MAKE YOUR MEMORIES TANGIBLE
Growing up my mom put all our images in giant binders that had sleeves for the 4×6 prints and we would spend hours flipping through those. As I started high school, I got my own film camera! I loved dropping off my film at the one-hour photo at Walmart. I would always order multiple sets of prints to share with friends and one for myself to keep in my own giant photo binder.
This is a core memory for me and one that I want to create, in my own way, for my kids growing up in this digital age. As important as it is to have your images backed up on your hard drive, it is also, just as important to have your images physically printed and off your device. How often do you plug in your hard drive and share your memories with your kids, family, or friends? I’m going to guess the answer is never. Spend some time to make your memories tangible!
Do yourself a favor, or really do your kids a favor, and get your photos off your devices and into their hands. As one of my favorite photographers, Jonathan Canlas said “Don’t let your jpegs grow up to be jpegs!”.
INSPIRATION ON HOW TO DO IT
PHOTO BOOKS
I looooove printing photo books! This is my form of a journal, it’s my favorite way to document my family milestones and history. I love books so much, that I even made a reel about it!
One of the best things about many of these online companies is that they will keep your completed books uploaded to your account. So, let’s say my house caught on fire or flooded and I lost all my belongings. I can log into my account, reprint these books and I won’t be left empty-handed.
There are so many companies out there that make this easy to do. Places I have used are:
– Chatbooks I use their subscription books! In these, I only print what I post on Instagram. They are small, softcover, and just show the highlights. I keep them out in the family room and my kids will grab them and look at them on a weekly basis. And if a kid ruins them with chocolate hands, they are inexpensive to replace.
– Blurb I create one of these every year and keep these in my bedroom. These I get hardcover and include all my favorite images I have taken in the year. They are like our family yearbook and we look at them on special occasions.
Other Places that I haven’t used but have heard great things about:
– Shutterfly
– Mixbooks
– Artifact Uprising
– Google Photo Books
– SnapFish
– Mailpix
– Walmart
– Walgreens
– and so, so many more
PHYSICAL PRINTS
When you print your photos, places like Walmart and Walgreens are great for quick and easy things like school projects. But, if you are hanging a print on your wall, please, use a professional printing lab. Don’t spend a large sum of money on a professional session and then ruin those photos with ugly prints that are flat and the colors are all off. Here is a little Instagram reel that highlights the differences.
Since I ran my business in Utah for years I found some local places that I enjoy printing at. If you feel like supporting a small business that will ship to you, I recommend either of these guys!
– ProDigital Photos
– Persnickety Prints
Other online professional printing companies are:
– ProDPI
– Bay Photo
– Nations Photo Lab
– Richard Photo Lab
– Printique
– Also, many of the companies mentioned above that print books, like Shutterfly, will also do photo prints.
If you need more creative ways to display your photos, you could also try:
– gallery walls
– canvas prints
– collage prints
– photo calendars
– digital picture frames
– digital scrapbook pages
– screen saver on frame tv
ALL THE VIDEOS
Lastly, what about all those videos on your device? One day, I was chatting with a friend about when our kids took their first steps and it dawned on me. That video was deep in my archives and I hadn’t seen it in years. So, I took on a new project, creating a yearly family video.
IN CLOSING
Recently, I delivered a session to a family and the mom wrote me and said “We have printed off so many to hang in our children’s rooms, so they can be reminded of how loved they are. These moments will become memories in my children’s heads forever.” How true is that! I hope one of these ideas sparks interest and you can find ways to enjoy your family’s memories physically in your home.
…
