is not desirable, machines due to the high volume and nature of their business are not calibrated and the papers used are of low quality, because they sell to the masses.

I have seen photos where skin tones have very yellow or red tone and after you have made an investment for your sessions, this does not flatter your images nor does it flatter my work.  The relationship I hold with my professional labs have been built for years and this is why I completely trust to order your prints from them only, their quality is not only exceeding my margins of production, but the products delivered are guaranteed.

I understand that the prints I offer through my  proofing service may be a bit on the higher price than Walmart and all other retail places I have referenced, but as mentioned I can guarantee your image quality being a hundred times better and will really show the beauty of the work captured during your session.

Ordering from sites and from retail places may get a bit overwhelming, the cropping is not right and the picture also loses its sizing quality, so this is another reason why  I can make it easier and you can order your prints directly through me.

All your images will be proofed by me upon arrival to ensure they are properly viewed in the size you desire and that quality promised. If they are not I will work with the lab until they are as they should be.

So, as the professional photographer that I am, please rest assured that you have chosen my services because you trust my style and artistic license, and you are making that investment for that service that you will be the most satisfied for.

Allie Miller
AMillerFoto | Photography
amillerfoto.com