Why you should print your photos
The importance of printing
You’ve had your session and all images have been delivered to your online gallery. The first thing you want to do is share them with all your family and friends, so you quickly download them, post them on social media, and everyone responds that they love them. Next you may put your images on a thumb drive or a folder on your computer, maybe even an external hard drive. One week turns into 3 and life continues to be busy. Then one day you go to look for your photos and you can’t find the thumb drive, or you remember the folder they were in was on that computer that crashed long ago. You panic and it hits you that you didn’t backup those images! This is a familiar scenario photographers see all the time. As photographers, we have a time limit that we will hold on to your images and to conserve space we can’t always keep them forever. This is why I always stress with my clients to print those images and to always back them up in multiple places! The last thing you want to happen is for all those special moments to be lost for forever. Maybe grandma comes to visit and wants to see those beautiful new photos you just had done, but struggles to see on your phone. There could be a variety of reasons why keeping your photos in digital form isn’t the best. There are many reasons why I believe it is extremely important to print out images from your photo session.
My 6 Reasons why you should print your images:
1. Technology is not perfect, Computers Die, Hard Drives Fail, Paper Doesn’t.
Regardless of your backups whether it is an external hard drive, thumb drive or an online backup service such as iCloud or google, the reality is that no system is ever 100% failsafe. While we depend on the idea of security and permanent preservation that digital files seem to offer, the truth is any platform can crash, go out of business, or hike their prices beyond what you can afford. It would be devastating to have your photo files disappear from a cloud or photo hosting site before you’ve printed them – and there’s no way to reclaim them once they’re lost. Similarly, every computer will eventually crash. I hear all the time about the heartbreak that happens when someone’s computer or hard drive crashes and they realize that they’ve lost everything. It’s one of my biggest fears! But there’s a simple solution: print. Print all your favorite images, the moments that are the most precious, so that if something terrible does happen, you’ve got a tangible version of your memory.
2. You’re not really looking at them.
You don’t get to enjoy them if they’re on your phone, computer, or hard drive. How often do you sit on your phone, and look back through all your old images? Or your computer? They will eventually get lost on your camera roll. Your hard drive won’t always be plugged in. And will you really get on your computer every day to open up that folder of your images? You know who likes looking at photos of themselves on the phone over and over again? Your kids! Adults rarely delve into them for any length of time unless we’re fresh from a vacation, or wedding, or another special event and want to show someone who’s interested. If you don’t print them, you’re not really looking at them, and that’s a waste of great photos. I’m 100% certain that if any you hang memorable photos on the wall, or have a few albums made up for the family room end tables, they’ll be looked at all the time. When you don’t print those photographs out, document them and save them in physical form, there is no way others can appreciate them or reclaim their own memories in the future.
3. Grandparents and relatives love physical photos.
Most of us only have easy access to the photos we’ve taken ourselves. However, printed photographs offer a way to share our images with those we love, and a way to feel connected with the ones who live far away on a daily basis. So remember, when having any type of portraits done, don’t just make prints for just you! Gift these to family. Grandma and grandpa and mom and dad always love to have small desk prints for their home and for their office at work and even a large wall print for their home even a small photo to put on the fridge.
4. Printing and album-making has never been easier.
Producing professional-quality prints or albums is easier than ever with the help of affordable, online photo/album printing websites (Snapfish, Shutterfly, Nations Photo, Canvas Pop, etc.). Once the photos are uploaded, arrange them in creative displays – including captions or not. You can choose to have the prints and/or albums sent to you – or you can have them sent directly to the grandparents – easy-breezy! Albums are great ways to showcase your images in almost a story like way. Photo albums are kept, looked at, talked about and serve as a bonding tool for years, decades and by multiple generations. They are the things we look at when mourning a beloved family member or friend who’s passed away, they’re the memories we review for anniversaries and birthdays, and photo collections are the means of introducing our children to past generations or individuals they never had the honor to meet. Keeping an album out of your photos allows you to share them with people who are visiting or just for you and your family to enjoy.
5. Photos Make Great Décor.
We all love to make our homes beautiful, so why not use the images you’ve taken or have had taken and use them to decorate your home. Pick your favorite images, blow them up, frame them, have canvases made and create a gallery wall of your life. Having pictures of your family on the wall are a great mood booster for when you arrive back home after a long day of work. What’s great is as the years go by you can either add new images or swap out the old for the new. Albums on your coffee table are great conversation starters as well and set off your coffee table nicely.
6. Feeling a tangible product is awesome.
This one is specifically for photographers, but honestly there is no better feeling than holding your hard work in your hands. There’s something about taking a photo and printing it, seeing it and feeling it that brings that photo to life. When you print photos, they have different coloring and texture than on a phone or computer. You can see the richness of the scene and the story behind the image really comes to life.
Something to note, I will always recommend having your photographer print your images for you. I work with the best labs that offer high end products who exclusively work with photographers that offer amazing customer service. If any product reaches my doorstep and has any flaw, my lab will immediately correct it and send out a new one. Most photographers guaranty the quality of their prints if you print through them. I know that not everyone has it in their budget to print through their photographer, so I always give printing instructions to my clients to help them achieve the best possible printing outcome. Try to research every lab before you choose to ensure the best quality. Even a little money spent and time invested is a waste if the product is not of good quality.
