Look professional.

Sure, we all have done it: shot a job for a client, making sure we acted as professional as possible on the shoot, only to deliver the end product in an unprofessional way - whether it be a CD of images with the title hand-written with a Sharpie Marker or an envelope with our chicken-scratch writing on it. That is a no-no. As professionals, we must produce a professional-looking product from start to finish.

The relatively low cost of ink jet printers has made producing professional-looking products a no brainer. I have an older Epson R200 ink jet printer that has the ability to print on CDs or DVDs. I used to do the Sharpie thing, and I cringe now when I look at what I used to give the client. Now, every job that is delivered to the client gets a CD or DVD with a printed label on it. When I say printed, I mean right on the CD, not a sticky label. The last thing you need is for a client to ruin his or her CD drive when your label decides to peel off while spinning in the drive.

There are also the newer DVD/CD drives with Light-Scribe technology. I am not too familiar with them, but they burn an image right on the DVD or CD. I have read that they tend to be slow at producing the image, but if the end result looks good, it may be worth it.

After the DVD or CD is complete, it goes into a paper envelope or jewel case. That goes into a twin pocket folder with contact sheets, if ordered, and a printed invoice. I use Quick Books for invoicing. As for envelopes and packages, I use either printed Avery labels or I will print right on the envelope with my ink jet printer.

The client gets a professional-looking package and you get a client who thinks you are on the ball. Then he or she won't mind paying the kind of fees we deserve.