Thank you for sharing your email address. You are now entered to win a free WeddingMix wedding video.



Please enter a valid email address

Please enter your wedding date

Thank you for sharing your email address. You are now entered to win a free WeddingMix wedding video.

Win Your Wedding Video!

Enter to win a free wedding video.

Please enter a valid email address


Please enter your wedding date


  • Click to see REAL weddings in your budget

WeddingMix Blog

Inspiration from real weddings and ideas to capture it all

  • Get Your WeddingMix
    • How It Works
    • Prices
    • Samples & testimonials
    • DIY Video Instruction Cards
    • Camera Organization Template
    • Custom WeddingMix iSpy Game
  • Real Weddings
    • By Budget
      • $0 – $10K
      • $10-20K
      • $20-30K
      • $30-40K
      • $40-50K
      • $50k +
    • By Region
      • NorthEast
      • SouthEast
      • Midwest
      • South
      • Rocky Mountain States
      • West Coast
      • Canada
      • Mexico
    • Real destination weddings
  • Wedding Guides
    • Wedding Planning by Month
    • Wedding Budget
    • DIY
    • Destination Weddings
    • Style
    • Themes
    • Wedding Photos/Video
    • Culture
    • Wedding Party
    • Engagements
  • Free Wedding Planning Tools
    • WeddingScope Budget Planner
    • Wedding Hashtag Generator
    • Tips for filming your wedding

All I Need is a DVD with Files, right? Don’t be this Orphan Bride!

May 6, 2011 by Ariane 1 Comment

Today we are going to follow the hypothetical story of Emma and Brad Fulton. They were married on October 3, 2009. To save money on wedding photography, they selected a photography package consisting of a DVD of high resolution wedding photos – the DVD and nothing else.

An orphan bride is someone who has their photo files, but no prints, albums, slideshows… nothing else. In order to fully explore this story, I interviewed photographers from all over the world, wedding album companies, a professional photo lab, and managers at Kodak. Read on as we explore why our hypothetical couple needed to have a plan in place for those photo files.

Fast forward to 2034. Emma and Brad want to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They’d like to look at their wedding photos and reminisce; perhaps even make a movie from those photos and others taken since their wedding. They get their DVD of images (if they can find it) and shock… horror… realize that computers no longer have DVD drives!

They always meant to do something with those photos. Emma was going to print out the best photos and create a scrapbook of when they were dating, their wedding and their honeymoon. Brad was going to learn Final Cut Pro and make a movie of the photos together with the video his uncle shot at the reception. They were going to do all those things, but then life took over.

So they never did back up those photos. They never did transfer them to a hard drive. There are other ways for orphan brides to lose their photos though. They could literally lose the disc. Photographer Michele Stapleton of Brunswick, Maine said that in the past year she has been asked by two bridal couples to replace the disc.

What happens when someone loses it in a move, 15 years after the wedding? Will the photographer have easy access to the files then? Ten, or even five, years ago, things were a bit different. Your photographer held on to all the film negatives or files; you ordered the prints and albums. Those were your keepsakes.

In honor of Emma and Brad, we’re going to do things a little different in this post. Other than the awesome header photo by photographer Jen Steele of Victoria, BC, there won’t be any photos today. We’ll discuss photos, but like Emma and Brad, we won’t be able to see the beauty.

Speaking of Emma and Brad, part of the reason they didn’t get an album was because all their friends said they would never look at it. Sure, a 25 year old would say that. Photographer Lizzy Sawdon of Port Douglas, Australia said that she’s had several friends tell her the exact same thing.

As Photographer David Rich, of Campbelltown, Australia points out, DVDs do have a limited shelf life. When properly cared for, they can last decades, but leave them in the sunlight, or the hands of a toddler and they’re done for. In fact, David wrote an excellent post on why you shouldn’t request merely a CD of images.

And DVDs aren’t the only concern. Many photographers will now provide thumb flash drives with your photos. If you thought DVDs were easy to lose, do you have a designated spot for your thumb drives? And, oops, did you just write over all the data? It’s great to have those files, but make sure you have them backed up somewhere.

Now let’s examine that wedding album Emma wanted to create herself. It’s certainly a great idea to tell your story with your images, but perhaps Emma didn’t consider how long it would take to design the album.

Jen Steele said that it takes an average of 16 – 20 hours to create a standard 30 page album. And that’s after she’s already selected the photos and learned the software!

So what if Emma had tried to order her own album from an online service? Well, as Anne Henning of GP Albums points out, she probably wouldn’t wind up with the best possible product. As Anne says, the photographer strives to tell the couple’s story with the album. Most photographers touch up every photo that goes into an album.

So, if a couple used the photos directly from their DVD, depending on their photographer, the photos would probably look a bit dull because they were not individually enhanced. Many photographers who sell “just the disc” do not enhance the photos. This isn’t a problem if they exposed and lit the photos correctly.

Anne points out some other problems with ordering your own album, namely the fact that most DIY albums from online photo companies, are actually the lower cost alternative to photo albums –  they are called photobooks. These are not printed on photo paper. They are printed on magazine quality paper.

In technical terms, photos are taken in RGB (red/green/blue) color mode, which is what is printed on photo paper. Printer paper is CMYK (cyan/magenta/yellow/black). Those are two different color modes, meaning photos printed in CMYK will display colors differently than what was shot on the camera.

So, photobooks will not show true colors. This is fine as long as you know that up front. If the colors weren’t that vibrant, it may not be a big deal to you. But look at Jen’s photo above.

Chris Jones, from Zookbinders, also points out that only 25% of photobook projects started on online sites are ever completed. That reminds me, I have a few unfinished photobook projects on Kodak Gallery myself. Chris pointed to another problem with our disc of images 25 years from now – the files themselves. Does anyone still use .gif files? Who knows if anyone will be using .jpg files 25 years from now. Zookbinders has an excellent explanation of the various types of albums here.

After speaking with Anne and Chris, I spoke to Joe Dellasega at MpixPro, a professional print lab. He pointed out the quality of service received at a professional lab as opposed to your local drug store. When you print a 4×6 as opposed to an 11×14, they are cropped differently. Your photographer will correctly compose and crop the photo to print correctly at any size when he or she works with the lab.

There is another difference though. Your photographer calibrated the colors in your photo. A professional lab will match the calibration. A big box store will automate the color correction. If the machine thinks the colors, as set by your photographer, are incorrect, they will calibrate the colors differently.

To understand the difference in paper at a professional lab versus your corner drug store, I spoke with two managers at Kodak. Joe Paglia laid to rest my concerns that locally available consumer-grade paper wouldn’t last as long as professional grade papers. He said both levels of paper are designed to last a lifetime. He did mention though, that just like in album design, prints ordered directly from your photographer will be enhanced and color corrected.

Tim Ciranni, the Worldwide Product Manager for Color Negative Paper at Kodak, said that pro papers achieve a higher color density than consumer grade papers. What does this mean to you? It means your blacks will be blacker and your whites will be whiter. Hmm, I’ve seen lots of blacks and whites in wedding clothes.

The pro papers are also specifically designed to provide excellent flesh reproduction on a full range of skin tones. No fake spray tan look for you, even if the rest of the colors are vibrant. Pro papers are on a thicker base and thus more durable.

Tim mentioned that Kodak Endura Metallic is a very popular paper with professional photographers. The metallic effect can give a 3D look because it enhances bright colors. He said to imagine a bride sitting on a bench in a church as the sunlight streams through the stained glass windows. The metallic paper would make that photo almost come alive before your eyes. Again, imagine Jen’s photo above, printed on that metallic paper.

Although high quality paper is available to most stores that sell prints, generally only the professional photographers will purchase photos on that paper. Consumer stores don’t usually carry professional grade paper as it is not cost-effective for them.

The bottom line is that receiving a disc of high resolution photo files can be an attractive alternative to traditional wedding packages, but it’s a risky proposition unless you have a plan in place to get high quality mementos made from that disc. Wedding photographers offer you better color calibrated prints on better paper and albums than you would probably ever get yourself.

Related Posts

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Fun Photo Booth Wedding | Mullen Nielsen Wedding Video

    This photo booth wedding was full of life!! Everyone looked like they were having a…

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Romantic Phoenix, AZ Wedding |Rucker Wedding

    This Phoenix, AZ wedding video showcases well-wishes from guests, romantic reception lighting, and a way…

  • Tutorial Tuesday | How to Import Your Instagram Wedding Photos and Videos

    Last week we shared that WeddingMix can now integrate with your instagram wedding feed. Here…

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Valentine's Day Destination Wedding | Prisuta Wedding

    If you're looking for adorable destination wedding videos, the Prisuta wedding seriously takes the cake!…

Filed Under: Photos, Tutorial Tuesdays

Recent Posts

  • 11 Crazy Smart Wedding Budget Hacks from Real Brides

Trackbacks

  1. Mommy, what's a DVD? says:
    May 6, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    […] to read more about what makes a good album and why it really is the best way to save your images for posterity, read this article.  See how we can help you capture and enjoy your big day for a lifetime.  Learn more at our […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fun and modern wedding video with WeddingMix

affordable wedding video

Create your fun and modern wedding video with WeddingMix. Your friends film. We edit. And it happens to be affordable. Starting at $199! :)

Follow Us

Follow Me on Pinterest

See REAL weddings with your budget!

wedding cost real weddings

What will my wedding cost? Just enter your budget, guest count, and region to see real weddings with your budget!

Free Wedding Photo & Video App

free wedding photo video app

Try our free wedding hashtag generator AND checker

free hashtag generator checker

Every Photo. Every Video. Every Guest. Edited Wedding Video.

Reviews

Read all of our Unique Wedding Services Reviews at Weddings, Wedding Cakes,  Wedding Planning, Wedding Checklists, Free Wedding Websites, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Ideas & more

Related Posts

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Fun Photo Booth Wedding | Mullen Nielsen Wedding Video

    This photo booth wedding was full of life!! Everyone looked like they were having a…

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Romantic Phoenix, AZ Wedding |Rucker Wedding

    This Phoenix, AZ wedding video showcases well-wishes from guests, romantic reception lighting, and a way…

  • Tutorial Tuesday | How to Import Your Instagram Wedding Photos and Videos

    Last week we shared that WeddingMix can now integrate with your instagram wedding feed. Here…

  • Featured Video Play Icon
    Valentine's Day Destination Wedding | Prisuta Wedding

    If you're looking for adorable destination wedding videos, the Prisuta wedding seriously takes the cake!…

Categories

  • Advice from Pros (108)
  • Friday Finds (131)
  • Meet Me Monday (3)
  • Real Wedding Videos (0)
    • 30-45k (2)
    • Midwest (1)
    • Northeast (1)
  • Tutorial Tuesdays (129)
    • DIY (35)
    • Photos (9)
    • Shooting Video (10)
  • Uncategorized (2)
  • Video Save the Date (4)
  • Wedding Guides (59)
    • Culture (7)
    • Destination Weddings (4)
    • DIY (9)
    • Engagements (3)
    • Style (6)
    • Themes (4)
    • Wedding Budget (10)
    • Wedding Party (13)
    • Wedding Photos/Video (7)
    • Wedding Planning by Month (15)
  • Wedding Planning (59)
  • Wedding Planning Tips from Real Brides (80)
  • Wedding Video (18)

Tags

advice beach wedding video California CA wedding video centerpieces Chicago connecticut wedding video Destination Wedding DIY DIY Tips diy wedding ideas DIY Wedding Video florida wedding video FL wedding video groom guest post hair infographic inspiration iPhone love massachusetts wedding video Motivational Monday new york wedding video new york wedding videography North Carolina Wedding Video NY Wedding Video Photo Tips rustic rustic wedding Sarah table cards texas wedding video Tutorial Tuesdays TX wedding video Video Editing Video tips wedding dress Wedding experience highlights wedding ideas Wedding Inspiration wedding photos Wedding planning Wedding planning advice Wedding Video

Recent posts

  • 11 Crazy Smart Wedding Budget Hacks from Real Brides
  • Most Amazing Unique Wedding Themes For 2020 (and 2021!)

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in