This is a take-off to Deb's question, posted earlier today, about backing up.

Just wondering if you offer archival service to your customers or use it in your presentations? I believe there is a difference between a workable backup system for wedding photography and attempting to archive these images for years to come.

We typically offer our images back to our clients [for sale] about a year after their wedding. To me, the idea of archiving digital images is daunting. I don't believe anything mechanical is the answer; clearly DVDs are not it for many reasons, on-line services are certainly an option, but since they have not been around for long, they certainly haven't proven anything with a time test.

IMO, archiving is a full-time consideration and not to be given away [for free or as a passing add-on]. If serious about it...it is work.

Just wondering if this is part of your package offering.

>rw

I do mention that I'll have the images for a long time, but don't "promise" anything. How can you? Any device that is available today is subject to obsolescence and/or failure.

Right now, it seems storing on a hard drive is the most secure.... how long will SATA be the interface? I sure don't want to change out a bunch of hard drives if the technology changes.

Nothing guaranteed after a year. We are considering e-mailing clients a few weeks prior to the year being up offering a discount on the full-res files, let them archive it if they want them.

Lucky_Dog wrote:
I do mention that I'll have the images for a long time, but don't "promise" anything. How can you? Any device that is available today is subject to obsolescence and/or failure.

Right now, it seems storing on a hard drive is the most secure.... how long will SATA be the interface? I sure don't want to change out a bunch of hard drives if the technology changes.

We've simply had different experiences here. I've had far more computer's die due to HD failure than we have DVD failures. To my thinking, the answer simply cannot be mechanical.

In our presentations, I do not bring it up at all. If asked, I state that it is our goal to provide quality photography, personable service and professionalism in our relationship. "If after you received your printed package, you would like to purchase the images for archiving...you may."

>rw

McGrattan wrote:
Nothing guaranteed after a year. We are considering e-mailing clients a few weeks prior to the year being up offering a discount on the full-res files, let them archive it if they want them.

During the past 4 years, we've sold about 50% of the clients. We get a flat rate of $250 for JPGs. Though not a lot, it is far more than any print sales we would receive after a year.

>rw

We do not guarantee anything more than a year. Too much liability and down the road switching over to a new system would be very tedious as more and more shoots are collected.

Ryan Britton wrote:
We do not guarantee anything more than a year. Too much liability and down the road switching over to a new system would be very tedious as more and more shoots are collected.

I agree. I pride myself on being a business person first, photographer second. Archiving is a business of which I want no part.

>rw

In the contract it states that the files, if not bought, will be kept for 5 years. I have multiple hard drives including off site to make sure that happens. Files when bought are provided on a Delkin 100 year gold DVD twice verified after burning. That's about as archival as it gets I'm afraid. Negatives were more archival in truth but with zero redundancy and to be honest I don't think it will be any easier to have a print made from a 35mm neg in 35 years than to retrieve an image from a DVD. Both will be possible but using specialist centers and with considerable expense, much more so in the case of negs than a DVD.

We archive through our online gallery Pictage. They have them all backed up there and we have them backed up here on drives and DVD's. What more can you do? We surely don't make them pay extra for us to care for their/our images.

-Zach

The Grays wrote:
We archive through our online gallery Pictage. They have them all backed up there and we have them backed up here on drives and DVD's. What more can you do? We surely don't make them pay extra for us to care for their/our images.

-Zach

Respectfully Zach, why wouldn't I expect the client to pay for an additional service if I were to offer it? Photography is certainly a service, just a archiving those images made is another. I simply see it as two different services; one of which I understand far better than the other

[not posted to be argumentative]

>rw

Beni:

That sounds reasonable.

Whatever your archival intentions (or lack of) they should be included in your contract. Nothing worse than a bride assuming her photographer is keeping the images and then finding out (after her house fire) that he did not.


All my packages include a DVD with the final images and my contractual obligation ends when the DVD is delivered. But I still have all the RAW files on both HD and DVD and keep them indefinitely, or as long as the media is stable. Not a great burden.