Good Morning!
This will be a short and simple Blog. Mostly because its a super important blog and one I DON'T want you to miss.
I cannot even tell you how many times in the last ten years I've had clients reach out to me and ask for their photos.. YEARS after the event has happened. Just yesterday I watched a person on one of the Bride to Bride sites on Facebook make a post about her wedding video from 2016. The videographer had left the video on Vimeo for years, but as of Jan 2021 the video was GONE! The client had downloaded the video to her own Vimeo, but didn't save it anywhere else. Like directly to her computer or a USB , or a hard drive.
Here is what I suggest doing. If your photographer uses USB drives to deliver your photos they are have most likely been shrunk down to a smaller size (however they may not be) regardless, you want to immediately download them to your computer or another device.
If your images are coming from a online gallery , where you have to download them. You basically want to do the same thing. DOWNLOAD right away once the gallery has been delivered. Once you've downloaded those images save them to a USB, or hard drive. Burn them to a cd if you prefer that method. DO NOT JUST SAVE THEM ONE PLACE.
Yes, a lot of photographers save all their images for YEARS.. but we pay for that storage, we pay for the hard drives, and there are typically many more than just a few. I think I have around 15/20 hard drives.
What is important to remember is its not your photographer or videographers responsibility to hold those photos or videos for you past the time they've stated on the contract or really past 30 days. I cannot stress enough the importance of saving your images or memories in TWO places. Not just on the computer , not just on the USB, not just on the site you received them on. MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. If you don't do this and end up having to ask your photographer or videographer for your images again, expect a fee. Some are only $35 to reload, some are $1500 or more, some wont let you, and tell you that you may only purchase prints, and if that what was in your contract they 100% can hold you to it, and they should.
If your photographer or videographer hasn't expressed how you're getting your photos back simply ask. This should also be stated in a contract, thats right you have to read the whole thing and ask questions.
DON'T book a wedding photographer of videographer without a contract.. but thats another blog for another day.
If you're looking for a photographer I would love to be considered, check out my website at www.alwaysphotogenicphotography.com
or give me a text or call at 832.913.9629 --- email is alwaysphotogenicphotography@gmail.com
pic from Colorado <3 Oct 2020