Can I Get My Photos On a Disc?

There’s often a question which is asked of photographers which is “Can I get my images on a disc?” The answer that you will typically hear from me is “yes”! Really I believe that it is up to each client how they would like their images delivered. This is no different than going to a fine dining restaurant. I relate this to going to a fine dining steakhouse, ordering a wonderful steak well done, and then using steak sauce on it which many view as faux pas. It’s one thing if a friend or co-diner points out why the may consider that to not be the best option since you’re overcooking a wonderful piece of meat and then covering up the wonderful natural flavors with a mass market sauce…but it’s a totally different issue all together if the chef refuses to cook your steak the way you want it. The way I view it is that you paid for it, it’s your food…get it however you want it. The same thing applies to the way you want your photos delivered.

When you invest in a wall portrait or canvas print from a photographer or studio, what you are investing in is the beautiful art which is being brought to life on a media of your choice. Once you have a print…an album…a wall portrait, what you’ve got in your hands or on your walls are memories. One of the key things to understand is that if you elect to have the images delivered on a disc rather than on canvas or in an album, this is perfectly acceptable but not necessarily your most economical option.

When a professional photographer creates beautiful art for you, your investment is not going strictly towards the media itself which the images are delivered on, but mostly to the capture and creation of those images. I recently had a chat with a fellow wedding photographer whose base wedding investment begins at $4,000 however that does not include a disc of images but does include an album. He was asked be a client if they could get a disc instead of the album and he said “absolutely”! However that did not change the final investment amount of $4,000. Again, how you get the images delivered is totally up to you. Either the photographer can use their professional print lab to calibrate and deliver the images to you exactly the way the artist has defined them to be or you can do the printing yourself.

One additional note that I like to make sure folks are aware of. The print quality of consumer locations such as Walgreens or Costco will differ greatly from that of a professional lab. There are several reasons for this including the number of inks used in the print process, paper quality, and the color calibration that happens behind the scenes of the studio and the print lab. Unfortunately most professional labs will not work with consumers. This has often resulted in clients receiving sub par prints vs what they have seen their photographer show them on a calibrated display. While the choice should always be yours, keep some of these ideas in mind the next time you’re planning on having a photo session when the question comes up as to how you would like your images delivered.

As always, feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions at mike@novophotography.com