Getting Real about Digital Images
Over the Fourth of July holiday, I drove to Nebraska to see family. My mother and I discussed photography, talking about photos and baby pictures hanging on the walls in my childhood home. I told her how thankful I was we had opted for physical portraits of my early childhood moments. How strange it must be, I said, not to have portraits in your home? What if you were to give me a floppy disk, years later, with all my baby pictures? I wouldn’t even be able to view them!
Today, we see “digital” as a new age comfort. With technology ever evolving, how can we possibly keep up with digital records for the next generation? How heartbreaking it would be to have photos “on file” just to see that file lose compatibility with our technology 20, 30, 100 years in the future.
This is why I stress major concern with clients giving overall priority to digital images. True, there is comfort in the instant gratification of having your photos all in one convenient space. There is also comfort in knowing those baby photos are in a safe, digital space stored away in a small USB drive.
The good news is ELC Photography gives you the opportunity for digital files for sharing with your family that may be across the nation or even the world, so we aren’t completely against digital images!
The bad news is you miss the opportunity to proudly showcase your photos. Why not have something you can touch? A framed photograph you see every day? We want you to have beautiful, heirloom products that are passed down through generations.
Digital images can’t do that.
Have you ever sat down with a friend or a family member in your living room and thought, Oh! I have to show you this picture. You spend 5-10 seconds, or longer, scrolling through while the other person sits quietly waiting to see this great picture. Almost have it, one second, I know it’s in here.
Why not have it mounted on your wall? This person may see it without your bringing it to attention. Or maybe have a beautiful wooden or leather album lying on your coffee table so they immediately pick it up and flip through all your memories of your wedding or your newborn or your son/daughter going off to college.
Getting pictures off your phone or computer and into your hands is necessary. Think of all the time, energy, and funds you’ve dedicated for your photo session in the first place! Getting the kids dressed, laying out clothes for your husband, choosing the perfect necklace with the perfect shoes, making sure everyone is groomed properly, writing out that initial deposit check for the session, spending an hour or two in front of the camera.
Going through all of that just to have digital images?
Not worth it.
Maybe you’re thinking, but if I have digital files, I can just print the hard copies myself. Maybe even make my own album.
Let me ask you this: why would you spend time going to brake mechanic, telling them you need new brakes, only to go to the auto store to purchase new brakes yourself, and spend countless hours replacing them on your own?
You would need that service. This is how ELC Photography operates. Similar to most successful photography business, ELC Photography is a full-service studio that will design all your photos into high-quality, traditional products that will last a lifetime.
Whether it’s albums, prints, cards, framed photographs, or canvas wall art, we are your full-service photography business for your photography needs. Stop buying digital images for the sake of having them. Set aside digital and come into the physical world of sharing memories hand to hand.