Photo Preview & Prints FAQ

Image formats

Q: How will I receive my images?

A: Our photo delivery system is designed for maximum convenience.  After your photos have been processed and/or retouched, you may log in to our site with the same username and password you used to reserve your session to preview your pictures to select enhancements such as retouching, black and white and sepia, or to purchase prints and enlargements, configure your photo album, etc.  It's a very cool, very state of the art system that removes human error from the equation.

Alternatively, we can also send a CD with lower resolution JPEG images with a light watermark on them.  These are not the final images, but rather submitted for your approval. 

Regardless of the method, the final payment becomes due at this time before the final images are released.

Q: Will the final images have a watermark?

A: Final processed images never have watermarks or copyright information on them and are free to reprint at your leisure.  Print them at home, have us print them or take them to a third party store.  I don't believe in price gouging on prints by throwing on watermarks - you see this with at least half of the photographers out there, so be careful to always ask about watermarks! 

Q: So there's NO copy protection whatsoever?

A: Yes and no.  We add no copyright notices, no watermarks, no 'all rights reserved' notices on your prints or digital files, however the paper we, and many professional print centers, use to print photos is Kodak Supra Endura.  It's a very high quality metallic paper with a high contrast, vibrant look.  The paper itself contains the following watermark:

Kodak Professional ENDURA Paper
DO NOT COPY
PROFESSIONAL IMAGES ARE
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED

Needless to say, we cannot remove this watermark, as it's built right onto the backside of the paper and needless to say, our permission to reprint your photos supercedes Kodak :)  The image quality on the new Endura paper is unlike anything we've seen before and it's worth every penny.

This watermark cannot be seen from the front, but one small caveat is that Kodak employs some sort of tagging method so that most scanners will refuse to scan.  Scanning a produced photograph results in image degradation anyways and since you'll be given digital files that are free of copyright or watermarks, you can always make reprints from the digital files.

Q: What format will I receive my images in?

A: You will receive two sets of images on separate DVDs - One are high resolution JPEG images that are ideal for viewing and sharing online (and have the added benefit of universal compatibility) as well as high resolution lossless TIFF files for reprint purposes.  Because TIFFs are not compressed, you may receive better looking prints from them.  Some photo print stores require JPEG images only.  These are usually the more low cost shops such as Ritz, Walgreens or Wal-Mart.  If that's the case, then they can print out the JPEGs.  Discerning print houses that care about the quality of their work would probably prefer the TIFFs, to make minute saturation and color adjustments to optimize them for their specific printer.

Q: Can I preview my images without the watermark?

A: In order to remove the watermark from the low resolution preview pictures, we would need to accept payment for your remaining balance.

Q: Who holds the copyright for my images?

A: The content creator always holds the copyright to all photographs.  A digital photograph is a collection of data on a memory card belonging to the photographer, taken via the photographer's equipment.  No client or agency, public or private, has the right to demand copyright privileges unless arrangements are made with the photographer.

Q: Can I receive the RAW files and copyright?

A: As a matter of policy, we never hand over the RAW files from the camera.  Apart from the damage our reputation would incur from having unprocessed files shown publicly (trust me when I say that unless you have experience with the software you use to open them and how to balance color and exposure, remove noise, etc, they aren't going to look very good), the RAW file itself contains a great deal of information about the image (such as notes that I might enter), GPS location, time, camera/composition information (camera shutter clicks, lens model, focal range, aperture, etc), much of which we classify as 'trade secrets'.

As far as copyrights go, giving the copyright away precludes us from ever reproducing the image online, in our portfolios or in print, so it's not something I do lightly.  Arrangements may be made at our discretion for an additional fee to transfer copyright information and unmodified TIFFs.  After this has been done, all copies of your images are destroyed, as we no longer possess the legal right to have or reproduce them.

Q: Do you print pictures?

A: While we prefer third party print centers with top grade equipment, we do offer in house printing for any of our clients at a reduced fee.  We currently employ wide format pigment printers that look fantastic and best of all, since we're printing them in house, all of our colors are already optimized and calibrated for our images and we can ensure the most faithful reproductions.  Pigment printers offer the same level of quality (in theory) as magazine printers.  I can't say personally how our machines stack up against an actual print house, but they look amazing, have a high resolution and are waterproof, unlike traditional inkjet images.

Print fulfillment companies have better equipment than any photographer, but typically have overworked and less experienced workers so while the technical quality may be higher, the image quality may be different than the on disc images.  Larger sized images, or large print orders are always done through a third party.  If you order online, we select from professional print houses that we've worked with before and know will produce excellent results.

Q: I received my digital images, but the color looks off

A: There's a couple of reasons for this.  You may have images that are processed for prints in a different color range called CMYK (as opposed to RGB, which is optimized for your monitor) but more than likely, your monitor is not calibrated properly.  One can use a poorly calibrated monitor for years before realizing it and usually the first time they do is when they're looking at *high resolution* images of themselves.  I emphasize high resolution because images made with a professional camera hold much more color information than your point and click and look much differently.  A google search for 'monitor calibration' will lead you to several pages and utilities that will help you properly calibrate your monitor.  Or, just take them to a print shop or have us do it - they'll look great.

Now on the other hand, if you receive prints that look 'off' (too much red, too much blue or too much yellow) than whoever printed them has a poorly calibrated printer, which has happened even with professional print centers from time to time.

Q: Can I print my own pictures?  I have photo paper and a good printer.

A: Yes, but keep in mind that even with photo paper, you're going to have a much inferior quality print.  Consumer grade printers have terrible quality control and are sold with the hopes that your eye will not be discerning enough to tell the difference and that you will never attempt to print a high resolution image at maximum quality and will instead opt to save ink. 

Printing at maximum quality will drink up ink faster than you'd believe, too and cause wear and tear on equipment that wasn't designed to print it!  By the time you buy the paper and the ink, you will have spent nearly as much (maybe more than) us or a professional print house.

Q: Eek!  I lost my prints/DVD/wedding album!!

A: You're probably in luck, because we typically archive your images for two years after your shoot and you can go right online to order additional or replacement DVDs and prints.  This isn't guaranteed, as there's always the chance of equipment failure, but so far we haven't let anyone down in that regard.