The Importance of Prints
Why Printing Your Photos Matter
My sister and I had a conversation about photo prints a few days ago. I mentioned that I wanted to offer a full-service photography experience, including delivering prints to my clients. She said to me, "you know, I don't know too many people who print their photos anymore." I disagreed for a bit, but I thought about it and realized that she was partially correct. When was the last time you took the digital images from your cell phone and had them professionally printed?
I have generations worth of photography in my home. Why? Because my Nana had her photos developed, she took the time to place them in multiple albums and frames hung on the wall for everyone to enjoy. Beside my couch is the log holder which held my Nana's photo albums; it currently holds mine. Amongst the knickknacks, pieces of vinyl, antiques, and vintage furniture, looking at those photos and hearing stories about relatives I've never met were my favorite thing about visiting her. Stories about the little things, like Nana and Grandpop dancing in the living room to The Temptations, or your mother and her siblings opening Christmas presents in the house their parents just bought. "Oh yeah, this is the year your uncle brought his girlfriend over for Christmas dinner."
Stories like that are the reason I gifted my family with an excellent quality photo album for Christmas. I want to share that legacy with my nieces and nephews, plus as a photographer, I’d say I have an obligation to create and properly manage these memories. Digital images are great for sharing memories with your friends on social media. Still, it pales in comparison to looking through an album and going down memory lane with your family. These photos aren't just for you; they are for future generations as well.
There are so many reasons why printing your photos are so important. Below are my top three:
Photography is best enjoyed in print. There is something about a printed image that brings your photo to life. It's no longer something to scroll past on your phone. It's a tangible memory you can hold in your hands to share with your friends in family. Try it for yourself, take a few images from your phone and have them printed. I promise the print will be a much better experience, and it ties you back to places, experiences, and emotions.
Prints are works of art. From beautifully posed portraits to everyday documentary-style images, these photos become a work of art once printed. They tell a story, especially when hung on a wall as a gallery set.
Technology is always changing. Think about how you saved photos when computers were initially invented. From floppy disks to CDs, technology will forever change. For the most part, the paper images are printed on will remain the same. Maybe the paper will be matte or glossy; however, the viewing experience doesn't change much.
At some point, technology will fail you. Two things happened to me last year, my laptop randomly stopped working, and I couldn't get into my email account. My email account also housed an online drive that served as storage for my photos. Luckily, I have most of my family and friends' images printed and backed up to a hard drive, so there wasn't a total loss. Still, there was a loss.
So why are so many people skipping and relying solely on digital images? Well, according to the PPA (professional photographers of America), 41.8% of people no longer create photo albums, and an additional 27% say they have the desire, but it's too time-consuming. I understand; life was a bit simpler when my Nana was printing photos and making albums. She also couldn't take the number of images we can take today.
Technological advances make it more convenient every year to retain thousands of pictures on your devices. In a single day, you could take 300 pictures without realizing it. The original plan was to preserve memories, but instead, you end up overwhelmed, so they get dumped into the cloud and not viewed for years. I mean, between soccer games and dance recitals, who has the time to sit down and decide which out of the 1000's of cell phone photos to have printed?
I'm here to make having your images printed easy. I deliver quality prints, print products, and beautifully curated photo albums that will stand the test of time. Interested? Let’s have a conversation about how I can make your portrait experience more fruitful.