Printing Your Keepsakes
If I had one wish in my capacity as a photographer it would be for every client to enjoy their photographs in the form of physical prints. Digital files are great, they’re portable & convenient but they exist nowhere outside the technology that holds them — and that is changing rapidly. Basically what I’m trying to say is your future great grandchildren can’t hold a jpeg - prints are tangible!
To know the value of a print is to hold it, to smell the paper, to feel the texture, to sign and date the back and to be able to pass it down to the next generation with love & care. I fear that so many of my clients both young and old, receive their digital files, send a few to family via an email attachment, post a few favorites on social media and then that is pretty much the end of story for a digital file. Unless of course I am unaware that most of my former clients are taking those files and printing them through print services offered by Walgreens, Wal Mart, Target, etc. If that’s the case I must voice a few strong opinions on the subject.
When deciding to print your photographs the often ugly truth is that not all photo labs are created equal. Consumer labs such as those offered by Walgreens, Costco, CVS, Target, Snapfish, Shutterfly etc. are for the most part automated processes which are not equipped to handle fine tuning, color adjustments or the other tweaks necessary to render a digital file or film negative accurately. Often times chain stores and bargain basement print shops will deliver a product that is dramatically different than the original. Think green or magenta tinted wedding dress or super saturated unrealistic skin tones. These are the pitfalls of bargain print services - just ask my mom, she has a photo printed and framed from my wedding and our skin tones can best be described as “green eggs & ham”.
Here’s an example of some common printing errors using the same digital file:
Original Digital file
This print is completely washed out to the point the details of the fabric are totally lost to highlight peaking, the whites have shifted to a green tint and the image overall lacks contrast.
This print suffers from too much contrast, boosted saturation and automatic cropping. Also take a glance at the yellow shadows in the folds of the shoe on the right, maybe acceptable for a shoe shot but certainly not for a bride’s portraits.
I may not speak for every photographer out there when I say this, but the bulk of my work involves editing digital RAW negatives to transform them into an aesthetically pleasing final jpeg image and subsequently over the years honing a style that I feel accurately represents my vision (and your memories!) So please please please consider this when deciding to print your keepsakes.
*All prints ordered via Jack Simpson Photography are expertly color balanced, and printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Deep Matte paper - this spectacular, museum-grade professional paper will resist the ravages of time for over 100 years in normal conditions, 200 years in dark storage.
