Photgrapher HELP

Tlpickels

Every photographer I have spoke with gives you a cd/dvd of all of your images. Are there still some who give you actual photos? Which way is better??? I'm ok with the cd but my mom seems to be hell bent on having photos....help?

fallbride1109

It is better to have the DVD with rights to your (high-res) images so that you can print them yourself for cheaper.  Prints from the photograher will be more expensive than what you can print yourself.

smokyhills

Prints through a photographer are very, very expensive. They tend to be for a number of reasons. One, the photographer, if he's lowballing his day fee, wants to recoup some costs that way, and two, they tend to use higher quality papers and processing techniques.

Go for the disk, if you can, but make sure you get a signed piece of paper giving you reproduction rights. You also want to make sure that it stipulates that the images will be non-watermarked.

[Deleted User]

It's really up to you what you want to do with your images.  A photographer's fee usually covers talent, time, and use of equiptment.  A CD of images is a bonus, and I'm pretty sure they offer prints if you're interested in getting that additionally to a CD.  You might want to check what kind of images you're getting on a CD because it may differ from photographers.  Some will give you high resolution images that are 300 dpi jpgs that are printable, and some will give you a proof CD of low resolution 72dpi images that will be blurry if you try to print them, and then there are the images on CD that are edited and non edited.  Usually if you order prints from a photographer, they will edit the image to make sure it looks great and quality check the product that comes back from the lab.

Tlpickels

Ok thanks! That gives me some more questions to ask before I book.  I have found one that I like that will do 4 hours with cd/dvd, online galliery and montage. I have talked with some of her last brides and they say all good things. Her pictures are very nice and what i'm looking for. I was very comfortable with her.

ceeceed80

the beauty of getting the CD/DVD is that you can print them yourself and save a TON of cash! plus, do you really need a physical photo of every photo given to you? your mom can pick and choose and get them printed for pennies on the dollar of what most photogs would charge you... 

berkleighsmom

I was able to find a photographer who offers a package with both. They are out there so keep looking! I agree with pp that it is very expensive to buy prints from the photographer but if they are included in the package, the pics are much more affordable. Also, if they use something like pictage (online proofs and ordering) you can sometimes get a deal like buy one get one. Good luck!

GolfChick78

I've only been on TK for a few days but I'm surprised by how many threads there are about either printing pictures or doing albums or coffee table books yourself.

While it's important to have your disc of hi-res images with rights to print, I'd tell you to still work with your photographer on his print pricing.  My photographer is very reasonably priced:  $8.99 for an 8x10 by a top lab on archive grade paper.  We're going with his prints because prints that you make through Shutterfly or Costco are not equal in quality.  They willl not look quite as nice when new but the real difference emerges over time.  20 years from now, they'll start to fade, blacks won't be black, and they'll begin to get a yellow/orange tint to them.  Yeah, many photographers over charge for high quality prints, but not all do. 

And prints is NOT what you want to be cheaping out on.  After all the $'s you spent on your big day, now when it's all done and you have only the pictures to look back on, that's when you're going to try to save $5 printing at Costco instead of through a pro?