Letting Client Use Engagement Photos?

[ian_cooke1]

When you shoot an engagement session for a wedding client, do you let them use those photos to create

their own invitations? I've been creating my own post-cards & greeting-cards for a while (for non-

wedding related work) and would like to be able to sell this as a product/service for wedding clients. Not

so much for the profit, but for the marketing I'd get by putting my name on the cards. <p>

Do you just give the files to the client and let them make their own (maybe cheap and poorly printed)

invitations or tell them they need to order the invitations through you? How do you explain to the client

that you won't let them do it themselves?

[teresaberg]

NO! I'll sell them cards at a discount, but I never give them the files. The only exception is if they are getting those little postage stamps printed...I'll give them a tiny little file for that.

 

I love the advertising when they send out cards, but if the image is bad it reflects badly on me.

[William Michael]

`do you let them use those photos to create their own invitations?`

 

Absolutely.

 

`Do you just give the files to the client and let them make their own`

 

Absolutely NOT.

 

We either arrange printing, our preference but not insistence.

 

Or supply the file direct to the printer AND an example PRINTED (on paper or card used) image for quality comparison to the client AND printer.

 

We charge the client for a print run release of the images.

 

WW

[bdp]

Why not? It's your perfect advertising $ well spent.. YOU got paid for it!

 

Find out what they need, and give it to them! QUICKLY!

[surfidaho]

I always gave the bride and groom a free engagement session, with full access to the digital images for invitations, slide shows, or reception prints.

 

I've never been burned on invitations. Most print shops that do invitations these days have high quality standards with color managed workflows. All my images ship with embedded ICC profiles, so the shops can tell exactly how to print them.

 

Reception pictures are another matter entirely. Once a couple printed a picture of themselves and chopped of the tops of their own heads, so I always insist on printing pictures for the reception myself. They can put them in a slide show if they like, but that's as far as I go.

 

BTW: The engagement shoot is more for my benefit than the clients. I want them to be my allies on their wedding day, and to be comfortable in front of my lens. If I work with the clients beforehand, I can get to know them better and find out if there are any personality quirks or other surprises that I need to be aware of before the wedding day.

[photogry]

I would say let them use it but charge them for the image