Intro by Skip Cohen
I was taking a scroll through Chamira Young’s archives when I came across this post. At first, I wasn’t going to read it, because it seemed so out of date with the current trends. Well, I took the time and gave it a look and realized it was perfect for today’s challenges.
Too many of you have gotten so caught up in digital that you’ve missed the true beauty of the profession – giving a client stunning images they can hold, touch, look at and savor for the future. Photographers here on the Marathon blog, like Michele Celentano and Brian Caporicci have repeatedly written about the importance of prints.
Then I started thinking about my own experience with Bella Art Prints and the quality Marathon is now capable of sharing. Digital is here to stay, and it’s pretty wonderful the way people share their memories today but don’t let them forget about the power of printed photographs, and their ability to enhance those special memories for years to come!
By Chamira Young
Taking photos is pretty easy, editing photos takes a little time and energy, and uploading them is easiest of all. As professional photographers, the way we get images to clients has changed nearly as often as we change our lenses in one session. From flash drives to discs and CDs, to entire files to simply send, click, and download. But have we lost touch? Have we lost the simple magic of flipping through physical photos and pages of images?
The Magic Touch
It all starts with a camera and a dream but there are so many ways in today’s world to make our lives easier and smoother and to help that dream come true. Now, there is something to be said for a simple and smooth process of finding clients, taking images, and getting those images to the client, but it’s a process that can’t be done without the creative eye of the artist themselves, you.
As soon as we lose touch with our work or try to mass produce, we lose a bit of quality. It shows when photographers take the extra measures to make the whole process of photographing memorable and simple for the client.
One of the biggest trends is streamlining how we get the client their images. There are many ways to do this but what if we want our clients to be touched by what we do by literally touching their images?
One of the easiest ways to keep your photos from dying a digital death and separating yourself as a photographer is to get them printed, staged, or framed. Plus, you’re the professional here. When you send a file or a download link to the clients they have no clue what to do with them. They are much less likely to get any of your images printed because they either don’t know how or don’t have the time. Instead, this is an opportunity for you as a professional to be the special sauce in this recipe for success for all parties.
The Special Sauce
You, the photographer, are the sauce that needs to be added to ensure that your photos see the light of day and the clients have a physical reminder they can enjoy for years to come. This is something simple and can be done in a single one-hour meeting. You get the chance to sit down with them, show them their beautiful photos, and help them visualize how they will look on the wall, in the office, or on postcards to family members. When you spend one more hour helping them make these photos a physical memory you are saving time for the client and saving your images from dying as digital copies. Everyone wins.
Adding your personal touch and encouraging a client to believe in prints can seem like a lot of work. Finding time in the day to do these meetings might even seem difficult. However, ensuring every client has a collection of memories they can hold is an important responsibility. It’s the magic we have as photographers – taking intangible memories and turning them into tangible events a client can cherish for a lifetime.
As they say, our actions speak louder than our words and sometimes our actions can speak louder than our images too.
