I just started my business a couple years ago and am wondering what you guys do in terms of retaining image files of past clients? I realize disk space is cheap, but do you find a need to keep all of the files from every session for all your clients for extended periods of time?
I am thinking of going through and keeping the decent images and discarding the remaining images from 2+ years ago. So I will basically keep all files for 2 years and then keep only the ones I want for my own purposes. Moving forward I will put a note in my contract about image retention and time limit.
I keep everything worth keeping ... I started out 35 years ago ... then, after you invested the time and money for film and processing it seemed a bit odd to discard those originals after the order was delivered ... now with digital, I still keep them ... though I make no guarantees to my clients about image retention and they may not be available via my online shopping cart past a specified period ... but, barring a catastrophic loss, they'll be around for as long as I will be here ...
The key is, if you become critically strict and consistent in your initial culling right after the shoot, you don't have to spend any time a couple of years from now to sort out the gems from the junk ... you already know that what is on hand is worthy to maintain for the future ... there is no reason to keep an image for one minute, let alone share it with a client, if that image isn't worthy of hanging on to in perpetuity ...
This is one of the best posts I have ever read for a number of reasons. 35 years experience is certainly not lost as the information is read it takes on more weight. The last sentence is something every professional should copy and paste and credit the author, "there is no reason to keep an image for one minute, let alone share it with a client, if that image isn't worthy of hanging on to in perpetuity ..." -ButchM
Well I disagree with this sentiment. I've been shooting for close to thirty years professionally and for the last decade or so I've been going back through images I've made, drum scanning all that make sense to me NOW, which invariably includes images that neither I nor the art director saw fit to use at the time. In fact, just a couple or months ago, I went through the files of a shoot with Lyle Lovett in 1994 and "discovered" images I didn't remember but were clearly great images. If I had tossed them back they'd have been gone for good. What I've discovered is that all too often, I intuitively shoot images that are beyond my current ability to recognize them at the time, only to have pleasant surprises years down the line.
In addition, there are many applications for stock and resale imagery where an alternative image that didn't work originally now works well and pays even better. Again, in the last two weeks that very situation arose with three year old images of Robert Earl Keen.
Now I'm all for excising the shots that are obviously crap, but there are a lot of images that I shot years ago that I'm glad I never threw away. Twenty years ago I didn't have a drum scanner and I didn't have Photoshop. The adventure of drum scanning old film to see how much can be wrung out of it today is immensely satisfying. Hell, I'd even call it fun.
As far as all things digital, I have virtually every image made in my studio since 1995 backed up AND catalogued in Extensis Portfolio. I made the decision early on in this digital game that it made sense to get very organized with regard to all my images. It took a while to work out a system, but it's almost an automatic process for me today, and having any image or project available within a minute or two has a value added component. It makes me and my business a larger part of my clients' businesses as well. I can't count the number of times that clients have called having lost the disks or files that were delivered and have looked on me as their hero and savior coming to the rescue. It makes you part of the team. While I don't charge clients to archive and catalog, I do charge them to retrieve files - usually between fifty and a hundred dollars, but sometimes more, depending on the time it takes. They happily pay those bills. And with commercial clients, you really don't know when they're going to call and ask for a variation to a previous shot.
I absolutely do not throw anything out, usually ever. What looks disappointing often is better later. Also, what kind of images? Portraits and weddings you might throw out eventually, but other stuff might sell later. Maybe get releases so you can sell these elsewhere. It was explained in a book I read as your retirement. I've been shooting 20 years, pro the last 7.
Having photographed many a wedding, I have never thrown out any of the images I have created. I do tell my clients that they have limited availabilty just from a protect myself standpoint. But I do tell them to call if they require an image. So far that option has not been explored. I have images/negatives scanned on cd/dvd by year captured. I intend to bring them with me when I go to the great beyond and have lunch with Ansel.
My parents are both in their 90s and still alive and in relatively good health. They married in 1947. If I could find the negs from their wedding I'd buy them today.
I guaranty to my clients I will have their images in near line storage (retrievable within minutes) for a minimum of 5 years, after which it will go into offline storage.
I keep them all and sometimes wonder why. But last week I got a call from an old client saying that they had damaged their discs and hadn't made backups. The wedding was 5 years ago. It only took me an hour to have made new discs and for a small fee I'm probably looking pretty good to them and I'm sure that they'll recommend me.
Gordon
p.s. And yes, I gave them the chat about making backups :-)
Sep 25, 2011 at 04:17 PM
Jonathan Huynh Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
