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creating a slideshow for a client

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GretchenW

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
60
Location
Wisconsin
Lightroom Experience
Advanced
Lightroom Version
Classic
Lightroom Version Number
LRCC 10.x
Operating System
  1. Windows 10
Hoping to find a way to create a slideshow for a client that they will not be able to save the images from. I don't even know if this is possible.

I would PREFER to give them a USB with the slideshow on it, and have the slideshow be in the format of a video. I have searched and I see that the slideshows export as MPEG-4 format. I'm wondering if that format will allow the client to stop the video and capture a still image of the slideshow? I guess anything is possible and there's no ironclad way to avoid this but I just want to go into this with both eyes open.

Also wondering if I should instead burn the slideshow to a DVD instead of a USB? I'm thinking, if a client wants to view the images with their family members, it's more likely they will use a DVD player than use a computer.

Any information is appreciated! Thank you!!
 
Is your concern copyright or un authorized use by the client? You could watermark the images. If you're concerned about the client using "demo" images to avoid compensating you for originals, the slide show resolution at standard display resolution will generally be unacceptable for most other uses. A motivated person can almost always capture a digital image in some form but the quality wouldn't be what you would be providing otherwise.
If the information in the slide is proprietary or confidential, I would not release a digital copy to the client.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
You are correct there is no way to keep someone from "stealing" an image. A simple screenshot can do it. You're best bet is to have solid contract terms, in which case you have to be able to follow up and search for infringements, which of course can be very difficult. Putting a large watermark can help, although someone with a little skill and a lot of time can also remove watermarks, and depending on your relationship with your client can also be damaging if they don't know how to "read" such an image with a big distraction on it. You can of course set up a gallery or send them low-resolution, small images, but this may be of limited protection.

The way I've dealt with this is to have clear contract terms, in ordinary, non-legal-sounding language, and to be redundant about those terms, having that language on the front of a contract as well as in the Terms and Conditions. I have the signature at the end of the T & Cs so there is no way anyone can say they did not know the language was in the contract - this is standard for any sort of contract of any kind.

How you can attempt to protect yourself and your images contractually also depends on what sort of client you have: retail (weddings, direct-to-consumer; headshots); advertising or editorial; or fine art. Each kind of client - and their subsets - have different sorts of contracts associated with them.
 
The DVD player needs a builtin Slideshow App. to play MPEG4 files. or your Video needs to conform to the right DVD movie format.
You are not going to be able to do anything more than make it difficult to capture a freeze frame. So plan that your image will be available to somebody with the right skill set and right tools.

I would go with the ThumbDrive over the DVD. DVDs are pretty much obsolete and most Smart TVs can accept USB drives for Videos and slide shows.
 
Thank you @DCBolton , @BarrySchwartz , and @clee01l .

I am a family & wedding photographer. This year I am moving away from providing dozens/hundreds of digitals for clients (at no additional cost) and instead working to provide them with beautifully printed portraits. Of course clients will still want digitals, and especially in a wedding situation there will be MANY memories of the day and I know families will want to keep most of them or possibly all of them.

I'm trying to figure out a way to price myself so that I can provide them with the images, but without giving them the actual digital files to allow them to print the images themselves.

I'm also aware, we are now a digital society and it's very hard to avoid this. I'm also aware that there are countless photographers who will just give people the digitals and if that's what they want, I'm okay with them finding another photographer.
 
My understanding regarding wedding photographers is that, increasingly, clients expect to receive the files, whether or not they also buy prints - but it's not my world.

Perhaps you already know this, but the absolute best resource for any aspect of the family and wedding businesses is WPPI, which has enormous resources that address everything all of us have mentioned in this thread, from contracts to processing to the culture and expectations of clients.
 
If you want to try to minimize the loss, you can strike a tradeoff between “sufficient quality for the customer’s TV” and maximum image quality. For example, to get a good 8 x 10-inch print of a photo, the file should be around 5 to 8 megapixels:
  • A DVD frame is about 0.3 megapixels.
  • A 1280 x 720 frame is about 0.9 megapixels.
  • A 1920 x 1080 (“Full HD”) frame is 2.1 megapixels, and is the maximum size available for exporting a Lightroom Classic slide show.
  • A 3140 x 2160 (4K) frame is 6.8 megapixels. 4K is currently the most common resolution for new TVs.

If you gave clients a 1080p Full HD video slideshow and they took a screen shot and tried to print an 8 x 10 from it, the short side would be only 135 ppi (1080/8 inches), so some print companies might flag it as not enough resolution. The frame dimensions might not match a 4K TV, but when you take a typical sofa viewing distance into account, most clients probably wouldn’t tell the difference and be satisfied. So 1080p is one possible middle ground.

Another strategy is to lower the bit rate of the exported video so that a single captured frame might show more compression artifacts, which might not be noticed by casual viewers during a slideshow, but could make a print less satisfying. However, Lightroom Classic video export doesn’t provide control over the bit rate; it would have to be done in another application.

I agree that DVD is on the way out. Fewer families are buying DVD/Blu-ray disc players since movie viewing is now veering rapidly toward streaming, and this shift has only accelerated during the pandemic. And it’s getting harder to find a new computer with a DVD player in it.

I’m not a wedding photographer, but I watched a workshop by Sue Bryce who does do portraits and weddings. To achieve sustainable income she does not try to undercut anyone, but markets and sets prices based on a high service level and high-value keepsakes such as well-printed enlargements and deluxe printed albums. (Part of her story is to convince customers that few people actually get around to printing their digital files, so if they want to enjoy a great enlargement and album of their wedding they really should order one now, from her.) She does not offer prints and digital copies as affordable a la carte items; they are available only as part of higher-priced package levels where the customer has already bought into the high-margin enlargements and albums included in those packages, to assure that the job is going to be worth the time. But I am not in that industry so I don't know how widely that can work out well.
 
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