Full Service Feeling

A week ago Friday, April 3, David Ziser, renowned wedding photographer in the Cincinnati, OH area put a post up on his Digital ProTalk about DVD deliveries. I was going to simply write a comment on his post but thought I would use the opportunity to share my thoughts here.

I want to first mention that I am not going to slam anyones business decision on how they choose to deliver their products. That being said, I would like to present my position on the subject.

First, what is “shoot and burn”. Simply it is photographer who shoots the images, processes the images (or not) burns them to a DVD and sells the DVD to the client. The main advantage here is expense and effort. It is a less expensive product (or should be) and the time involved by the photographer is vastly reduced.

I feel there may be occasions where a simple digital transaction may be appropriate, such as still or product photography where the client will further use the image. What I am talking about in this post is Portrait and Wedding Photography. Here are my two main thoughts on why I personally disagree with shooting and burning.

Product

Photography is about art. When someone hires a photographer, they are trusting that person to create imagery that will provide a lasting expression of a subject. There is a saying in the digital age of photography that an image is not a photograph until is is printed on paper. I tend to agree with that statement. 

Prior to being printed, the image is simply an amalgamation of ones and zeros. Once those 1’s & 0’s are translated to an analog signal in the printer things change. The ink is spit out on paper, blending and being absorbed by the various combinations of surfaces and adjacent inks to produce a vivid and deep color print. No monitor can match the quality of image that a good printer produces.

When a shoot and burn photographer is done with the shoot hopefully they are spending some time with the images making them look the best they possibly can. If not they are doing themselves and other photographers a disservice simply for the sake of turnaround.

Service

This is really where the difference is. Shoot-Burn-Sale is a lifeless product. What do I mean by that? Other than the experience during the shoot there is no interaction, involvement, promotion, or for that matter possibly even contact with the client. Get the final payment, drop the disk in the mail and that’s it. Talking like that makes me feel like I just left the drive up at McDonalds. Kinda empty but I got what I came for.

Personally, photography is not just about the product or the creativity. While both very necessary elements, there is a third… The experience.

People in general will not remember the product, or the process as much as how they felt during the experience. I am not just talking photography. The last time you had a bad experience, think about how you felt. It may not have been the service, of the product that you remember in particular, but you do remember feeling bad about the experience.

Being a pilot to individuals and corporations, I have always known there is not a shortage of pilots that can get someone from point A to point B. But if that is all I did, I would be doing my passengers a disservice. They should always feel safe and comfortable, but it is special when the can feel good. That is the extra ingredient in service that is so missing in todays service oriented economy. Yes I want my landings to be good, the flight to be smooth, but most of all I want the passengers to feel good about the flight. This same perspective can apply to photography.The client expects, good imagery, but I want the client to feel good about the experience. From the first impression of a consultation, to the time on the shoot to the presentation of the images and pleasure of the prints.

Full service goes way beyond shoot & burn. Full service must include the good feeling one gets when great value has been attained.

Hey, I know this was a week of much talk and little photography but hopefully it has given me plenty of time to get the office into shape.

Have a great weekend and I'll Cya Monday... Doug