Annapolis Family Photographer | Print your photos

Annapolis Family Photographer | Print your photos

Well a little over a week into the New Year, how are you doing on that whole new year new you thing? By now usually people are starting to slow down on the resolutions, changes, and fad diets. Can we talk about something I challenge you to do better at this year.. preserving your memories.

It’s incredibly sad how many clients I hear from that have experienced deaths recently, tragic moments in their lives, I have photographed multiple incredible human beings who are no longer on earth with us, but do you know who is? Their family members… brothers, sisters, children, parents.. they still wish they could remember certain things about them, and so sometimes I will get the most humbling emails, asking what I remember of them, if I still have access to the portraits and memories I captured of them as they have lost the images.

Years ago everyone had prints thats just how it worked, you took your children to Olan Mills and you got framed prints, now most all captured memories, photos, and videos are on smart phones, USB drives, and external hard drives. Its sadly estimated that in 30 years from now the children of today will have only 10% of the photos, videos, and portraits captured right now because they do not get printed often enough. Those phones get destroyed, USB drives get lost, and not only that but in 30 years the zip drive will be to our children what a floppy disk is right now, if you had one in your hands that contained “pictures” would you know to retrieve them? most likely not. Hardly anyone prints, frames, or displays photos. I hear all the time, “those are on my computer I really need to get around to ordering something or putting them in a book”. What happens when that computer is no longer accessible, the drive fails, a flood or fire happens?

PRINT YOUR PHOTOS! I try my very hardest to get prints, canvases, and wall art into the hands of my clients. Yes, it is an investment but its an investment into captured memories, moments in time that are preserved, and then can be displayed. However, in order to print your photos you must take those photos. I talk about this every year.. I know I know we all have something we want to change, slim, highlight, or purchase before we get in front of the camera again, but please, please dont wait. Grab your family, your precious babies, your 4 legged fur babies, your man in uniform, your grandchildren and GET IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA. Do if for them, do it for you, do it for memories. Book portrait sessions, lifestyle sessions, and birthday sessions, but that shouldnt be the only time photos of your family are being taken because you hired a portrait photographer to document your memories, you should take your own photos, on your cell phone, on your camera, with your go pro, videos and stills.. and then PRINT THEM.

Grab a pen, thats right.. go get one, and at the end of each month this year make a little note *Print at least 5 photos*, then on the 15 of the month a note that says *take at least 5 photos*, if you are really adventurous you can increase the number each month, or add video in there… look at your calendar again and figure out which month you will schedule your family portraits because mom, you cannot always be behind the camera you must be in the photos too. In the blink of an eye these baby’s that I photograph at 6 days old will be loading up the back of the family car and kissing you on the cheek and heading of to a college dorm somewhere, and when you turn around and walk back in that house, I PROMISE you that if the walls are bare, you will regret not following this, but if your walls are graced with the images of your baby girl running through a field of wildflowers, or grandma holding your baby before she went to be with jesus, or dad and the boys fishing, or your most recent family portrait session, you will just stand there and you will relive those moments. THAT is why I find ways for my clients to get prints from their sessions into their hands, thats why I build wall art and printed products into my pricing structure and product collections. These are your keepsakes, they are life on your walls, that are moments in time that will begin to fade but can be relived over and over again.

These photos, these captured memories.. this is your life, documented, preserved, cherished… a time capsule, an heirloom, a keepsake!

This year if you stick to nothing else, stick to preserving memories~

Annapolis Family Photographer | Print your photos