You don't want to get burned with your wedding photography.
"Shoot and burn" is what a lot of photographers today are doing for their clients: shooting digital images and simply turning over a disc of images.
Many brides love this when they sign a contract, because they think it's more economical, or because they think they're going to "do it themselves" (or have a friend print for them).
At its worst, wedding "photographers" (who are often just someone with a digital camera and no sense of printing at all) simply pass on a CD of barely corrected or completely uncorrected images.
The result in the hands of a waiting bride can be devastatingly awful.
At its very best, a professional photographer will colour correct, crop and work with the files before they get handed over to a bride on a CD or DVD.
But even at its very best it's still very difficult for someone who isn't a professional to finish the files properly for print, let alone design an archival album.
For example, skin tones should be individually tweaked on each shot for optimum printing.
Depending on how--and to what device-- you're printing (the actual print technology), what you get on the CD and what you need to print well can be very different things--even when it's delivered in good faith.
Sharpening of digital files, too, needs to be handled on a per-shot basis for best results.
In fact, one significant way of telling a good photographer from trouble is to look at their prints.
Exceptional photography, after all, has always gone beyond just a good negative: you need a breathtaking print--and that takes as much work now as it used to in the darkroom.
But even when the final output is the Web or a DVD, correction and work on the final image is essential.
The end-cost in terms of time and quality from many "shoot and burn" simply isn't worth it: having a CD of 1000 mediocre shots--all of which need fixing--is no-one's idea of a good time.
Not having great prints, books and albums from your wedding day and photographer is simply false economy.
I could say a lot more about this, but that's for another post.
The many problems involved in creating high-quality printing is one reason I don't supply finished digital files for printing to my clients unless we're under a commercial contract (where I know they have graphic designers and their own print workflow and quality control). I will sell RAW files for archival purposes, but they're even harder to print well!
In other words, for me as a photographer, without control over the original files through to print, I simply can't deliver the exceptional results I want for my own clients.
So what's a poor bride to do who has made this frustrating choice and is now looking at a CD instead of an album?
Talk to your photographer first! Make sure they can print to your liking.
If you're absolutely stuck, give one of us a call. We may be able to work with what you have, and create something good for you.
But be aware that no amount of after-the-fact image triage substitutes for someone who can visualize the final print when they take your pictures to begin with.
In other words, only you can prevent this particular fire; don't get caught looking for a fire-extinguisher at the worst possible moment!
