I have recently revealed my carefully curated range of Art Pieces - Wall Pieces, Albums, Print Boxes and my Triplex Display Piece - and I'm so thrilled to be able to offer them to clients.
However, I'm well aware that in this day and age, most people go into booking a Portrait Session with the idea that they'll come away with a disc or USB stick of files. I understand why this might seem like a good option, but I want to tell you 5 reasons why it's so much better to take home fully finished Art Pieces.
1. Most people never actually do anything with their files!
I know from my past clients' experiences, plus my own, that "getting photos printed" easily ends up at the very bottom of your to do list, especially when you have small children taking up all of your time and thoughts!
2. Your photographer has access to the best quality products.
The companies I use to make my Art Pieces are masters of their craft, and available only to professional photographers.
Many people assume that a print is a print, wherever you go, but there's a huge difference in quality between cheap consumer available products and the creme de la creme of printers.
From materials used to knowledge of colour profiles, durability to ink types - there are so many variables to think about when it comes to creating Art Pieces from your portraits. (I should know, as I've tried out so many!)
3. Choosing professional Art Pieces means you'll get the best out of your images.
Even once you've set aside the time to choose Art Pieces, and found an excellent company to print them, there are still factors to think about such as which images would work best as large Wall Pieces, and which look fantastic in an Album, how cropping can affect your portraits, how to put portraits together in an album, how Pieces will look in your home...I could go on.
As a full service photographer, these are things I can advise and guide you on at your Viewing and Ordering Appointment. I will always let you know if I feel a portrait is, for example, not going to work as a large Wall Piece, and would look better as a smaller Piece.
4. Tangible pieces last longer than files.
I know the idea of a folder of your portraits, filed away on your computer, or a USB of images at the back of a drawer, might give some peace of mind for the future but unfortunately, images files aren't actually a great long term archival solution. Technology changes constantly - when I first started Little Works of Art, image files were provided on a disc, but walk into any computer shop today and you'll have difficulty finding a PC with a CD drive at all. Even once you've copied files over to your PC, you'll need to make several back up copies of them, but that's still no guarantee that they'll last years into the future.
You're going to want the images from your child's Portrait Sessions to be accessible 10, 20, even 50 years from now and the best way to do that is to print them as heirloom quality Art Pieces.
I can tell you exactly where my own (almost 30 year old!) baby album is at this moment...I'm afraid I couldn't say the same for the digital photos snapped when either of my children were just a few hours old.
Having said all this, I do include digital images with many of my Art Pieces - usually to match printed Pieces, as I know clients enjoy being able to share them on social media.
5. You can rest assured that you'll take home what you love.
My Art Pieces are always available to view and touch, even before you've booked a Session, so you can be confident that you'll love the Art Pieces that you order, and that they'll be of the most incredible quality. Most importantly, you'll know they're going to last long enough for your grandchildren and even great grand children to enjoy!
To summarise: it's scarily easy to lose a folder of image files, but pretty difficult to misplace a 40x30inch Wall Piece ;)
Grace x Little Works of Art Photography
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