print film wedding photographers

[vaphototeacher06yahoo.com]

We have had the privlege to photograph weddings for over 13 years.

Our coverage is the true photojournalism style. We have made it a

policy to provide the negatives, FREE, that's right, FREE, to the

bride and groom with delivery of the wedding book or enlargements.

I have heard many a reason as to why not and the same for why you

would give the negs.

Interested to know what beginners, imtermediates and pros alike think

on this subject.

Peter H.

Washington, DC

[anton frid photography]

Mr. Peter... Its better to give then to receive :) If it works for you, good job. I know that it works for me, and i don?t charge anything for given my clients a full burned CD with there digital negs. (i shoot only digital) I know photographers who charge $150-$500 for digital negs, and $50 to burn a second CD with all the negs. I don?t provide albums with my packages (add-on option), and i don?t sell negs, so that makes me concentrate on the photography then on selling aspect of things. I think in today?s world, couples are so sophisticated and there are a lot of photographers who do offer free negs, so if you want to compete, i believe its a good market strategy.

 

Anton

[stacy]

We give our negatives free as well after the album is completed. Mostly we do this because 1. It is a nice selling point for the actual booking 2. I don't want to store these negatives forever and I could never throw away negatives. I don't think it cuts into our reprint orders too much. Probably some though...

I have also taken verbal lashings for giving the negatives. "People can print them at a bad lab and show the photos off as your work"- so ya, that wouldn't be good, but they could also scan the prints and print them out on plain white paper...it's a chance you take I guess.

[scott_eaton]

Boy, this is a controversial topic at the least.

 

I shot weddings for a couple of summers and did a pretty decent job at it. Consider also I worked for a professional lab that catered to high end clients I had an insider postiton to see what worked and what didn't.

 

After shooting the wedding I gave my client the best set off proofs I could, and a deal on re-prints at my lab. This insured I got rid of the negs, had good quality printing to show off my work, and only charged for my time.

 

The main reason our big clients kept their negs is to make money off reprints. We'd charge $3-4 a unit for professional reprints, and the typical wedding photographer would add a 200-400% markup. Sorry, but no competitive industry will support that for long. Charge for your time, dude.

[derek_c.]

I consider myself as a intermediate/pro.<br>

I give them negative at free of cost, also.<br>

To me, it was a simple business decision.<br>

Selling reprinits is not as "easy money" as taking pictures for 6 hours and get a big paycheck.<br>

If I come up with the right system that I can spend reasonable hours for reasonable income? I would definitely start selling reprints.<br>

But, I just don't have what it takes to sell reprints.. I suck.<br>

[aka eve adams]

whatever works!

[edward_h]

Keeping the negtives is something you did in the 1930's. Things have progressed since then. You can have a whole new set of prints made within an hour, or print them yourself.

 

Photographers who still keep the negatives to themselves are living in the past and refuse to accept that things change and that their livelihood is threatened by technology, trying to hold on to a business model that doesn't work anymore.

 

I get paid by the hour and when I'm done with the shoot (and editing) then the clients get the CD which they can do whatever they want with.

[jonathan_adams]

I give the negatives away for free. Clears me of responsibility and I tell the brides

that they don't have to track me down for their 25th anniversary for reprints. I scan

the shots I want for my own use. The business has changed it's to easy to make great

reprints off of the proofs. Use it as a selling point saying that you won't have to

spend another dime with me. There are no hidden extra cost.

[Jerry_]

It may never happen *but* if (for example) a mishap takes place and the negatives are soaked or scratched. Who (anyone wish to wager) will take the 'blame?' Not the bride or the groom.

 

 

 

It (the photographs) is a reflection of your work as a professional: do you care who prints your work? If not, then give up the negs. Walgreens can do a lot in one hour, but can your name take Walgreens photo-finishing? (....they do clean the floors one time a day, so if a neg is dropped, it may not be too bad.) And, yes, I have seen negs hit the floor in Wal-mart as well, but at least Wal-mart workers *some of the time* have cotton gloves to handle the negs.

 

 

 

 

Plus you are expecting the bride-and-groom to solve the "it's a 4x6 inch print that has to fit the 8x10 inch frame Aunt Jo gave us, or to explain how a extra density or one less density will "make" the print.

[cjogo]

We charge by the hour--all negs & prints included--We try to discourage reprints or albums.

[rich_deferrari1]

Call me old fashioned -BUT-a good deal of my profit stil comes from afterwedding print sales. My lab makes it easy now -no handling of negs -no carding or cropping hassles.This is especially important on my "package weddings'. Yes -I can see a day coming where this may end -but -I feel it is still a way off. I have seen what happens when customers try to print my 220 negs at Walmart or get back 3 1/2 inch sq pix back from Kodak.Scanning is a nightmare -the quality I have seen suffers. I would rather control the quality. I do not gouge my customers but provide them with high quality reprints at a reasonable price.I want my work to look good -it is the key to my future customers. There will always be many opinions on this -same as on the dig/film debate. best regards -RichD

[steve_muntz]

I'd consider myself a beginner at this, and include the negs with the proofs. Most of what I'm doing is on a pretty limited budget so they'll probably make their own prints on a flatbed scanner from the 3x5 proof. At least if I give them the negs they can have a better quality print. Plus, I don't want the liability of keeping them and don't really have the time to make all the trips to the lab, etc.

[chris m., central florida]

I give them the negs if I happen to shoot film. I try to be 100% digital these days and they get a copy of the high resolution scans if we shoot the entire event in digital. I'm very up-front with clients that my proofs are about what they should expect in terms of print quality. If they get back a poor print, it's because the lab operator ddn't match the proof, or there could be a dozen other variables at play - paper type, lab equipment, etc. I provide a one page guide explaining the printing process, how prints can be screwed up, and what needs to be done to fill their own print orders for family and friends. I also post all images to the web for review and ordering. Most couples and their family forgo saving a little money and order prints from me.

[steve_justice]

I provided all clients with a disc of images as part of their package for 4+ years. Until I realized that there is a lot of money I was throwing down the drain for no reason. People will book you if they like your work, the giving away negatives or not is not much of a "selling point" if you ask me. If I was hiring someone for my wedding, the important thing is that I like the work they do, not if I get to keep the originals... Plus to better serve my clients, I feel it's best not to make them do any more work then they have too. Thats what they hired you for, your service and expertise. The same way you can sell someone on why they should keep the negatives, I could sell them on why they shouldn't. Most people who book me know they want me as their photographer before they even see my prices, and no one is going to question how I run my business. So my advice to all of you is...learn how to sell your images, thats a lot of income you are throwing away for no reason.