I don't know if you've noticed, but there are A LOT of choices when it comes to photography products. It can be overwhelming. I am familiar with many companies and many of the products that are available out there - and it can all be overwhelming for me, too.
To help us focus, I've narrowed down my favorite products to just a handful. These favorites make up the collections offered across the line up of services. Today, I'm going to share them with you, along with some thoughts as to why they're a favorite.
Every collection includes the basics: the photoshoot, the high resolution digital images, and the personalized portal that gives you access to your images and information. In the past, I've tried a la carte-ing everything, thinking I was offering more freedom and flexibility. Instead, it only caused confusion and uncertainty. I can't think of a single person who has ever booked a photoshoot with me a la carte. The question raised often seemed to be, "why would I want to book a shoot but not get any of the pictures?" The answer to that question is a blog post for another day. But my response to any potential confusion that so many choices can cause is that now every session now comes with what feels to me like the obvious. The shoot. The pictures. The way to access them.
The Deluxe Collections include my favorite ways to enjoy your images. All Deluxe Collections include the basics. Plus ...
Baby Announcements
The birth of your baby deserves to be celebrated! And what better way than to share your favorite image with your friends and family? I use Miller's Lab to create these 5x7 beautiful cards. They come 25 in a set. Although only 25 are included in the Deluxe Collection, you are always welcome to purchase as many as you need.
The Professional Slideshow
One of my favorite things about my job is watching your slideshow with you. It's like I get to share with you how I experienced this incredible day in your life. The basic slideshow is exactly what it sounds like. It's all of your images, 3 seconds apart, set to music that repeats until you've seen them all. The music is often royalty-free, meaning, it's free for me to use in my slideshow. It serves its purpose. It lets you see all of the images in an essentially enjoyable way.
But the professional slideshow. It's created with professional software that makes for smooth transitions and an enjoyable viewing experience. I pick a song (or two or four) that supports the story. All of the images are set to the music, landing on beats, words in the song lining up with the appropriate images (for example ... when a hand is mentioned in the song, you see a picture of a hand). I look for goosebump moments. I look for the story. I look for the emotions. It takes a lot of time to create. No songs are repeated, unless it feels natural. Every song that is used is required by law to have a synchronization license (or permission from the copyright holder). The majority of the ones I use cost $60/song. So if one slideshow has so many pictures that 4 songs are necessary, that's $240 worth of songs.
Here is an example of one of my favorites. I created this back in 2012.
The Complete Collections include the basics + the deluxe, plus ...
The Signature 8x8 Book with 5 spreads
I can understand why families want their digital pictures. It's more versatile. You can more easily save them for when your child turns 18 and you need a baby picture for graduation. But too often, we leave the digital files on the thumb drive or in the cloud, rarely to be enjoyed. I would love to help you get your favorite images out of the cloud and into a book that can adorn your shelf with. Like the birth announcements, this book is also created using Miller's Lab. They offer many sizes & cover styles (ie linen, faux leather). The Deluxe Collection includes an 8x8 5 Spread book, but upgrades for the size, the cover, or adding in more spreads are available.
The Youngbook + .mov
The Youngbook. Oh, the Youngbook. This might possibly be my favorite product for birth photography ever.
I get told often by families that they love their professional slideshow so much that they will watch it with their children every year on their birthdays. I love, love, love that tradition. It warms my heart whenever someone tells me that - and I am told that often by multiple families!
At a photography conference down in Nashville, Tennessee, I was walking through the trade show floor, learning about all of the different products that exist when I came upon a display for Graphistudio. They're a photography lab based in Italy. I was immediately drawn to a box. Inside, I found the Youngbook. It's basically a box holding an album. But in the lid of the box is a screen that plays video and sound.
It wasn't filled with my pictures. It wasn't even filled with birth photography. They were pictures and video of a wedding from an artist I've never heard of. And yet, I had an emotional connection to what was happening. I cried. On the trade floor. I guess it was the thought of what could be? I kept envisioning my birth stories filling the album and the professional slideshow playing after you opened the lid. I saw it sitting beautifully on someone's coffee table, and then everyone gathering around to watch on birthdays. Anyway, you really should see it in person. It really is one of my favorites.
Visit Graphistudio to learn more about the Youngbook from a less emotional source.
And those are some of my favorites!
We haven't even touched on all of the different kinds of wall art that's available - acrylic, gallery wrap, framed, metallic. We didn't touch on matted prints in folio boxes (talk about FAVORITES). We also didn't talk about all of the great products that make great gifts - like 5x5 mini copies of the 8x8 book we'll create together which I like to call "The Grandparent Brag Book".
Being a professional photographer, I have access to virtually any professional lab in the world. If you see something or have a vision for something that you don't see in my product catalog, please ask me about it. There's a good chance that we'll find what you're looking for!
This post is NOT sponsored by Miller's Lab nor Graphistudio.
They're just two of my favorite labs that I work with.
I hope you found this blog post helpful! If you’re interested in booking me for your maternity pictures or the birth of your baby, visit the booking page. It's an honor to be considered.