Sarah Gage Photography – Why invest in professional prints?

You will hear me talk at your shoot about the importance of having your images professionally printed.  I bring samples of my prints and products to shoots, so that clients can look at and feel the amazing quality of these products.  However, I wanted to do a comparison showing the difference between having your images professionally printed and printed at a cheap chain store or online option.

I chose one of my favourite cuddly bear images to compare. Original edited file below.Tooowoomba Newborn Photographer Sarah Gage Photography 3

I chose Big W online to see what a cheaper printing option would give me.  Big W was the first option that I thought of, as it seems to be an easy option for people.  I will do some other comparisons with Office Works, Harvey Norman, Snapfish etc, but i expect the results to be much the same. I found the software not very user friendly, and it did not give the option for a 5×7 print, which is your standard print size that I offer.  The images took about a week to arrive to me after ordering.

As you can see the prints are NOTHING like the original image!  The blanket is a completely different colour, his beautiful creamy skin tone now looks grey.  The highlights are blown and the shadows are terrible and too dark.  His poor little hand is so dark it looks bruised, maybe he got into a fight with that little teddy bear!  I love that my images are warm and rosy, just as babies look naturally.  Even his rosebud lips look ghastly and lacking life in the cheaper print.comparison 3comparison 4

Here is a side by side comparison of the cheaper print on the left, and the professional quality print, which I provide, on the right.  Note, the cheaper print is a 6×8 size as BIG W did not give the option to print as a 5×7, which is another really strange thing! I took this photo of the prints side by side in natural light, with no editing applied to give a true comparison.  Massive difference!  The professional print looks as it should, beautiful creamy skin tones, correct colours and clarity.  It is also printed on beautiful archival fine art museum grade matte paper, which means that its going to stand the test of time and last a lifetime. My prints also come matted and ready for you to frame and hang up on your walls with pride, looking exactly as they should. The same goes for other products, canvasses, albums etc. By having them printed using the cheaper options you really aren’t doing your images or your baby justice.

I believe that everyone deserves to have professional quality prints to be able to show off in their homes, not hidden away on a disc in a drawer, or printed terribly as we have seen above.  But I also believe in choice, which is why all of my digital packages come with a voucher that you can use towards purchasing your professional prints.  This way, you choose what images you would like printed and aren’t tied into a particular package.  Even if you only have a couple printed, please do your beautiful baby and your photos justice by having them printed professionally.  It really is worth investing in the quality!  Hopefully by looking at this side by side comparison, you really can appreciate the difference.

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