Frugality

Special Occasion Photography: Printed Photos or Digital Images?

My son had the traditional senior pictures taken a few weeks ago. Last night we had an appointment with the photographer to view the proofs and to decide what we wished to order. I don’t know what the average person spends on senior pictures these days, but looking at the photographers price list I had prepared myself for how much we would have to spend to get what we had envisioned for remembering his high school days. What I wasn’t prepared for was another option that could be a complete game changer.

My wife, son and I were going through the proofs, having a hard time choosing what images we wanted to keep. The photographer took around 100 pictures, but ultimately we would only be using a handful. Our initial thoughts on what we would be ordering looked like this:

• 3 8×10 pictures: $75
• Bragbook (30 pictures spiralbound): $75
• 112 wallets (2 poses): $120
• Heirloom book (20 poses) : $300

Total cost: $570

As the three of us discussed which proofs were in, and which were out, my wife pointed at a different option on the photographers price list and asked, “Why don’t we just do that?” Following the tip of her finger, I read the line that said we could purchase all the digital images for $499. Doing some quick research I calculated the cost of getting the same products using a local printing service, and an online photobook service called Shutterfly that a family member of ours has used many times with great results

• Digital Images: $499
• 3 8×10 pictures : $8.52
• Bragbook : $10 (estimate for the cost of an album as the photographer gifted us all the proofs)
• 112 wallets : $30.24
• 20 Page Photo Book (Using Shutterfly plus a 50% off code) : $25

Total Cost: $572.76

The cost of the two directions comes out almost identical. However, the purchasing of the digital images comes with several advantages:

1. We wouldn’t have to print 112 wallets at once. We could print batches at a time as needed. We can also select more than 2 poses. This could reduce the amount of unused pictures as well as bring our cost down.
2. If we wanted more keep sake pictures (8×10 or 5×7), we have can print them inexpensively
3. The Bragbook contains ALL his pictures, not just 30 that we had to select
4. By using Shutterfly we have more options as to the look of the photobook, and can add additional pages (for an extra fee) if wanted
5. If we wanted to do additional things with his senior pictures in the future, OR if the printed copies got lost or damaged, we can easily and inexpensively reprint them.

After doing the analysis, it was clear that buying the digital images was the way to go. It may be a little less convenient, but the flexibility, control and future potential of having the images in our possession makes it a no-brainer.

Have you ever considered just buying the digital images for a momentous occasion and printing the pictures yourself?

Brought to you courtesy of Brock

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.