The Best Ways to Preserve Your Photographs
Why Turn Those Digitals Into Prints
Your family photography experience is so much more than just a photo shoot. It is an investment. An investment in your time, your emotions, and, of course, your money! Just like with any investment, you want it to hold its value for as long as possible. So how do you go about getting the most out of your family portrait session, specifically, what is the best way for you to preserve photographs that were created by your professional photographer? Prints! There are so many benefits to printing your photos. You not only have a tangible work of art that is forever a part of you and your family, but it actually is good for us! Photographs help us to feel connected to our family, to our memories, and give us a reminder of things that are most important in life.
Beyond the digital images which get lost on your phone, I want you to turn those beautiful images, into printed artwork which can be held in a book or appreciated as artwork on your walls for years to come. As your photographer, I see your images as memories turned into art. It is more than just a snap of the shutter, but I take time to study the light around you, the connection you are portraying as you hold your baby or child, and then I edit it in a way that conveys emotion and beauty. Digital images are just a step in the process before those images become tangible pieces of art, well preserved and cherished.
Your Photography Experience in Steps
I want you to view your photography experience in steps. Step one is discovering a photographer that is a good fit. Step two is planning your session with your photographer and fine tuning your vision of what you want your images to be. Styling is an important part of this because, in addition to the light and surroundings of your shoot, the colors and textures we wear are a part of the “paint” that is used to create your image. Step Three is the day of your photo shoot. Your photo session is an experience where you are making and preserving memories and a moment in time. Step four is the creation process. I will beautifully edit your images to tell your story and then present them to you in a video slideshow set to music. Step five, you have viewed your digitals, now what?
Stopping at just owning digital images is incomplete. Yes, we can view them on our phone, or computer, or even on our TVs, but then what? Digitals can be easily lost in a quagmire of screenshots and random photos taken on your phone. Worse yet, technology is not a guarantee of preservation, and a corrupt hard drive or a lost password can lead to losing your digitals, too.
Why are Prints Important?
When I was young, I was fascinated by the photographs of my mom and her family that I would see above my grandparents’ fireplace. These images were beautifully framed and some of them looked like paintings. Photo books held stories and memories of weddings, trips, family experiences that were forever preserved in print and always at our finger tips. As a child, I loved seeing what my mom looked like before I was born, or, better yet, the expression on her face when she held me as a baby. If we didn’t have those prints and books, I would have never had that experience as a child. In fact, I believe that photographs are a significant part of supporting healthy development in children: “Life is precious and fleeting. Memories that matter and bring us joy, need to be brought to life. So what happens when we grow up in a society of picture takers but not photo printers? We get a disconnect. Photo printing brings those moments back into our lives and they are tangible and easily accessible. They are shared when printed. They give children a sense of security and belonging when the photos are displayed throughout their own home.”
What Types of Prints Best Meet Your Needs?
With so many options to choose from, it is difficult to decide what may be the best options for printing your photographs. I find it hard too! When I try to decide what to do with my own family’s photographs, i think about what my goals are. Do I want to remember a series of images in a certain context like our vacation, if so, I will choose a professional photo book which we can look through years down the road to see the story of our time together during that time unfold. Or, I purchase a linen or wooden photo box and print fine art deckled prints to store in the box such as our daughters’ senior portraits. That way, they can look through their box any time they wish! If I have professional prints from a recent family photo session, I will choose to get professional prints in various sizes to frame on our gallery wall. I purchased a variety of vintage frames which fit the vibe of our home well and then I rotate images as the years go by. I simply like to frame my images over canvases because canvases are less flexible. For me buying a nice frame that I can swap images out of for years to come just makes sense! For you it might be different!
What are the Best Print Labs for Photos?
If you are a client of mine, you can be rest assured you are receiving the best prints available! My gallery provider Pic-time provides me access to the best professional photo labs, literally, in the world. I am able to choose from labs that serve both the U.S. and Europe. You get what you pay for and investing in the highest quality prints is by far the best choice you can make! Commercial print labs such as at Costco or Target and many popular online providers cannot guarantee color accuracy and they use cheaper papers and ink. As a result, you may get prints that look nothing like what you see in your online gallery and those papers may literally fade over time. The print labs that are found in my galleries such as WHCC (a local Twin Cities print lab!!), Millers, and Musea Lab guarantee print quality for a lifetime. WHCC explains it like this: “We calibrate and balance our printers to create a printer profile. Using a standard working color space like Adobe RGB 1998 or sRGB and embedding this in your file allows our printer software to make sure what is printed is what you saw on your screen.” In other words, what you see is what you will get!
Professional photographer Rachel Nielssen showed just how drastic the difference can be in a blog post she wrote for Click Photo Magazine:
This was her image printed by Millers Lab. It accurately reflects her digital image.
This was her image printed by Target. The color and light is portraited completely different than her digital image.
If you are going to print your photos on your own, there are some labs that do it well! My first choice for special images and gifts is Artifact Rising. I love their photo books and unique framing options. This is a bit of an artsy choice and that fits my style well! For basic prints that are good quality I recommend Mpix. Mpix is the consumer division of Millers Print Lab which is one of the professional labs I use in my galleries. They have a great turn around time and the quality is good!
Need more tips for preparing for your next family, newborn, senior portrait, or maternity session? Check out more of my resources!:
https://www.amg-photos.com/news/when-is-the-best-time-of-day-for-family-photos
https://www.amg-photos.com/news/what-should-i-wear-for-my-senior-photos
https://www.amg-photos.com/news/newborn-photography-safety-guidelines
https://www.amg-photos.com/news/maternity-sessions-are-a-perfect-addition-to-your-newborn-photo-shoot
