Introducing Soft Proofing & Next Steps to Expect | Receiving, Selecting & Downloading

Sarah Borchgrevink is a Houston Photographer offering fully inclusive digital collections. There are no in person sales appointments, reveals, or minimum print orders to receive a full resolution digital gallery of stunning, perfected images.

Hi, friends! Welcome! If you’re viewing this blog post, you may be curious on how clients receive their beautifully perfected digital gallery of images they may treasure forever. You’re in luck! Cozy up: I have all the information you need to make a decision on if SBP is a great fit for you!

Part of being one of the best and highest rated newborn, baby, and infant photographers in Houston is having a fully transparent pricing guide reflecting packages from which parents may select. Fully inclusive means the pricing on the guide includes everything from session design, props, styling, time & talent, editing, proofing, and then the downloading of your images. It is one flat rate without any hidden fees.

This in mind, the pricing guide will tell you how many photos you receive and you book the package based on what you’d like to receive. Simple, easy, transparent. As a mom to 4 young kiddos, I have modeled my business to reflect what I, as a parent, would like to receive.

14 Day Turnaround Time

How Soon Can We Expect To Receive Our Digital Images?

• 14 days after your session takes place you may expect a password-protected online gallery of digital images you may view from the comfort of your home.

• If you would like to receive your images sooner you may purchase rush editing for an additional $200. Simply contact Sarah if this interests you. Final copies will be completed within 1 business day should you choose rush editing.

Soft Proofing & Studio Policy

What is Soft Proofing Studio Images?

SBP practices soft proofing on all galleries. Soft proofing means light edits are applied to the top images from your session. This allows me to retouch only the chosen images while showcasing many different images from which you'll select. You will see a large array of images from our time together; while each session is different you will have tons of options. Full edits such as skin smoothing, eye sharpening, teeth whitening, etc., are completed once you have selected your favorite images. Professionally enhanced final edits are finished within 3 business days after you select your images.

• You will enter your private gallery through any device such as computer, tablet, or smart phone. You do need to use a laptop or PC to download the images, however! This will ensure they’re safely archived and you do not lose a USB or Disc.

• Clients have 7 days to make their gallery selections.

• After you select your images, you will receive the final within three business days.

Digital Download Policy

Once you receive your final gallery you have 30 days to download these images. After 30 days, the gallery is closed. There is an archival fee of $50 to reopen the gallery if the window passes. I hold onto final copies of edited jpegs to 12 business months. Clients are responsible for safely archiving their images into the cloud, onto an external hard drive, and also a computer of their choice for safekeeping. You will receive a list of three free cloud storage options you might consider.

Full Resolution Digital Files

What is Full Resolution Digital Files?

All digital files given to clients at SBP are full resolution, meaning they are the absolute highest quality. You may print these images as large as you would like, typically up to 50”x60”, though there are labs that offer even larger sizes if needed. They are sized to 300 DPI for the best quality. Full resolution will prevent too much leaking, loss, and lack of image detail; the images are edited to reflect quality; your digital files are the same way.

How to Store Your Digital Files

How Do We Store Our Digital Files We Receive?

After you download your photos, you will receive a list of wonderful labs from me so you know where to purchase you files. In that list, nonetheless, you’ll also find three free cloud storage systems I recommend which keep your images safely archived so if you do lose a laptop or your computer dies, the images are there for you.

Printing Needs & Recommendations

Immediately after your final gallery has been sent, SBP will follow up via e-mail with a list of great labs to consider for your printing needs. While professional products are available in your gallery this is just a perk for parents though not an obligation.

Screenshots of Gallery Are Prohibited

When viewing your proofing gallery please do not screenshot the images. This is image theft as the copyright remains with SBP. SBP reserves the right to cancel contracts based on screenshots with zero refund per this violation. SBP also reserves the right to permanently delete the session if the client chooses to breech the contract.

Retouching & Professionally Enhanced Portrait Policy

SBP includes standard editing such as white balance adjustment, skin smoothing, eye sharpening, removing trash or odd objects from the background. Complex editing, outside of the standard included edits, such as body slimming and contouring, body modification, removal of scars, heavy blemishes, braces removal are subject to an additional quote of $25 per image.

Option to Add Additional Digital Files to Your Package:

Your session comes with the number of digital files listed in your package. If you are interested in additional digital files, clients may purchase them once they have received the proofing gallery, which is available two weeks after your session takes place. All digital files at SBP are full resolution and may be printed as large as you wish. There is no obligation to purchase additional files, it is simply available if you’re interested in these.

• $40 per la carte file

• $150 for a grouping of 5

• $200 for a grouping of 8

• $350 for the entire gallery shown

Summary:

• Simple, transparent pricing with several options

• Private galleries you may view from home

• Education on where to archive and print your images

• Zero hidden fees, in person sales appointments, or minimum print orders to receive digital gallery

• Full Resolution Digital Files you may print up to 50”x60”

Questions? Feel free to touch base!

Three Free Cloud Storage Systems to Keep Your Session Safely Archived

Located in Northwest Harris County, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography shares the easiest ways to keep your high resolution digital files safe through free cloud storage systems.

Sarah's Top Three Picks for Safely Archiving Your Session

Greetings, friends and welcome! As 2017 comes to a close, it's time to start thinking about keeping your digital images safely archived. As a professional newborn photographer in Houston, my collections are fully inclusive and digitally based: this means I offer lovely galleries of digital files you may download, share, print as many times as you wish, and treasure for years to come.

I keep final copies for generally 6 months and then clear out my hard drives to make room for new sessions.

However, once your session is photographed and on your computer, there are risks to losing your precious images. External hard drives may fail; laptops are dropped, computers die, and sometimes a USB stick is simply lost. Moreover, technology is constantly changing so even things like a disc drive is becoming obsolete. To elaborate: I have a custom built PC my darling & dashing husband built for me. There is not a disc drive because I have no need for one. Furthermore, Mac users typically don't have a disc drive either. 

Everything You Need to Know about the cloud

You may be reading this and think, "What is the cloud?" Don't worry! When I first heard the term "cloud storage" I had to Google it, too, ha! The cloud is synonymous with the internet.  It sounds foreign, kind of like something we should all know and be privy to, but perhaps are a little unsure of. In the most simple terms, cloud storage means you store your data and files (such as your precious newborn images!) over the internet instead of a computer hard drive. 

Perks of using a cloud storage service for photo or data back up

• Great for sharing images seamlessly with your loved ones such as family or friends

• Reliable due to fast internet connections

• You can access files from any device like a PC, Mac, tablet, or phone

• Essential in case your hard drive is damaged or stolen

• Often secure with many affordable and free entry level options

How I selected the top three cloud storage options

Before I begin, it should be noted there are a plethora of wonderful choices for consumers to consider. After all, you can reduce your purchases of hard ware and worrying if there will ever be a technological failure. For instance, since I work full time as portrait photographer, I often hear horror stories from other professionals about a hard drive failing, one of which holds an irreplaceable session such as a wedding or baby's first photos, such as newborn photos. In this business, you cannot afford to lose a session! If you're a professional photographer, you may be interested in a subscription that houses enormous amounts of space (such as 3 T) but if you're a parent looking to keep your files safe, these options are the easiest to use. 

1 ) Google Drive

Since Google is extremely popular, you probably already have a Gmail account which means you have access to the fantastic Google Drive. This is a safe place for all your files and includes 15 GB of free online storage which can keep all sorts of things, such as your photos. Your files can be reached anywhere, too, so there is a nuance to having access to special memories at any moment, all from the click of a mouse or the scroll of a screen. You may also effortlessly invite others to view, share, or download your files without an e-mail attachment; this is extremely convenient if you'd like to share your newborn session, for instance, with grandparents who perhaps do not reside in Houston TX. No matter where your loved ones are, the photos follow. 

2) Microsoft One Drive

With 5 GM of free storage, this is an awesome choice if you're an outlook user. While you only receive 5 GB of space, which is three times less than Google Drive, the appeal of Microsoft One Drive is that if you have a subscription to Office 365 you're automatically upgraded to 1T (wow). This is a great perk for someone who is very comfortable and committed to using Microsoft office.  You can also share files with individuals who are not one drive users as well as a handy dandy mobile app to make things easier to access when you're out and about. 

3) Drop Box

Beginning with 2 GB of online storage, free of charge, drop box is extremely user friendly, which is why this has made the top three. When choosing online storage systems, part of my selection was choosing based on how known a product is, how easy it is to use, and if you're required to actually purchase storage in order to access the free storage.

2 GB is not impressive, but what may appeal to the younger crowd of folks is that if you link your Dropbox account to social media & refer your friends + family you can have 16 GB, which is awesome! We all have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumbler, ha! This is the digital age after all.

With drop box, there are several great options such as 2 GB of free storage, has a great desk top app for Windows or Mac, which covers a large majority of the market. Another awesome perk is if you delete a folder or set of images, you can still restore these images up to 30 days later, which is truly fantastic since we all know things sometimes are deleted. Like Google and One Drive, you can share files with anyone, too, and no file size upload limit when using the desktop software. 

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.