Digital…DIY or NOT

Recently I have had some emails asking about customers printing their own digital files and making their own albums.
Is the customer always right…well, yes and no.

First off, let me explain that a raw digital file is just that…raw. When we shot on negatives we would never think of letting a customer take those negs to a lab and make prints…why…well because any print the customer could make would be half the quality we could get given our relationship to our color lab and our quality control.
So, here we are with the digital generation and they believe they can do it all themselves. The answer is yes, some can. But do they really do so….the answer is generally no.

More and more these days I am contacted by brides who tell me that “package” they thought
was a deal with all the digital files is their biggest regret…since the new hubby has not got around
to making up an album, and even prints for the parents two years later.

Lets face it, we all start out with the best of intentions, but reality creeps in fast.

I recently attended a seminar by a local photographer who said “I don`t really want the
hassle of dealing with the bride and groom after the wedding”. I made a point of asking
about customer service and he scoffed…saying it was an “outdated” concept.
Well, I have seen over 800 photographers come and go in this city since I started my career…
I can`t wait for the tide to change and take these photogs with it…

Now when it comes to the technical side of this issue, let me explain a little about DIY packages. When we prep files for our prints our experts spend a half hour per file just to
make certain that the color, sharpness and retouching is perfect. How can a photographer
promise 500 color corrected files at some of the prices we see on the net…

I leave that to your imagination….

Do we offer DIY (do it yourself) packages…the answer is yes. Am I happier as an artist making
your prints….YES. As they used to say in Rome…Caveat Emptor.

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Bride.ca

Got an email today that Bride.ca decided to feature our work to illustrate much of their site…cool.
Check them out.
The blog has a lot of fun ideas from across the country and has a really nice Canadian feel to it.

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Preston Catalogue


This was shot as part of the current issue of Preston Catalogue. We had an interesting time shooting the artists and their art…the toughest part was the art, since photographing paintings and sculpture for a high end mag is no simple task…though I loved the challenges. Kudos to Preston for the great repro of my work.

This shot of Mark was one of my faves…it ran a bit small in the mag…so here it is in full.

To see more of our funkier portraits…go here.

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Ottawa Life/Mayor Larry

My shoot with Larry O’Brien was fascinating. He was not at all what I expected and I
was impressed with his candor and resolve. Best of all, his wife walked up to me at a party
and told me she had a hundred emails saying it was the best portrait anyone had ever done
of Larry….wow.

This marks my 250th magazine cover….and probably my 50th for Ottawa Life.

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Ottawa Photography Rental Studio

I thought I might show you my studio during an actual shoot. Somehow this makes the place look a lot smaller than it is….hmmn that cyc wall is roughly 35feet across. We are the only studio in the city with the capability to bring in large items like motorcycles.I am waiting for the first request to do a horse portrait….lol. We do btw, rent the studio out frequently for film and video and to save the many enquiries I get from folks wanting to rent it to snap their girlfriend..the price is $450day. For more details click here.

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Ottawa Photographers

An Ottawa U student, Hamed Tinafer decided to make me his school project and created this
Wikipedia entry.….Wow. I am honored….and hey, its nice to think back on all I have done in my
career to date. Ok, enough resting on my laurels…thanks Hamed.

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My fifteen seconds of fame…lol

An Ottawa U student, Hamed Tinafer decided to make ME his term project…and created a Wiki
page that tells the tale. Funny, he never mentioned my skills at poker and golf…oh well. But seriously, I was blown away by all the work he put into it…hope he got an A!

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Welcome to Ottawa Commercial Photographer Paul Couvrette’s Blog!


Welcome to my Commercial Photography Blog….

No, thats not me, its of course Rick Mercer in a shot I did for CBC this year at the Next Great
Canadian Prime Ministers shoot. It was great to see that the CBC began using it as one of its
key shots in promoting the show and Rick too.

For more of my Commercial Photography, take a look here.

To look at my entire Blog from the latest post on downCLICK HERE.

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