I’ve had several questions on proofing come up in the last few weeks, so I wanted to quickly explain a little about how I do that at SSRM! :o)
In this now digital age, the time of physical in hand proofs has gone by the wayside. Some are in favor of it and others aren’t. I can understand both ways, the touching of your physical proofs and the ease of a digital gallery that you can quickly share with friends and family. I thought long and hard about how I wanted to present client’s session images to them, I went back and forth between ordering proofs and finding a gallery to submit them too. As I was debating I accidentally stumbled upon something called PASS. A digital gallery, all of your session images online for 10 years of cloud storage, and backup! What could be better than that?! Well, it got even better! The company soon upgraded to offering a FREE downloadable app for all mobile devices. This is what sold me. They then also included a way for all family members to not only view the gallery, but create an account, set up a favorites list, and share that via social media as well. I could upload an unlimited number of images, set up a personal gallery for your session, attach images numbers to make it even easier for you to pick out your favorites to order as print products, an app, and ten years of storage.
As I was comparing costs of physical proofs to a gallery, I wanted to make it as affordable as possible for all clients, current and those inquiring. For example, to order 50 image proofs it would cost the client around $65 dollars, to do a gallery with 50 images it costs the client $0. With 80% of sessions having fewer than 100 images, it made financial sense for everyone. Sessions such as seniors, families, and weddings, the gallery cost is factored in since the number of images is significantly higher and will still save hundreds of dollars in the long run. A digital gallery you can share with family and friends at your fingertips with the click of a button or physical proofs that you have to send from one family to the next and those family members that live out of town, are out of luck at seeing your session until the next holiday.
I’ve been using PASS for almost two years and I love it. I’ve had great client feedback, ease of use, saving everyone money, and just all around excitement about being able to make their session available to family and friends across the country, even the world! I can pull up the galleries on my phone or iPad while meeting with clients, it makes sharing and talking about different types of sessions so much simpler. Within minutes of creating a gallery and making it live, it can be put out on social media and be across the country. It’s amazing!
In addition to using PASS, I decided to then let you, the client, build your own packages. You pay for the session and pick the quantities and products that you want! No one telling you you have to order a certain package just to get a specific number of 5×7 and that one 8×10 you really want. Order as many prints and products as you like, it’s your session, why should anyone tell you what you can and can’t order!? Then once you have narrowed down your prints for order, you simply message me the image number, size of print, and the quantity you would like of that image. I then place the order through my professional printer, and you will have your prints within just a couple weeks.
Can you still get physical proofs! Of course! But with so many options at your fingertips, I think that PASS will change your mind! Take a moment to explore little Mila’s gallery(link below) and see the ease of use and the quick ability to share!
Never hesitate if you have any questions, I’m always happy to answer them!
http://ssrmdesignsphotography.pass.us/milaharperquinones/
