Mistake to avoid

Just wanted to share the mistake we made.

 

 

We upload photos to the web gallery so clients can 1) see them 2) choose the

ones that they want to print big size (we provide 3-4 big prints). All photos

are good when printed 4x6, but SOME photos (2-3%) are either heavily cropped or

are SLIGHTLY blurry (Canon IS doesn't always help when camera is handhold).

Again, they look fine when printed 4x6 or 5x7, but when blown up to 11x14 or

bigger, they are (hmm, how to phrase this?) not the best possible quality :)

 

 

Guess what: one client wanted to enlarge exactly one of such photos.

 

 

I did read this countless times on this forum, but you never learn from other's

mistakes :) So the lesson is - don't show to the client photos that you are not

fully confident in. We were able to talk client into taking another photo for

enlargement, but from now on we'd rather skip such 5-10 photos and don't show

them to client at all.

 

 

SY-

Kosta.

That is why you must edit all your images before getting your customer into the buying phase of the wedding. (The one or two less-than-exact images are better removed from the selection pool.)

One of the nice things about working on a 24" monitor is that you can check EVERY image at a very large size - I've got to say I'm sure glad I got mine - makes a whole bunch of stuff a whole lot easier!

If an image has a powerful emotional impact but technically off slightly , I keep it, but tell the

client it can only be used smaller. If you have a good relationship with your client and are

shooting in a journalistic manner it can still work as an album shot in context of a coffee

table type book so popular these days. It totally depends on the image. A blurry formal isn't a

good thing. A blurry dance shot is a different matter.

 

In context of a web ordering site, I'd avoid offering anything not capable of an 8X10

enlargement.

Keep in mind also that if you haven't shot for an 8X10" crop then don't offer 8X10's! I shoot everything now with the extra room as my popular packages include a leather 8X10 album. People don't want an 8X12", they can't get the frames for them. The grid screen for the 5D has lines which correspond exactly with the 4/5 crop, I emphasised the lines with pencil and have one of those screens in both cameras.

Lanes Axiom of Customer Photo Choice:

 

Given any set of photographs - regardless of the size of the set - in which one photo is defective in some manner, clients will invariably choose the defective photo as their MUST HAVE.

Lane,

 

I like the way you formulated it :)

 

SY-

Kosta.