When I first started many moons ago photographing high school sports parents always asked me the same questions. "Can I get those images on a disc?" My response was always yes. Without blinking an eye I would mail them a disc and watch them go off to that 24hr drug store and use the kiosk to print my images. Sometimes they would take them to Ritz or Cutler Camera and have them blown up for wall portraits. But I never thought about it more.
Now I like having the ability to make my own prints and that freedom. But then I got to thinking back to my computer classes in high school where we talked about how discs (at the time 3x5 disc) would break down or corrupt. Even the discs of today will not last forever. They too will be replaced someday with a new format. What will we do then? Film is no longer the medium of choice; floppy discs are gone, and now dvd's are soon to hit the graveyard too.
Today, I still offer a disc of images, but I package it with custom wall prints and albums instead of a disc of a few images. It is amazing to see a custom wall portrait over your fireplace or sofa and that is a feeling you just can't get from a disc of images.
I'm not knocking those that only offer disc packages, I'm just educating my clients that there is more to a portrait than just a disc. Just because it is digital doesn't mean we take the photograph out of the equation. 10, 20 even 40 years from now those shinny discs will be useless, but those wall portraits will still be around and you can look at them with pride.
No comments:
Post a Comment