Why are professional portrait prints your best option?
We live in a digital age and I realize many of my clients believe that getting digital files is the best option. You have been taught to store your items that way for easy access and longevity, but I am here to teach you why digital is NOT the best choice.
First, there is the dreaded technology failure. Your computer dies, your backup burns out, your CD is scratched, your DVD is melted or broken, the memory card wears out and the flash drive is lost or fails. We all know it happens….just when you thought you were safe to go back in the water…and those special moments are gone. I can tell you about a few of my technology mishaps:
- My grand investment of the Disney character session CD of photos, melted in the minivan seat.
- The video camera tapes that fell out of my bag somewhere in the airport chaos and birth to age 2 instantly vanished.
- The backup hard drive that was storing the scrapbook photos from my son’s kindergarten year won’t even power up.
- A memory card that was so worn out it only recorded half of each photo taken.
All of those beautiful events and occasions are erased forever. But the things I printed are still here; on my shelf in a frame, in the album, at my relative’s homes, and the doubles in my fireproof safe for strong measure. Much like the photographs you find in history museums, archives or family files, they are preserved and seen! A print is like insurance for your photos!
Second, I want to tell you about the reason I create photographs. There is a greater purpose than letting you store these files in your desk drawer. I consider myself an artist, not a person who takes snapshots for you. I create personalized, stylized, art that is meant to be a keepsake. These moments eventually become your memories. Maybe it was when she lost a tooth and had that funny grin, or when he wore the cookie monster shirt seven days in a row. It could be that this session captures a first day of school, a first dance, the week you leave for college, a first kiss, a family reunion, your last look. These moments are meant to be remembered with something special. I have a friend who told me that the portraits I took through the years of her daughter are really the windows to look at her daughter when she can no longer can in life. These portraits are keepsakes when the moments are gone and only memories remain.
Third, you deserve only the best if you have taken the time to hire a portrait artist. This is not a cell phone moment or you would not have asked me to take your portraits. I have spent years perfecting my craft and continue to do so. I have invested in the best equipment and tools that are needed to produce photographs. I spend a great amount of time working on your products and have researched and tested until I found the very best professional photography labs. I have matched my operating system and calibration to theirs to ensure you are getting only the highest quality photographs. These are actual photographs, not prints from an ink jet printer. My digital files are laser exposed onto light sensitive papers as negatives. This creates a more accurate color profile and an archival product for you. When you print, all labs are not created equal and using a professional lab is preserving your memories in the best way.
So, why would you consider digital files? If you need something to share online or to make an invitation, sure, go ahead and get a few of them. But for the keepsake, special moment, memory….please, print professionally.
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