The Value of the File

Often times in consultations or sales meetings with clients, I am asked “Do I get the files?” meaning, the digital files that ultimately create prints, canvases, albums and other products I offer. The answer is yes, but they cost money. A lot of money.

There is common misconception that image files are cheaper/less value/greater savings. The reality is my digital files are my MOST VALUABLE product I have. How can that be? you may wonder, since its just a block of information stored in a format that reads as an image. (I totally looked that up, I’m not that smart.) Well, the file is the end product of the pre-consult, the location scouting and wardrobe prep, the individualization that I bring to my clients to try to really bring out THEM. It is the actual shooting time, with equipment chosen specifically for that image, and then there is the editing. Sometimes this is not lengthy, and sometimes especially with skin correction, it can take a great deal of time. So, no a file isn’t just a file.

An example would be a famous recipe. Take the herbs and spices that make up Kentucky Fried Chicken. What are they? We know there are 11 of them, but who knows, what they are. But if the Colonel gave out his recipe, well, we would just sprinkle it on our own drumsticks. Another example are the napkins Picasso was known to doodle on. There is a story that goes:

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Picasso is sitting in a Paris café when a fan approaches the artist and asks that he make a quick sketch on a paper napkin. Picasso acquiesces, draws his dove and promptly hands it back to his admirer along with an ask for a rather large sum of money. The fan is flummoxed. “How can you ask for so much. It took you a minute to draw this.” (Sound familiar?) To which Picasso replies, “No, it took me 40 years.”

While I’m no Picasso, I DO value the knowledge and experience I have. I have had a camera in my hand for about 30 years. Over the last 5 years, I have spent a great deal of money on educating myself about lighting, posing, marketing, and sales. I value the soft skills of life that 40 some years have brought to my experience with my clients. Things that cannot be taught in books, but only through living and observing life in a purposeful way.

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“Can you just give me the files?”

Well I COULD, but would I just give you an album? Or a wall canvas? A metal print? No. I mean I could, but businesses usually like to actually MAKE money to pay things like rent and internet and insurance… so giving away merchandise isn’t the best way of making a profit. The file is a product, just like a wall canvas.

“I can just print them myself.”

Yes, Yes you can. And I can tell you not all printers/labs are created equally. THEY ARE NOT EQUAL. I’ve spent my own money and time and frustrations trialing labs (no I don’t use the same one for everything) to find the one that guarantees the products I receive in the mail look like the file I sent to them. There is nothing more frustrating than working on an image to get it exactly how you want it to look, to then receive it in print form washed out or lackluster. My style of work is vibrant and full of contrast. I love the blue of our skies, the colors of the flowers and for the blacks to be black and the whites to be white. When you order products from me, what you receive will look like the images you fell in love with.

“But I want to share them on the Facebook and Instagram and Tweeter and Tictac and whaterever else…”

Absolutely!!! And that is why i offer watermarked social media files! This is one of the best ways to advertise for me! I want you to be able to share the images you love! However these files are very different than full resolution files you purchase. Speaking of social media, the only thing more disappointing than having a print come back from a lab looking off, is having one of your meticulously edited image posted with a “filter.” Please. Just. Don’t.

I digress.

“But come on Diane, they are just files. They don’t cost you anything! Can’t we just have them?”

Can I walk into Blush and ask Penny if I can have the cute graphic tee I love? Sure I can, but she will just laugh and laugh at me, and say “Uhm no.”

Photography isn’t different, though there is a huge misconception that it is. Maybe its because everyone has a camera, because artists in general make terrible business people, because with the advent of the digital camera, what once was reserved for a certain league of professionals was not in everyone’s hands. But the reality is I am trying to run a business. A business that pays rent and taxes, that has to carry insurance and pay a multitude of subscriptions and memberships to different programs and groups that allows me to do the work that I do. It is a business that has invested in education and equipment. Its a business that tries to give to nonprofits and charities and fund-raisers.

I absolutely love working with my clients. I love creating unique experiences for them and beautiful quality products. I know that I am not for everyone, and I am really ok with that. Just like I would never have the need or desire to hang a signed sports jersey on my wall, I understand that is really important and special to some people. And that is awesome! We can all value and support and honor that which we choose! And, I will continue to highly value my digital files.