Recently, a well-known satirical photography blogger posted this status on her Facebook page:

"Can I Just Get The CD?"

Dear potential client,

I have no crystal ball, yet, I know you will be calling me this week for information about what I do. You might have seen one of my displays or my website or, hopefully, was referred by a friend. And you will have liked what you saw-otherwise, you wouldn’t be calling me. And for that, I am truly happy.

And we will speak together on the phone: me asking questions to better understand what it is you are needing, but more importantly, what you are “wanting.” The wants are always more important than the needs when it comes to Art. And we will speak of the love you have for your family and ideas for your session and I will share your excitement, for this truly is an exciting time.

And then, dear potential client, you will ask that question that is asked every day in phone calls to photography studios everywhere: “Can I get just the CD?”

I don’t blame you for asking this. I really don’t. It’s become as common as “Would you like fries with that?”

And when I first began to hear this question, I reasoned I had to come up with a simple response. It couldn’t be wordy or lengthy-just a one or two line answer as to why I don’t do that. But I couldn’t fit my response into just a couple sentences, because to do that would be to answer simply, “no,” without helping you to understand why, and that’s not fair to you.

See, my dear potential client, anyone can “just give you a CD.”

Anyone. It takes no special skill.

And you must know that, as that was part of your inquiry. And may I be completely honest? If all you want is someone to snap off some images and hand you a CD, well, you don’t need me. Seriously. Anyone can do that for you. There are thousands of people out there willing to make a quick buck by “shooting and burning.” Or shooting and uploading to a cloud. Heck, you can do it with your own iPhone. No need to pay for that. That would be silly, right? If all you want is a hot dog, why pay good money for a steak?

My clients come to me because they want more than that.

See, I don’t believe in selling a CD filled with images that will be shared a few times and then stuck in a drawer with other CD’s. Think I’m wrong? Let me ask you-when was the last time you printed the snapshot photos you’ve taken with your camera phone? Exactly. We’re all guilty of it.

You called me, dear potential client, because, hopefully, you like what I do, and in order to get what I do, you have to let me do it. See, I don’t believe the photography experience is over until I place a print in your hand. And not just any print, but an image created with great care and attention to detail, and edited the same way. I didn’t run it through a bunch of Photoshop actions, slapped it on a CD and called it a day. Oh no-again, I believe photography isn’t about that. I went over this image inch by inch-softening skin, removing fly-away hairs, calming down white tennis shoes, brightening eyes and teeth, making sure the image is as warm and pleasing as possible. And then, I have it printed. And, once printed, if it doesn’t meet with my expectations, it is redone until it does.

Why?

Because I know how it is supposed to look and I won’t settle for anything less than perfect. That’s why clients come to me. And, because unlike the drugstore or Walmart or one of the countless online sites from which you can get a print, it’s important to me that your prints be the best they can be. This is not “just paper.” I would be doing you a great disservice to hand off digital images for you to “finish.” What artist of merit does that?

You told me at the beginning of this conversation that it had been years since your last family portrait. We talked about how quickly the children are growing and how difficult it is to get everyone together and how important this is to you.

And that, dear potential client, is exactly why we will print them-so that 20, 30, 50 years from now you, your children and grandchildren won’t be holding a CD or hard drive that refuses to open, but will, instead, hold a glorious image in their hands, thankful that you cared enough to preserve it for them in print.

Now, my dear new client, lets make something together that’s going to last…

xoxo

Missy MWAC 

This is something that I feel incredibly passionate about, AND I get asked about 5 times a day. 

And the answer is, NO. Not here at J Butterfield Photography. 

You can't 'just' have the cd, for all the reasons listed above. I also absolutely 100% don't believe in cd's.

They're not a product, they're a throw-away item. How many of us even buy cd's for our music anymore? How many of us even own computers that have a cd drive anymore? (mine don't!) How many scratched/bent/broken/child-mauled cd's have you tossed in the trash?

Is that really how you want your family's precious memories to be preserved? 

I do provide digital files. We're a military family, most of my clients are military families. While I do my very best to keep your files stored safely on hard drives and the cloud, life does happen. And for that, I want you to have your precious memories stored safely as well. That is one of the key reasons that I use a custom USB flash drive for storage and delivery of your digital files. That is also one of the reasons that I am moving towards all-inclusive pricing. It may happen as soon as this fall, it may be 2015. I want to get it just right before I launch it for you. 

I run my business exactly the way that I would want to be treated as a client. 100% satisfaction and 100% quality products. There is no wiggle room. 

I'm not the photographer that gets used every 2 months, or every 6 months, or sometimes, even every year. I'm not the photographer you call when you want the exact shot your neighbor has from the Bury gardens on her fb page.

I'm the photographer you come to when you want lasting, amazing, personal memories of your family. The one that you splurge on a session with. The one that you save up for a session with; maybe skip a meal out every month to do that one glorious fall shoot in the leaves that you've been dreaming about since you had little babies that couldn't even throw a leaf yet! The one you call when your family has a momentous event to capture: deployment, homecoming, family visiting from across the pond, or even a family trip to Paris! (yes, I do travel!)

And I'm okay with that. I ONLY take 2 sessions per week, even during my busy season (Fall to photographers is what April is to accountants!) so that if you email me and say, "Hey, my hubby needs to work late, can we do tomorrow?" "Joey has a black eye, can we push to next week?" "Um, its pouring rain?!" My answer is ALWAYS, "of course!" Because I've made you my priority. Not one of twenty, or even five that week. YOU and your beautiful family, are my priority. 

Another reason that I do this, is because MY family is my priority. This is also a reason why I take most of August and all of December off. I do what I do because I love it, yes, but also because it helps me to provide for my family. Extra travel, dance lessons, spiffy new bike: all paid for because I work. That also means that I'm spending countless hours emailing, editing, proofing, and shooting! 

And my little people are worth way more than "just a CD." And I firmly believe that you and your people are too.