Frequently Asked Questions:

How does it work?
Why do you price by the package?
How do I get started?
What's the normal turn around time?
Do you accept credit cards?
What's the 100% guarantee?
Can I FTP my images to you?
Will I still own the rights to my images?
Can I send you my 40 megapixel files?
Can I use my own file naming system?
Why do you charge more for jpegs?
Do you keep copies of my images?
Should I send my only copies of the images?
Do I need to edit out the misfires and duds?
Why do you send back jpegs?
Can I open the DVD on a PC and a Mac?
How do you color manage my photos?
Have a question that's not answered here? Contact us.

How does it work? - You shoot as you normally would. You then burn your images to a CD/DVD and send it off to us. We process your images according to the package that you have chosen. We then burn the processed images as "max quality" jpgs to a DVD and send it and your original disk back to you via USPS. That's it! You own the processed images and can do whatever you want with them.
Please note that although we treat your discs with care we are NOT RESPONSIBLE for lost or damaged discs. Please back up your files.
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Why do you price by the package? - We price by the package so you will know your cost per event. You are running a business. How can you price your services without knowing what your costs are? Per image pricing is available if you prefer.
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How do I get started? - Contact us for a complementary workflow review. We will take a look at your images and recommend a level of service based on the style and complexity of your current work. At that time we can also discuss ways to improve your workflow and overall image quality.
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What's the normal turn around time? - Our normal turn around time is 10 working days from the time we receive you files to the day that we ship the final images. We also offer rush services -
5 day turn around - 25% additional charge (shipping extra)
48 hour turn around - 50% additional charge (shipping extra)
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Do you accept credit cards? - At the moment no. We are exploring that possibility. We currently accept checks, money orders and Pay-pal.
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What is the 100% guarantee? - It's just that. If you are not fully satisfied with our work we offer a one time refund.
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Can I FTP my files to you? - Yes. We offer free FTP for our Studio Partners. Basic and Full Package clients may use FTP for a $10.00 charge per order.
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Will I still own the rights to my images?- Yes. Compare us to a traditional "lab service". The lab did not own your images just because they developed the film.
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Can I send you my 40 megapixel Phase One files? - Yes but we will charge you more. Our package prices are based on a maximum single file size of 17 megapixel's.
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Can I use my own file naming system? - Yes. Name your files according to your current Digital Asset Management System.
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Why do you charge more for jpegs? - Jpegs take longer to process. The biggest issue with jpegs and the most compelling reason to shoot RAW is white balance. Most event shooters use the auto white balance setting on their DLSR. This is understandable given the ever changing lighting conditions and the potential to forget to re-balance the camera in a stressful environment. When shooting jpegs the white balance decision is embedded into the file. Let's say that you are shooting in a mixed light temperature situation (window light, a tungsten floor lamp and some fill flash). Your camera will often choose a different white balance for frames within the same scene - depending on where it's pointed. Now, if those white balances are embedded into a jpeg file it makes it quite difficult (sometimes impossible) to family the color balance of images within the same scene. There are other reasons to avoid jpegs including - reduced bit space resulting in breaking flesh tones and exposure recovery issues.
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Do you keep copies of my images? - Yes and no. We try to keep your images until you notify us that you received your disk or for two weeks after shipping. After your notification or two weeks we delete your images from our system. We keep them to guard against having to re-process the images if the disc in lost or damaged during shipping. We delete them because we honor your copyright.
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Should I send my only copies of the images? - Now do we really need to answer this question. As good as the USPS is we have all experienced loss through the mail. Please do not send us the only copy of your image(s). We are NOT responsible for lost or damaged discs.
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Do I need to edit out the misfires and duds? - We will edit out any obvious misfires or duds. For a small additional charge we will edit your whole bulk shoot down to any number of final images that you require.
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Why do you send back JPEGS? - We have found that max quality JPEGS are virtually lossless while allowing most shoots to be burned to one DVD. This format will allow you to open and resave the files without any visible loss of quality. If you do open and re-save the image files we recommend saving them as TIFF's or another completely lossless format. Opening and re-saving compressed files over and over eventually leads to image degradation.
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Can I open the DVD on a PC and a Mac? - Yes. We burn hybrid DVD's that will read on Windows and Mac OS.
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How do you color manage my photos? - Since we process all of your images based upon on-screen viewing we have to be on top of color management. We regularly calibrate our monitors to a D65 white point and a 2.2 gamma. This is the current standard even for Macs. We return your images profiled to the sRGB color space. We prefer sRGB because it is accepted at most professional printers and is the current web standard - making your files ready to upload to on-line galleries. If you prefer your images in another color space just let us know.
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