Storing and Printing Your Digital Files

1) You should back up your digital files

When you purchase digital files, you will be emailed a download link right away, and you'll have your images immediately. In a week or two I mail out a backup USB drive. However, it's a great idea to have yet another backup or two, because as we all know, not only can technology fail, it can change! (Remember when your computer had a CD-ROM drive?) There are many great places to store digital files online for free, including icloud, amazon prime (free with your amazon prime account), dropbox, and google drive. I also keep mine on a separate external drive in addition to cloud storage.

All of your digital images - not just those from your photo shoot with me - should be backed up, in fact (they should be printed, too, but that's an article for another time). Place them in folders labeled by year, then month (I do mine by number, so that they appear in order in the list of files), then separate folders by event. For example: 2017----> 6-June----> AmeliaSeniorPhotos.

2) Color space and color correction

Your images are presented in the sRGB color space, the color profile used by most reputable printers. Many printers have an option to use their “color correction” when printing your photographs. It is best if you do not choose this option, since I have edited your images for best color-quality on a calibrated monitor, making this choice more of an interference.

3) Where to print

I have a great online print lab I can recommend to you! You will love their work. (Please don't print your professional images at the drugstore or discount store.)

4) Cropping

Your custom portraits are cropped to a 4x6 aspect ratio (that does not mean you can only print at that size). These pictures are in high-resolution format, suitable for enlarging. It is important to remember that different sizes will require cropping to a different aspect ratio. For example, a 5x7 or an 8x10, which are different in “shape” to your original, will need some trimming off the edges to print correctly.

When you present your images to be printed, you will need to do this cropping by hand, rather than let the lab computer make the decision for you. Most printing companies have very user-friendly programs to help you crop your images easily.

5) Print options

Most photos labs offer a choice between matte and glossy finishes; I feel that the matte finish looks much better for portraits. A matte finish also shows fingerprints and smudges much less than a gloss finish. At the lab I recommend you can also have your portraits sprayed with a clear, protective coating to further protect your prints from sunlight, dust, and smudges.

IMPORTANT: If you take your images somewhere in-person to have them printed, don't forget a copy of your print release! This is important - many labs will not print professional photographs without permission from the copyright holder. I email you a print release when you purchase digital files, so save it on your phone or print it out and keep it with you. Online print labs usually require you to check a box stating that you have permission from the photographer to make prints.

Minneapolis-St. Paul photographer Leslie Crane has a portrait studio located in Chaska, Minnesota. She provides family photography, child photography, baby photography, in-home lifestyle newborn photography, high school senior photography and sophisticated, expressive headshot photography, both at the studio and on-location in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota and throughout the Twin Cities metro. An accomplished Twin Cities, Minnesota, child, family, newborn and senior photographer, Leslie Crane is known for gorgeous studio and natural lighting, beautiful color and clarity, genuine emotional connection and a relaxed approach tailor-made to suit her individual clients. Leslie's attention to detail and emphasis on quality make her one of the most sought-after photographers in the Twin Cities. She is a leading family, newborn, headshot and senior photographer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN metro area, and serves many clients in the western suburbs and Lake Minnetonka area, including Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Chaska, Chanhassen, Orono, Victoria, Deephaven, Wayzata, and Plymouth.

To inquire or to schedule your child and family portrait session, newborn photo shoot, senior photos, or headshot photography session at the Chaska photography studio or on-location in the Twin Cities, click the "contact" link above.