Print Those Pictures
In the age of digital photography, it's easy to let these family photos gather virtual dust on our hard drives or in our phones as they fade into the depths of our ever-growing digital archives. While digital storage offers convenience and accessibility, it's the tangible, physical form of a printed photograph that truly carries meaning beyond a Facebook profile picture update or a text message you share with a relative.
There's something undeniably special about holding a printed photograph in your hands. The intricate details that come alive under the natural light, the feeling of glossy paper, or of turning the page on the album (and the scent of old pictures, I should make it into a candle!)– these elements create an experience for all of the senses, not just a blue screen and a flat JPEG.
Printed photos have a permanence that digital images often lack. They are less susceptible to the whims of technology, the risks of data loss, and the ever-changing landscape of digital formats. In a world where information can vanish in the blink of an eye, printed photos serve as enduring testaments to our lives and the connections we cherish. Also, when you are gone, these printed photos are heirlooms you can pass along. Can you imagine if someone handed you your Grandma’s old iPhone so that you could see pictures of her when you miss her? Real photos give us something to go back to, to share with others, and to show our children as we all grow. Printed photos become our history, not our digital footprint.
Print your photos. Print your professional pictures (obviously). Print your phone pictures. Put them in albums. Frame them. Make calendars with them. Make giant canvases or wood prints for your walls. Print pictures from vacations. Send pictures to your family in the mail. Make holiday cards. Create albums online and have them printed. My daughter LOVES to go through physical pictures, both ones of her and old ones of me and my husband growing up. There is a whole decade of my life lost when I didn’t save or print pictures, and there are just a few albums on Facebook that live to document this time. Facebook accounts get hacked, and photos get lost. Print your pictures and ensure that you can hold your memories close.
I use MPix for prints, my friends love Smallwoods for large format prints, or do a Chatbooks monthly photo book subscription. Just get those photos out of digital format and into something you can feel.
