why prints? because if I didn’t offer them…

My sample prints and products are finally coming in, and I’m getting ready to show all of you anxious people a catalog of what I’ll be offering this year! Since I’ve decided to offer photographs in tangible form, I’ve gotten a few questions about the reasons behind this decision. It was definitely something I thought a lot about, and I want all of my clients to understand why I think choosing prints & products is an important part of your photographic experience – because I want YOU to think it’s important, too!

For those of you who are just tuning in, here’s the story: A year ago when I started my business, the final product from your photoshoot was a CD of edited images, and you were free to print and share these images as you pleased. Towards the beginning of this year, I made a big change and decided to offer my clients the chance to order photographs in tangible form in addition to receiving your CD. I made this decision for a lot of reasons, but the reason that stands out the most that it is what is best for YOU. Because if I didn’t offer you this opportunity…

I WOULDN’T BE GIVING YOU A COMPLETE SERVICE.
From the moment you contact me about senior portraits, engagement, or wedding photography, I’m always so excited to work with you. I meet you for coffee to talk about the details, I get inspired with you on Pinterest, I load you up with helpful information and tips – and that’s all before the photoshoot even happens! I’m doing all of this because I want to create an absolutely amazing final product for you – and, to me, a final product means a gorgeous, huge print on your wall or a breathtakingly perfect wedding album – not just some files on your computer and Facebook page. I want to be there to guide you through the entire process, from my first email response to the hand-delivery of your products, because that is what you hired me to do. And I certainly don’t want to leave you on your own for any portion of this process, which leads me to my next point. If I didn’t guide you through the final step of the photographic process…

IT WOULD BECOME ANOTHER THING ON YOUR TO-DO LIST.
You’re a busy person. You have a lot on your plate as it is, and I don’t want to add “order prints” onto your already way-too-long to-do list. If I were to hand you a CD and leave it at that, those prints and products would become a burden – and that is the last thing I want them to be. Costco and WalMart may make it easy and cheap to get your photos printed, and that’s great for wallets and small prints, but what Costco and WalMart can’t do is come into your home and help you envision the perfect arrangement and sizes of canvases, or ask for your input on your wedding album and then take all of the grunt work off of you. This is the stuff that I’m passionate about. I want you to be so excited about choosing your prints and products, and that’s why I want to be there to guide you through that process instead of dumping it all on you. And what happens when you just never get around to figuring out how and what to order? Well, unfortunately…

YOUR MEMORIES WOULD BE LOST FOREVER.
Sorry for sounding so dramatic, but, hey, this is important stuff here. Imagine for just a second that your parents’ wedding photographer had put their wedding images onto an 8-track tape instead of into an album. Would you be able to look at those images today? Would your children be able to look at those images twenty years down the road? The answer is probably no… and you’re probably laughing at that idea right now. We are all well aware that technology develops pretty darn fast. The compact disc may seem like a safe place to store your images for now, but what happens when a new technology comes along to replace it? Apple’s setting the stage for the future already; the newest MacBook doesn’t even have a CD drive. So, while you can’t pass on your Facebook page to your grandkids (although in all honesty that’s probably for the better), I can help you to create beautiful heirlooms in tangible form – sooner rather than too late.

And just because I know you’re on the edge of your seat waiting to see what lovely products you’ll be able to order, here’s a little sneak peek. (;