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3 reasons to use a professional print shop for your photos (and not your local drugstore)



In a hurry? Here's the condensed version.
1. Professional print shops,
specialize in printing!
2. They have real people who process your photos, provide color corrections, and ensure each photo is of good quality.
​3. The quality of their materials is better, and they stand by their work.



Save some time and money, and learn from my mistakes! Read on...


Two years ago I faced the crazy expensive year of my daughter's life, called
Logo Design by FlamingText.com
Logo Design by FlamingText.com
I dreaded Senior pictures; knowing that aside from prom, it would be one of the most expensive parts of her Senior year. I put off scheduling, as if it wouldn't creep up on me anyway. I prayed for some extra income, so I could afford the pictures, andas God always does he came up with a solution for me.

A friend of mine contacted me about my daughter being a Senior rep for her photography business! I jumped at the chance and she took beautiful pictures of my girl, but alas my sweet, timid girl,barely spoke to anyone about her pictures; and didn't get the photographer a single client.

​So we ended up having to pay a session fee anyway. A session fee which did not include any prints.



Senior year is expensive
I had beautiful images of my daughter and no money to print them! The photographer had an option to purchase prints from an online gallery. While convenient, I did not feel I could afford it. The photographer advised against using the local drugstore, and encouraged me to look at some print companies online. (But of course I didn't listen to her professional advice.)

I knew from past experiences with drugstore photo printing, that their results were sub-par. I was not ready to re-experience the cutoff heads, poorly cropped pictures, and otherwise missing pictures, especially on something as important as my daughter's senior pictures.​

I opted to go for one of the print companies who constantly offer print coupons, and have about a million printed products they offer. I sent in an order for multiple sizes, multiple poses, and graduation announcements and anxiously awaited my prints that I had only spent about $50 on. I was PUMPED!

They arrived quickly and looked ... just okay. Despite the fact that I knew the digital images were beautiful. The clarity and sharpness wasn't there that had existed in the original photos and a few of the crops were a bit off. I contributed most of the problems to user error and when I decided to refer my own clients to them I didn't really think twice.

And then came the first client who said their prints had come back with cut off heads!​
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I quickly contacted the company, who were timely and responsive, but then said IF they still had the batch of originals they could possibly correct the images, but it was likely due to the client cropping them wrong on the order. My client said that was not the case. So rather than paying for shipping a second time and running the risk of the pictures coming back the same, my client (who happened to be a friend of mine) and I, chose to cut our loses and move on with the prints that were acceptable. LESSON LEARNED!
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So as any business owner would do, I studied up on some vendors, got some sample prints, and chose to work with a professional print shop, who had fair prices, for good quality work!
Now I am able to include a basic print package in all of my session fees! SCORE!!
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Frustrated with your photos of your family? Let me tell you how to be happier with your images!

8/9/2017

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In today's blog post, I am putting you in charge! That's right, I want you to be my co-author and want you to help me create new content. In 2017 everyone has a camera on their phone, which enables us - more than any other generation in history -  to document every bit of our life. However, how many time have you snapped a picture of your kids, only to look at it and notice it doesn't really look like you had hoped. So frustrating right?
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Don't blow your top!! Let me help you figure out how to improve.
I will be using this post to determine what the most common problems are that most people struggle with, and then I will answer them in a Facebook live video!  During that Facebook live video you will also receive a discount code to be used for discounts on your photo session when you book with me!  Wait what?  You get some great info about improving your own snap shots and a discount on a photo session with me!  So start spinning those wheels and tell me the answer to the question below.
Question 1: What is the biggest problem in the majority of your snapshots, either on your phone or with your camera?
(i.e. too dark, too bright, too blurry, can't get my kids to sit still, etc) 
Post your answer in the comment section at the end of this post. Bonus points for sending me an example picture!  I will be giving you some tips to help improve your photos on my Facebook live video and they will also be included in my newsletter! Some moments you just can't capture again, and the best option is to edit them. Not just slap a filter on them, but really get into some editing, in an editing program like Photoshop.  I have included a sample of a photo gone wrong, that I "fixed" in Photoshop. I thought it would be super cute at this sister session to take photos of their feet, since they had matching shoes on. I didn't bother to pay attention to the awful dirt their feet were on! Oops!  I could have easily rectified the situation by having them move to some grass, but since I didn't, I was stuck. The second picture was my solution. Not a perfect picture by any means, but still much cooler than that nasty, cracked dirt as the background! With a little practice, you can learn to do some editing too!
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So now that you left me a comment - and maybe an image or two, lets answer one more question. 
How many images do you have of your kids, just sitting on your phone, computer, or Facebook? (if this made you realize you don't have any recent prints of your family, Contact me!) 
I'm guilty too! I have so many photos just floating around in digital world! SO. MANY. PHOTOS! Sure your friends and family out of state saw them on Facebook and Instagram, and maybe some of them even got a ton of likes, but if those images were so awesome, why aren't they hanging on your walls for you to enjoy everyday? Or at the very least, in an album for your kids to enjoy in the future? Let's face it. No one really prints images anymore.
(Insider tip: I do!) We like to think those digital images will be there for a lifetime, but the digital technology of today will likely be obsolete in 20 years, and will definitely be vastly different in 50 years. What pictures will your kids and grandchildren have left to enjoy? These grandparents live several states away from their precious grandson, but we managed to capture a few precious memories during a rushed visit, that they can cherish forever. We even managed to capture a sweet moment between grandma/grandpa and it may be one of my favorite couple photosI have taken so far! Do yourself a favor and invest in hiring a professional photographer. Future generations of your family will be so grateful you did!

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    Author

    Kim Siegrist
    Mother, Wife, Jesus Follower, Photographer

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