Printing and storing your photos may seem like a daunting task...and trust me, I get it. I am not organized, like at all. But I do have a few tips for storing photos and a few things you may not know about photo storage.
As a photographer, I believe that photos are some of the most priceless tangible items that we can possess. It's a bit like magic- a photo takes a single second in time and freezes it forever. It allows us to relive a moment and it sparks something within us. To me, that's pure magic. Our memories can often fail us and I always use the example of how I forgot about an entire vacation I took with both my maternal and paternal grandmothers.
Yeah, can you believe that?
The only way I remembered was because on a rainy day, I decided to pull out a Rubbermaid tote full of old pictures. It makes sense to protect our memories and to care for them carefully. Your memories deserve to exist out side of a hard drive.
I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty details of photo storage and life spans of external hard drives (you guys, they are short. Like, 5-7 years short, so please don't let that be your only method!), but what I am going to do is tell you how I store and display my personal photos and why you should print your pictures. I posted about a print order I had just gotten in over on my Instagram and I got a huge response!
"What do you do with them?"
"Those are so gorgeous!"
"I'm so in love!"
"Wow!"
"Where do you put them all?"
"How often do you do it?"
Just to recite a few.
I believe in printing your pictures. I believe in being able to hold an actual, tangible memory in your hand. Years ago, I was caught up in digital everything. I mean, let's face it, we all kind of are. Our whole world revolves around digital technology. Why print out a picture when I can look at it on my phone or pull it up on my computer whenever I want to? And that's fine and of course I still do that. BUT, you absolutely, 100% cannot replace the feeling that you get by holding a real, beautifully printed memory in your hand. Holding it in your hand makes it real. You feel it. It's there. Every. Single. Time. that I get a print order in (I only print out my absolute favorites), I have a visceral reaction to seeing them in my hand. Every time. I usually even put it in my Insta stories or Facetime my mom or call my husband over to say, "Hey! Look at these prints! Aren't they amazing!?" And they always agree. Why? Because they are having the same reaction. They are so much more beautiful and so much more meaningful when printed and held in hand.
So, what do I do with them all?
I do a few things. I love loose prints. Nothing compares to shuffling through a stack of old prints. Sitting huddled around together, passing them around, finding one that speaks so deeply to you that you hang it up on the refrigerator to see it multiple times a day. For these prints, I store them in a photo box. What makes this different than other boxes is because it has been treated and is acid free, so as not to destroy the paper and ink of the photographs held inside. This is especially true if you are printing at a commercial lab like Walmart, Shutterfly, Walgreens, etc. as they do not use quality paper or ink. Prints from these labs are going to need special consideration to make them last, this is not the same as the paper and ink our grandparents photos were developed on.
Every year, I take my favorite prints, assemble them together, and order a beautiful photo album for a Family Yearbook. I absolutely love this and my children do too. They love to look through the books and see all of their favorite memories of the year at a glance. It's a compact, beautiful, and easy way to print hundreds of photos.
I also display photos throughout my home in a more traditional way. I have them in frames throughout the home and some printed on canvas. However, I do have a few less traditional ways I display them. I thrifted a few flat baskets (I don't know what to call them?) and had the idea to hang them on the wall and attach the pictures with little wooden clothespins. I can easily change them out whenever I want and it's a fun way to display seasonal pictures.
One more quick note about the importance of printing pictures and not allowing them to exist solely on your hard drive- there has been a study done that shows that kids self esteem is impacted by seeing themselves in photographs that are displayed. It allows them to see their role within the family and see their importance. You can read the article here. This other one is about the value of seeing oneself in an early education setting. I think about it often and I strive to not only display pictures, but show them what I'm working on and editing on the computer too. I've also taken to making family films and they love watching them! Actually, my daughter CRIED when I showed her the first film I made of our family. How precious is that?
But I can also attest to the children reacting to see themselves in print because our littlest didn't have many pictures hanging in our home there for a while. We'd gotten busy, it was on the back burner, etc etc. (to clarify, I had the pictures, they just were not displayed.) and when I finally hung them up, he took notice immediately. He went around pointing and shouting, "That's me mama! That's Baby! That's ME!"
If you're ready to start capturing some memories and getting some meaningful images to hang around your home, send me a message and let's chat. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have and I'm so excited to create something amazing with your family.
