I get this question a lot; why do you charge more for my prints, why should I spend more on my prints from your service when I get the same thing from Snapfish for pennies?!
Ah....there in lies the answer! You see, it's not the same thing at all. And it comes down to these two things: firstly, the expertise and experience of the photographer, and secondly, the quality of the print.
The expertise and experience
You've spent good money on hiring me, a professional photographer, to take photographs of your occasion. You clearly place value on having someone who knows what they're doing take these photos for you, as opposed to getting someone to use their camera phones. I often find people come back to me, amazed by their photos and saying gosh, I didn't know if you'd really get anything good, the kids/husband were acting up/not staying still/not smiling!
That there is why I am good at my job!
I have over fifteen years of experience using a camera, assessing light and colours, mentally sizing up what will work and won't work for a image, and I use a piece of equipment that is expensive, and so complicated I am still discovering new ways to use it! And it's not just what I do on the day; I then take time editing it, colour correcting and resizing as necessary to make it the best version it can be. Consider the photographer you hire to be your personal artist; you wouldn't want a Matalan version of the unique painting of your family!
So, you have an image to download - why should you order prints through me, and not just upload the lot to Snapfish and get them all for three quid?
The Quality of the Print
I sometimes will use Snapfish and Photobox for personal use; they have amazing offers, and when it comes to printing out photos from my phone, or sometimes to stick in an album, I'll use them. It's good value for money for sure! But I never use them to print the photos I have taken using my professional camera, as they just will not do my hard work justice.
I use Loxley Colour Labs and RA Calverts in Lurgan, because their quality is immeasurably better and really does justice to the effort and time I've put into creating a beautiful image. Loxley have over 30 years experience, have won countless industry awards, and I put a high value on those! RA Calverts is a family run printing lab based in Lurgan and have been operating for 30 years, they put so much effort and time into making sure their prints are of the highest quality.
Some of the factors that make a professional print better quality are: - The colours that a printer can print - digital labs are using a higher quality of ink, and a wider variety of colours so you will have a more accurately coloured print.
- The type of paper and inks used will impact how long your print lasts, how long is stays lustrous and bright, and the paper won't crack and fold apart at the edges.
- A company like Loxley doesn't just use a computer and a printer, stick it in an envelope and send it out; they are hand printed and checked by experienced technicians.
I recently used a online printing company to print off some photos from Snapfish as I was getting a load from my phone done, so I chucked in some of my girls that I'd taken using my work camera, without really thinking. When I got them back I remembered why I use a professional printing service; the colours were all off, it was flat and didn't pop at all! And I knew what they should have looked like. So, I sent them off to be properly printed and the difference was incredible, but also the best representation of the image I took and crafted.
I hope you’ve found this explanation of why a print purchased from a photographer is a bit dearer than one you print yourself useful! If you have any other questions you can contact me here, and check out my portfolio!
Top image courtesy of https://stephaniechapmanphotography.co.uk/print-comparison-high-street-vs-pro-lab/
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