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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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What is that thing?? #1

8/13/2017

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One of my favorite things about photography is being able to capture things the naked eye might miss. The minuscule details of a flower, the reflections in a water droplet on a blade of grass, or the fine hairs on the legs a bug.  Its fascinating - the things that we walk by each day - so beautiful, yet so easily missed. Which lead me to start a series called, "What is that thing??" Today is the first day of what will hopefully be many more images to come. 
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Strolling in my backyard, at first glance there isn't much of interest. A beetle taking a swim in my son's pool, some seedpods leftover at the end of the season for my phlox, and some fine, spiky hairs, on a weed sprouting from a neglected flower bed. But the most interesting of all is the thing I have been wanting to shoot since it appeared on my fence post. Today, I finally took the time. 
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Today's "What is that thing??" is this nifty. wasp nests!  It is interesting what you see when you get up close and personal. It's amazing to me what these little architects create in such a small period of time.  This fence was put up only one day before and the next day, this tiny little masterpiece was there.  Unfortunately, I didn't really want it right by my back door, where my son plays, so this was result of halting the carpenter's work with some bug spray.  Can't wait to see what tiny wonders I will find next time I go out searching for the tiny stuff!

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    Kim Siegrist
    Mother, Wife, Jesus Follower, Photographer

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