As a photographer, it’s not shocking that I’m a visual and hands-on person. The way things look and feel is incredibly important to me. I’m affected by light and texture, and I only like to have things around me that absolutely love. All these personality traits affect what kind of photographer I am and how we run our business.
When we were starting out (post-college, doing photography as a side-hustle), everyone was shooting short sessions with little guidance, burning discs left and right, and I couldn’t find the value. I felt I had lost what lead me to photography in the first place. I took a step back and reevaluated. I wanted to know people and what they were like so the images could feel like them and their stories. My visual side wanted to help them choose clothing, locations, and time of day, and my introvert side wanted to feel better prepared for the sessions. This is why we changed how we do things. Every session begins with an in person meeting where we can get to know our clients and their needs, provide guidance, and prepare to meet their overall goals. A start like that helps everyone feel relaxed and comfortable at the session and in turn creates better, more meaningful images.
The second part of this was what happened after the images were taken. I realized what a disservice we were doing our clients by burning discs and sending them off to (most likely) get lost in the bottom of a drawer. We never got to see our clients’ response to the images or make sure they were happy with the results. Families were overwhelmed by the task of choosing what to do by themselves and froze up, or worse, ordered cheap prints that faded within the year, canvases that warped, and substrates that cropped important elements from view (you know, like someone’s head). Â It made me sad to know the images we worked so hard to create hadn’t gotten to be enjoyed in real life.
Now we work with our clients to help them see how images can compliment each other, give notice of how things will crop, and help them narrow to their favorites to fulfill their overall session goal (whether that’s 50 images for an album, one images for a canvas, or five images for family and friends). What is important is that the process feels effortless and in the end, our clients leave with heirloom quality prints and products.
Because of this, choosing which vendors we work with is very important. We want our products to be warm, beautiful, and built to last. This not only applies to our prints but also to our digital options. When a family chooses to add high resolution images to their package, We want that branding to follow through with warmth and beauty. We are happy to have found a vendor whose usbs fit that image and back it up with simple cross-platform usability. USB Memory Direct has become that company for us. We now feature their round “carpenter” design pine usbs with our logo engraved. They are the perfect companion to our line of prints, albums, and wall art. Special thanks to Taylor at USB Memory Direct for making the process simple!
If you have questions about any of our products or the experience we offer and what to expect, please send us a message! We love to hear from new people!
Learn more about USB Memory Direct HERE.
0 Comments