Crops?

kewpie-o · 06-19-2009, 09:14 AM

If you offer CDs to your clients, do you put several different crops of each image on the CD? (ie - 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, etc) I was thinking about doing this so the images would look good when the client gets prints from places other than me....but it's a pain in the rear!

*photolady* · 06-19-2009, 09:19 AM

when the client gets prints from places other than me.

Why would you want to do that, if this is what they might do? You would be losing money and credibility. I wouldn't. I put jpgs on cds, and though the quality is good for viewing, they are not good enough quality for printing.

*Wheatfield* · 06-19-2009, 09:38 AM

Sometimes you just have to hand out full res images.
I can't be bothered to give pre cropped files, just make sure your (jpeg) files will either crop nicely to make an 8x10, or give them 4:5 aspect files that will still crop nicely to 4x6.
What is really important is to ensure that the colour space you have embedded is a universal one that will print anywhere.
This means sRGB.
If you embed a lab specific profile, the client will have a very hard time getting good prints done if they choose to use a lab other than the one you use, and will be pretty much up the creek if your lab changes profiles.

kewpie-o · 06-19-2009, 09:43 AM

Well, I'm just getting started - very new at photography and the work I am doing is very cheap and just for friends and family....mainly for my own practice and experience. I am charging $75 for the session and giving a CD of images for free (the images that I've edited to my liking and I'm proud of - not every single shot, of course). I'm going to give them the option of ordering from the print shop of their choice or ordering quality prints from me (which I would be ordering from Mpix). What I'm charging for prints will give me just a little bit of profit, but not much. I figure that it's good to give my "guinea pigs" a great deal because there are some drawbacks to using a totally newbie photographer, of course (ie - no lights, no studio, no experience LOL

)

Do you think this approach is a bad idea?

*photolady* · 06-19-2009, 09:55 AM

since you are a newbie, and it's just friends and family, then I see no reason you shouldn't do this your way. As a pro photog, I wouldn't, even for friends and family. My friends pay as well as my family.

But on to your real question. If I were doing this, I wouldn't crop a lot either, and I'd do as Wheatfield suggested. The more time spent on each photo to build the cd, the more money you'd be losing.

*Duck Dodgers* · 06-19-2009, 12:07 PM

And if they take the CD to one of those automated printer kiosk thingies, they can do their own cropping.

K McCall · 06-19-2009, 12:09 PM

I give them the un-cropped jpgs with a stern warning that if they print at 4:5 sizes, they're going to lose parts of the photo. In my last hometown, there was a huge photo printing store that carried a wide variety of 2:3 frames (8"x12", 10"x15", 12"x18", etc) at competitive prices. I also used mpix exclusively for my portfolio with their specialty papers to show the difference between quality printing versus drug store or discount retailers. Most chose to go the mpix route, especially after seeing side-by-sides of the same photo. You always want to control as much of the process as you can afford to.

THAN THE SWORD · 06-20-2009, 09:28 PM

I am shooting a senior portrait this coming Tuesday. Its actually for a set of identical twin boys. Immediately after the shoot I will deliver a CD to their mom. I will have edited the shots for content only, ie dups or out of focus will be deleted. I will then batch a watermark across each shot. The "proof" will be just enough to ruin a picture if they try to print it out. Included on the CD will be an order form and price list. I also have a printer that will print directly onto special CDs. I have already designed the CD and will just have to burn it after the shoot.

My hope is to present the most professional experience for her and the boys. And to make some money of course. And after the order is complete I will offer her another CD with out the "proof" for an additional charge. If she wants to buy the CD I will have the correct crops for the most commons sizes so that they can print in the future without too much hassle. By then I will have made my money.

I do the free stuff for my girlfriend and her sons. The will have the most documented childhood of anyone around. But most anyone else has to pay. People don't fully understand that photography is more than just a hobby. It is a calling for most of us and and art for some of us. And it is damned expensive too.