Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL QUESTIONS

d Why do I need a professional photographer when Uncle Harry just got a new, expensive digital camera?

Every family has “cigar boxes” full of event snapshots, which are rarely ever looked at once past the event. The question should really be: Do I want to preserve this event as a cherished set of memories, or do I want to have a another box? A photographer sees things differently from Uncle Harry. S/he views a scene with the imagination to capture and create – so much more than merely saying,”Say cheese…” Even if Uncle Harry has talent, how well can he color balance, crop, retouch, and actually create portrait-quality photographs? Do Uncle Harry’s photos ever have a green colorcast, or a funny skin tone? Does he tend to “cut-off” people’s heads in group-shots? The learning curve for digital photographic technology is actually steeper than the learning curve for general photography. And anyway, don’t you want Uncle Harry to have fun at your event?

d Wouldn’t it be more fun and more creative to just put out disposable cameras on each table for our guests to shoot their own memories?

Having disposable cameras at your event for guests to use is very creative and fun, but will it provide you with enough of the kind of visual memories that you want to have and cherish? Will it give you anything more than funny candids and expressions? In the end, your photographic images are ALL YOU HAVE to remember this important event. Do you really want to trust these memories to the contents of disposable cameras with plastic lenses?

d Why should I have a professional album made, when I could just hire a photographer and pay or arrange to get the negatives or digital files -- and print them myself?

When GCP prints portraits or album photographs from your event files, these are printed, cropped, and color balanced individually to professional standards. Can your home printer, or your local Kmart photo processing counter really do that?

d Can I get a combination of color, black and white, or sepia-toned prints from my event?

Yes. Any of your images can be made into a sparkling color, black and white, or sepia-toned portrait at no additional charge. Merely select the image from your proofs and request the coloring you wish.

d How is Great Circle different from any other Photographic Studio?

When you contract with Great Circle Photography, you are contracting with me. You will NEVER get some “staff photographer” who has already shot three events the same weekend as yours. GCP takes great pride in contracting ONLY ONE MAJOR EVENT each weekend. Your event will be photographed by me - images will also be individually retouched, cropped and color balanced by me – not some staff technician. The only part of your package that would ever be sent out and completed by someone else would be your custom lab work and album printing. There are only a small handful of professional custom labs that we use. We are very selective, and we make sure that the labs use OUR color profiles for accuracy.

d Does this photographer shoot film or digital?

Great Circle proudly shoots digital images exclusively. The question really only comes down to a choice of tools and how we work with these tools. It is analogous to asking a caterer what type of frying pans s/he uses. Photographers, as well as chefs, should always be judged by what they produce – not how they produce it. Digital technology has given us the freedom to create in an almost limitless world of color, form and light. Only our tools have evolved and changed – The art of PHOTOGRAPHY still means (literally) the art of “light writing,” and it always will.

DIGITAL vs. FILM

d Will digital imaging give me the same quality as film?

The quality of today’s digital image files either meets or exceeds the quality of film/negative-recorded images. GCP photographs digitally, at a resolution of over 12 megapixels per image and prints these images at a quality of 300 DPI (dots per inch). Files of this size easily and clearly enlarge up to almost any size without ANY noticeable loss in image quality – not always possible with film.

d How are digital images stored, compared to film negatives?

Digital images are temporarily stored, in the camera equipment, on digital memory cards. Following your event, these files on the memory cards are transferred to computer, and then copies are burned onto CD’s or DVD’s for archival storage. Files at GCP are also backed up nightly from the computer, onto an external hard drive, ensuring redundant storage systems for safety and permanence.

d Do digital files have a longer storage life than film/negative files?

Before the “Digital Revolution” in photography, film negatives existed as the sole, permanent file, and were vulnerable to loss or accidental destruction. Also, negative files, existing on an acetate substrate material, are susceptible to drying, aging, and damage from atmospheric and light conditions. This makes these files far less permanent than digital files, which can be repeatedly copied and permanently stored without ANY loss of detail, color, or quality.

d Are prints from digital data as good as prints from negatives?

Years ago, the benchmark of an excellent photographic print was the liquid, chemical darkroom procedure. These prints were known as “wet prints,” because it described the process in which they were created. Often, today, digital images are still made as “wet prints,’ or they are printed with photographic inks and dyes. Either way, the quality of the final products is indistinguishable, when printed on fine photographic papers with various finishes and paper surfaces.

d What is the life expectancy of a traditional color print made from a negative?

In a way, that’s a “loaded question.” There are way too many variables implied, making a simple answer almost impossible. Where will the print be kept or displayed? Hanging on a wall? If hanging, will it be under glass? What kind of glass will be used? Will it be displayed in an album? Will this album be left closed or opened on a table? How much sunlight or UV light will the print be exposed to? The life expectancy of a print depends heavily on its constant exposure to UV light, humidity conditions, and its enclosure. Typically, a traditional color “wet print,” framed in plain glass and hanging on a normally lit wall, without being exposed to direct sunlight, will have a life expectancy of only a few years before noticeable color and contrast changes occur. The same print, contained in an acid-free mount within a closed album, will have a much longer life – perhaps as long as 10-15 years without showing signs of fading, color shifting, or decomposition.

d What is the life expectancy of a digital color print made from a digital file?

The same variables apply as they do with “wet prints,” except for the photographic inks and dyes used in the digital printing process. The digital printing process has not been around long enough for sampled testing, but these inks have been subjected to scientific aging simulation and the results far surpass the data collected on “wet prints.” Most of the digital inks have been tested to a 75-100 year life span.

d Will digital prints last as long as prints made from negatives?

Again, how and where these prints are kept will determine, in the end, the life expectancy. Today, it is common to frame photographs with UV glass, which cuts up to 99 percent of the UV light which normally is exposed to the photograph. How much this will actually extend the life of a portrait is anyone’s guess. Digital prints are projected to outlast the older “wet print” photographs.

d Will I notice any difference in a portrait created digitally compared to a film-based portrait?

Yes! Absolutely! Without a doubt! What you will notice is that the print will be immeasurably BETTER. Why? Skin retouching will be absolutely invisible. Teeth will be whiter, skin clearer, contrast and flesh-tones much better, no annoying or distracting objects in the background, group shots will have EVERYONE’S eyes open, facial aging (within reason) can be reversed. And since this is all done before printing rather than being painted on the final print – retouching can’t be detected.

PROOFS and ALBUMS

d Will I receive proofs from my event?

Yes. You will have the choice of hard-copy proofs, or proofs on-line, at the GCP website. The advantage of having your proofs on-line is that anyone in your family, or circle of friends, can view the proofs all at the same time without taking months to circulate the hard-copy printed proofs by mail.

d How long does it take to create my Album?

Albums are custom made and detailed. The actual time it takes to produce the album depends upon how much time you take to select your images from the proofs. Once your prints are selected, the album can usually be completed in less than three weeks.

d If my proofs are posted on the Web, can anyone view them?

Once your proofs are posted on the GCP website, they are protected by a security wall. You will need a username and a password in order to view your proofs. You may share these codes with anyone you wish so that they may also view your proofs. This procedure maintains your privacy.

d May any of my friends or relatives order prints from my Web proofs?

Yes. Once your proofs have been posted and accessed through the use of your username and password, a confidential order form will appear on your proof page. Prints may be ordered in any size, and in any quantity. Matting and framing is also available at very reasonable pricing.

d How long will my Web proofs be posted?

Web proofs from major events are usually posted for up to two months. This time frame is flexible and can easily be extended upon request, and at no charge.