It's no secret, we are pawns in the advancement of technology. We are basically just waiting for the next best and newest piece of equipment to grace our lives. Remember when the first iPhone came out? It was such an incredible device, with a very large handbook. In this fast growing environment, it seems you just learn how to swim in that rough water, before a huge wave of something new hits us and takes us under again. This trend we see is not going to slow down anytime soon.
As a professional photographer, I see this all too often. New cameras are produced it seems like every month, new lenses, new editing software. There is always something you need to update, or upgrade. It for sure is not cheap to keep up. Most of these upgrades are necessary and it needs to be done to stay ahead of the curve and have a successful business, and others, well are just money suckers. As a professional photographer, we truly live in the Digital Era. The one trend that was popular and still is very popular in this digi world, is the product of "digital files". It seems 4 out of 5 inquiries I receive for my portrait service, in-evidently ends up with the question, "Can't I just get a CD?".
Here are my top 4 reasons why I do not just provide a CD for my clients.
1.) "Can you say Floppy Disk?"- I predict in the next 5 years, those CD's that hold your family memories and milestones, will no longer work in the computers that are produced. Right now, the iMac that I am currently typing on is already 1.5 years old and does not even have a CD-ROM drive on it. I had to purchase that extra if I wanted to use it(I decided not to, and have only come across maybe 5 times I have needed it in the last year and a half). These CD's will eventually become obsolete like the old floppy disks and they will become coasters, book ends, doorstops, or worse, at the bottom of a landfill. Your Children probably don't know or remember "floppy disks", and their children will not remember what CD's are. Why are all of our memories being held captive on a device that you will not be able to use by your child's 8th grade graduation? This same philosophy applies to USB drives as well. It may just be 10 years for those to go away.
2.) "When the newsfeed goes away, so do all your photos"- Facebook has been wonderful for those who want to stay in touch or reconnect with friends and family. It's a way to show off your world and have all of your "friends" see it, in real time. I love being able to post a photo of my son and have my friends and family who are not in the same town as me be able to see them. This goes for all social media-Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Everyone wants to share their lives with who they are connected with. But what happens when that newsfeed is refreshed? When two or three days pass? Do you friends see your photos anymore? Or do they get lost in the social cyber space of your past? Just getting a CD of images and only uploading to social sites, means for that 45 min your newsfeed is fresh to your contacts, and they see them. After that, they are gone. Well unless someone is checking up on you! I don't want to have my clients images only been seen if someone is digging deep into their social history.
3.) "Man, you were really orange in your wedding photos"- Some of you may have come across this already with some older photos. If you have any photos that are not printed with archival ink and on archival paper, sooner or later, your photos starts to fade, peel, bubble, and even turn nasty colors. This happens when images are printed with ink and paper that are not archival, but are made to give you quick instant results, and often inexpensively. I'm not saying I've never been to Rite-Aid's quick print kiosk for some snapshots, but I am not going to chance it with my precious wedding photos or child's 1 Year Portraits(remember that CD from #1 you won't be able to use by the time your child is 10?). I want to make sure when someone comes to me for portraits, not only are they getting the highest quality images, they are getting even higher quality products that will stand the test of time. And if for some reason they don't, I have a 100% guarantee that I will replace that image. That is another reason I am not quick to hand over just a CD. I want to make sure that your portraits in the future have the same beautiful color and tone as the day you took it home. I can't guarantee that coming for labs that I do not know. And if you ever needed that printed again, I keep every photo that has even been ordered from me, archived and backed up on 3 different mediums.
These two images were just printed from my Canon home photo printer on HP paper. I did it so I could get a couple of quick prints to fill some frames and put them up. They were not exposed to any elements except the frame they were in. They are now orange:(
4.) "Where have all the memories gone, mom?"- This is by far my most important point I have on the "digital files" dilemma. This past weekend is a prime example against the all digital files products. I was seeing numerous Facebook friends, Instagram and twitter followers, posting photos of their mothers from 5, 10, 15 years ago. I for one posted a photo of my mother and myself from my 1 year portrait session. If you think about all of these photos only being on "floppy disks", would you be able to share them again now? All those #tbt (throwback thursday) Instagram posts wouldn't happen because all of your photos are stored on mediums that you can no longer use, thus being lost forever. I for one, love to go home to my parents and dig through old boxes of photos. You can laugh for hours looking over old hairstyles, and clothing choices with your siblings and parents. You also can recall some faint memories better when you have a physical photo in hand. I want to make sure that my son doesn't just have a box of useless CD's to look through. I want him to know who his parents and grandparents were when they were young, and when he was growing up. I want those who choose me to document your lives, to have something in 10 or 15 years for your children to look through. Looking through a box of CD's is not nearly as fun. Also, I decorate my home and my clients homes with portraits of life's art; family. Hanging up CD's on the wall does not look as good, that is for sure.
I am not at all discounting photographers who provide their service and just hand over a CD. I just want us all to take a look at how we are preserving our memories for future generations. I hope that taking a look from this point of view will help you realize that all of those photos you take on your phone, with your digital camera, or get from another photographer, that you take the time to print them and store them in such a way that your children and grandchildren can look back at the lives you led. Don't hand your children a box of CD's and say, "Sorry but here's your childhood memories"
0 Comments