Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wacky Rumor! FALSE!!!!!

Today I was in town when one of our good clients came up to me and asked, "I want to ask you something. Can we not order photos from you any longer? Have you changed the way you do business?"
Puzzeled, I asked, "What do you mean?"
She said that someone had told her that when you come to Plumlee's for portraits, all they do is sell you a CD and the copyright, and you have to print your own photos. That was so ridiculous, I almost had to laugh! I was very glad she mentioned it to me, as it gave me a chance to set the record straight.
We do not sell the copyright on our portraits. I explained, that nothing had changed. On portrait sessions, we do the sitting, then the client decides if they want to view their images online, or view a proof book. When they are ready to place their order, an appointment is scheduled for them to come into the studio. Lajunta sits down with them and they view their images on our 40"x60" screen. They choose their favorite poses, tell us what sizes and quantities they want, and we process the order. Kelly prepares the order, does all her retouching magic, then she sends the order via the internet to the professional lab we have used for over 25 years and it is printed. The order is shipped back to us, where we inspect it to make sure it is up to our standards. We then notify our client that the order is ready to pick up.
We do offer digital files/copyright on our wedding photography, and some special event coverages (such as the recent Miss Carroll County Pageant). Most progressive wedding photographers today do offer digital files. That's because today's wedding coverages often include several hundred images! They may not all go into an album, but the bride certainly wants a copy of those images. Some brides are into scrapbooking, and want to do their own albums.
But even on weddings, you can still order photos from us, and you have the option of "CD only" or "CD plus album".
Remember, we are in a small town. You can hear all sorts of weird rumors.

Other rumors that we've heard, that are NOT true:

Rumor: "We heard you are moving your studio to Branson".
False: We do get a substancial amout of business from the Branson area, but we have no plans to move our studio. In the early 1990's, we did open a small, branch office in Branson. However, we found most our Branson area clients preferred to drive to Oak Grove for their session, as we had more sets and locations to choose from in Oak Grove. We closed it after 3 years. We do drop off orders at a frame shop (V&K Associates in Hollister) for people to pick up.

Rumor: "Does Walmart print all your photos?"
False: 99% of our photos are printed by a professional lab. OCCASIONALLY we do send a file to Walmart for printing. That happens when we need a rush photo printed. Occasionally, someone will call and ask, "I need a photo this afternoon, can you do it?" We also have them print things like ID photos, products where fast service is more important than high quality. Also, we occasionally need a sample, test print or business card that Walmart will print. If I have a couple of days to finish an order, my pro lab will give me rush service. If I need something in less than 24 hours, the only choice I have is to print it myself or send to Walmart.
So, if you see me in the line at Walmart picking up photos, you can be assured it's a rush job, not your portrait order!

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow Larry that is crazy! Who would think that! Thanks for taking a stand and setting the story straight. Wish more people would ask before they spread anything. Love our photos — we appreciate you, Kelly and Lajuanta!

J.Robertson

2:45 PM  
Blogger 5kdad said...

Thanks for your comment. It's really good when someone is interested in getting the facts, instead of spreading rumors. We need more folks like that!
Reminds me of a story I once heard about a person who hated gossip. Whenever someone would gossip, that person would say, "I think I'll just give them a call, tell them what you told me, and see if that is true".

Larry

8:05 PM  

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