Everyone wants digital files today. They want to be able to keep the images of their engagement, wedding, baby and family forever. They want to be able to share their images online with family and friends. It is a way to archive their purchases.
But imagine what would happened if 20 years ago, photographers gave you your images on a 8″ floppy disk. I am not even sure there is a machine available to read those disks today! So, those images you wanted on a disk for archival purposes, are gone. Hmmmm…..
“Awww, sure honey, I would love to show you pictures of your grandparents wedding, but see, they are stuck on this black rectangular thing and, well, there is no way for us to look at them.”
Haven’t you ever come across a box of pictures you took from a disposable camera and smiled? It was so fun to look back on those images and remember the moment. Sure, you can do this with digital images too, but the fact is, it is technology. It changes and it fails. CD’s break. Hard drives break. Servers crash. USB’s get lost. It happens.
I am guilty of this too. I have gigabyte after gigabyte of pictures stored on hard drives. Some are posted to facebook, but most aren’t. They sit there waiting for me to do something with them. It never bothered me until recently. I started thinking about my two little girls and how I am stealing something from them. That’s right, I am stealing some really precious memories from them. If I don’t print these pictures, they will continue to sit on my hard drive. My children will not get to sit and flip through photo albums remembering the joy they felt on Christmas morning when they see a picture of all the presents under the tree. They will not to share these albums with their children someday and show them what their bedroom looked like or show them what grandma looked like before she had wrinkles.
I have done a lot of reflecting on my business recently. Of course I want to offer my clients what they want, and everyone wants digital files. I won’t stop offering those either, but I am considering restructuring my packages to offer prints in every single package. I want YOU, my client, to walk away with something tangible from every session. I want you to have those images to place in a photo album and I want you to have the images to share online. I want it all, so I want you to have it all!
Do you have any thoughts on this? Please leave a message below! I would love to hear what you think!
I totally agree with you Andrea! Who will ever look through thousands of photos in folders on hard drives, flash drives, cd’s, if we have means to view them. I love the thought of holding the photo or flipping through albums and remembering, not only my children’s s childhoods, but mine and my ancestors! We need to have some printed – especially the really good ones- even if stored in shoe boxes for future memories. I think offering the prints with your digitals is a good thing!
I completely agree! I have so many old photo albums but haven’t filled one in years. It stoped when I got my first digital camera. I do make Shutterfly books for each season because of the reasons you posted. I hope you post makes people stop and think. It was well said.