Proofless Weddings

[MarkGoldberg]

I m still going through evolutions on this for several reasons. I went digital last March and subsequently sold my film stuff, so there's no going back. I also decided that things would be different in the Digital Age, and it would be based on what will for both me and my clients. Probably unlike many of you, I am also a wedding videographer and refer a lot of the photographic work to my colleages, so I get to see how clients react to their proofing approaches.

From what I have observed, many clients, especially PARENTS of the wedding couple or Bar/Bat Mitzvah child are not happy with many digital based proofing methods. Extended and family and friends do like the web based proofing approach becaues they can see and order prints for themselves. Obviously the photographers love this too! The parents and wedding couples tell me it is hard to narrow down a selection without having proofs, or the images online are much too small to judge expressions or even have the confidence that the image is focussed. The initial excitement of being told "we have ove 1000 images from your wedding" dies away when 10-20 shots of many of the group poses and portraits are shown, and that once the redundancy is removed a far small assortment exists.

So here is what I am trying. I use the latest Photoshop CS to create a PDF slide show of the previews. Before doing that, I bring all the shots from my two cams into a single directory and sort by time of shot. I then rearrange in the browser view and do my best to eliminate redundant images. I also rearrange according to logic of the day, such that scene-setting still lives are up front, just as like I do with a video. I then have CS make the PDF show and I set certain security options to prevent printing. These images play on the client's computer, and he can stop pause the show or move one image at a time. It plays screen size, so there are no complains from my far-sighted clients. I can also make up paper contact sheets for playing with album arrangements, but the plan for now is that they return here for album design.

My lab can also make the usual 4x6 numbered proofs, but so far clients would rather put the money into albums.

I am still looking for album design software that won't cost me a bundle and doesn't tie me to a particular maker. Suggestions please.

[HGregoryPorter]

I've been proofless for 10 to 12 years. I was the first in my area to go proofless. With the exception of a very few clients, no one complains once they know the advantages. I used PhotoCD when it first came out and was more expensive than proofing. I switched to a FotoVix and used it until a few years ago when ProShots scans were offerred by my lab. I create an html web gallery.

Now that I am digital capture, I convert and still use a web gallery. People rarely complain because it's part of my sales process.

[Ed_Rogers]

Try offering both options with different pricing. We include hard copy proofs 9up with each package or a la carte booking and offer the online proofing at a premium. It would be a hard sell in CT for our high end weddings not to include hard copy proofs. All brides & grooms expect hard proofs in our market.

Charge a slightly higher price to cover the hard proofs to make online more attractive, but always give the couples an option.

[Marcos_Netto]

About three years ago I switched to digital proofs (first with scanned negs; then with digital images) and never regreted it. Clients just loved it. Sales have gone up and costs down.

There are many options for creating digital proofs. I use PicturesToExe from www.wnsoft.com

Regards,

Marcos

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