Why Printing Family Photos is Important
In this digital age, printing photos has become somewhat obsolete, at least from my experience in talking with families. Why bother, when we can just open our phones and find the person in question (either in pictures or live).
If there are printed photos in a home, it’s usually of children when they were younger (because let’s face it, we ALL take more pictures of our kids when they’re younger. They’re home more and they’re busy doing fun stuff around the house (instead of homework) so it’s natural to have more images of them. Once they get older, it definitely slows down.
But no matter what age your children are, having printed photos of them around the house is really important! Printed family photos build self-esteem in kids and help them feel a sense of connection and belonging. They document our history, protect against data loss and create beautiful spaces in our homes. To learn more, read on…
Photo by Kristin LaDriere Family Photography
Why Photos are Important…
There have been numerous studies on the importance of having family photos displayed in the home. Seeing images of themselves with family members gives children a sense of connection that can lead to higher self-esteem. Family photos give kids a sense of identity and belonging as well as comfort and safety during stressful times. And for younger kids, it can help them to remember family members who aren’t close by.
If that isn’t reason enough, photos help to tell your family’s story. They’re your legacy. They instantly connect you to that one moment in your past and allow you to relive that time again and again (like that time your family got caught in a thunderstorm and had to get back to your cruise ship without being struck by lightning.). They’re like little time-machines except you don’t have to worry about getting stuck back in the 1980’s (although I rocked the side-ponytail!!).
They tell your history….all the stuff that happened before you were born that you heard stories about growing up. When my grandmother passed away, we cleaned out her basement and found a collection of photos from her time as a nurse in the Army during WWII. She had shared stories about her past many times but to see the images of her from back then were so powerful. My only regret is that we didn’t see those photos before she passed so she could explain what she was doing in a hula skirt on top of an Army truck.
Photographic prints also protect your “memories” from being accidentally erased if your digital storage device fails. Electronic storage is not foolproof and sometimes your device fails and you are unable to collect the data from it. Backing up your images to the cloud or another device definitely helps with that but having those images printed creates an additional backup system to protect those memories.
You can use your family photos as wall art to decorate your home! In addition to the traditional ways of displaying your images (framed prints, canvases), there are so many fun, creative ways to showcase your family’s story. Mpix Photo Lab is one of my favorite places to print my images and they have so many options (from collage walls to photo tiles to standouts) to display your pictures! And if you don’t have room for family photos on your walls, I wrote a blog about some other options to showcase your family and their adventures!
So why aren’t people printing photos as much as they used to?
The ability to carry your photos everywhere on your phone means you can find images of whatever you need, whenever you want, which is great! I love being able to share stories with friends and having the photographic proof with me. And I'm as guilty as the rest of you for not always printing my favorite memories. So what’s the issue??
Maybe finding a reputable print lab with calibrated printers is confusing or overwhelming? You definitely do NOT want to print at a local store that is known for everything but photo printing. They don’t calibrate their printers and they don’t use quality paper that will last for generations. But I can help with that! For every session I photograph, I upload the entire edited gallery (not just the images purchased) to Mpix so my clients can choose their products directly from their site. They can order prints, wall art and albums from their entire gallery, even if they didn’t purchase the digital file of the image.
Maybe the process of uploading all of your images and creating pieces of art from your gallery seems too time intensive? I can help with that as well! I do offer custom album design and am happy to talk with you about designing something from your session, if time constraints are keeping you from having the session art you want.
So even if they weren’t taken by a professional photographer, printing family photos is absolutely something you should be doing! Use Mpix or find a local print lab that you love…but get those photos off of your phone or computer and into your home! Your kids will thank you for it!