Competition among photographers has grown exponentially in the last few years. With the advent of digital, lower pricing and a wealth of information on the Internet, there are more professional photographers than ever. And with this comes stiff competition.

One strategy is to just give your clients a disk of the high resolution images and send them on their way. Sure, it’s the easy way out; shoot, burn and move on to the next client. While this approach simple and neat, it may not be in the professional photographer’s best interest. Once you give that disc out, it’s like handing over your artwork and letting the consumer paint whatever they want on your finished canvas. There is no telling where the images will get printed and what you intended to shoot could become misrepresented. The pictures will likely be passed around to family and friends (who could also be potential clients) and your name is associated with prints that you had no chance to approve. The moral of this story: the perception of your prints is as important as anything in your business model.

On the other hand, I think that the client has the right to a disc of the high resolution files. I do not think there is anything wrong with burning a disc, especially because of the high demand for that service.

That being said, I think the best approach is a combination- one that offers professional prints, albums and products combined with a high resolution disc. This approach will satisfy your clients, keep you competitive and ensure that you have provided them with high quality prints that will be passed down for generations to come.