Can I just have the digital files, please?
Printed photographs vs digital files.
Wow, where to start...my heart does a little dance whenever I get a printed order. I do not mind if it is a 7-inch print or a 30-inch canvas. To know that photograph is going to be treasured, on the wall or in an album just makes me so happy. I love being part of making memories for you and providing you with tangible products that you will love forever.
I don’t know about you but I feel like I am drowning in digital clutter sometimes and it’s a huge part of my job. I work with digital files all day and I still find it hard to manage, I can sympathise with how my clients feel even on a much smaller scale.
We have photos on our phones, on our laptops, tablets and home computers, in the Cloud & scattered over various digital devices.
I have two framed photographs by my back door, one of my first ever dog, a scruffy, bold, badger chasing Jack Russell terrier and the other is of the softest, kindness, velvet eared English mastiff x Labrador x boxer. Every time I go to walk outside, I glance over, and I get those memories and it takes me back to that special time we shared. Not just from when that one image was taken but of how they made me feel. Those two boys meant the world to me and through respect for them, their lives, our memories together will live on with me.
Digital files – why do I even sell them then? I understand modern life and the need to share images with friends and family digitally, now more than ever. However, I do try to encourage you to pair print products with digital files to get the best of both worlds.
In my experience I have found that clients that have bought only the digital files have adored them at the time but then they get put on the computer or laptop or on the Cloud and they are just not appreciated the way they were when they first had them because they are just not seeing the photographs every day.
If you are thinking about printing them or making a photobook, there can be that overwhelming feeling of HOW and WHERE do I start – some of my clients are very computer savvy and are happy to sit down and work their way through how to put a photobook together but I can take all that time and stress away and do it for you.
Did you know my degree was in Design and Photography? That is 3 years and thousands of pounds (sigh) of knowledge at your disposal to design and layout an album or book.
For printing them yourself, there is the issue of what size crop suits the image, what format, what finish, do you want lustre or gloss or matt? All these things I can do for you and take that stress away, giving you this final polished, perfect display of your photographs for you to see every day whenever you want.
I am not against digital files at all, I just feel I am only doing half my job if I leave you with just the digital files. That I have left you floundering in the design world trying to do something with your digital files. You should make the most of my creativity and used my abilities to the max.
But digitals last longer than hard copies? Well, no. Hard copies last for as long as you have them, on a wall or in an album, whereas digital files only last as long as the hardware that stores it. Digital becomes obsolete so quickly, do you remember floppy disks (I am showing my age now), cd’s, mini-CDs? We are now moving from DVD’s to USBs and the Cloud. How secure is all this?
I just love tangible things, I am emotional person, I rely on my senses, I want to keep things close to me, the thought of my personal life being kept somewhere far away just disconnects me from it and I feel vulnerable.
In the perfect world, you would take advantage of my knowledge and experience. Buy something tangible and beautiful. Receive the social media versions of any purchase as a gift from me to share with your friends and family.
As you can tell, I am deeply passionate about my work and what I can provide for you. I am happy to advise you on anything I have talked about in this blog, just ask.
Bye for now.
Fiona x