Photography Etiquette - Purchasing Prints

wendyeric

We just did our engagement shoot with our wedding photographer and I want to get some prints.  She gave us the digital copies/rights to them  I am conflicted because she charges $5 for a print I could do for $1 on shutterfly.  I know that photographers make the bulk of their money on prints and she did a wonderful job, but I want to order a bunch of them and it may break the bank.  Thoughts, comments, words of wisdom?

JoanE2012

Do photographers really make the bulk of their money on prints??  I didn't think many people order a ton of prints anymore because everything is digital.

That said, we got the digital disc and rights to our prints.  We ordered 2 for frames for us and one my mom wanted for a frame.  We ordered all 3 prints through shutterfly.  

emmyg65

I ordered all my prints through Shutterfly. I don't think photographers make the bulk of their money through prints, especially nowadays when it's so easy to get decent prints online.

photokitty

If your package price includes the print right to high res images than your photog is not making/ planning to make the bulk of their money off of prints. They offer prints bc they have a pro-shop they can get the prints from and bc it will make a little extra. And it's a way for relatives to order prints without trying to get the digital images from the B&G. Primarily those sites just serve the purpose of online proofing.

If you want pro-print shop images then go through your photog...like for an 11x14 to hang on your wall it might be worth it. Otherwise, print them cheaply wherever you want

Joannaandwilson

I orderec some through my photographer and had some printed on my own and you can definitely tell the difference in quality. Costco does a really good job too but for your large prints I would recommend going through a professional.

Teresa2328

I agree with JoannaandWilson 100% - the quality of the paper and look of the prints from your photographer can't be matched by costco, snapfish, shutterfly, etc. I wouldn't order all of your prints from there because of the expense, but definitely the ones you plan on displaying on your walls. I have purchased color prints on a metallic paper and it looks incredible!

plainjane0415

Since you have all rights to the images, you will probably want to order some of your best shots that you want printed from her, and then anything else I would use shutterfly.  I thought the point of having the rights to your photos meant you could print them wherever you wanted.  But maybe I'm wrong? I'm still trying to learn about all this myself!