A blend of practicality and emotion. 
 
5 min. read

In the age of digital images, the ease of sharing memories instantly with friends, family members and even strangers has become second nature. Every day we are carrying virtual family photo albums that hold not just a few dozen, but often hundreds of photos of our loved ones, right in our pockets. Yet, there is an irreplaceable value in holding an enjoying tangible prints. 

Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as wishing our digital files into print form. It takes time to sort through and decide which images to print, and then figure out what sizes and how you want your photos displayed (framed, matted, canvas, albums, etc…). I get that this can be a daunting task but the effort you invest into this process will be worth it.

 

The PRACTICAL Importance of Printing Family Photos

JPEGs degrade over time.

You may be surprised to learn that every time you open, edit or save your JPEG (.jpg) digital files, which is one of the more common formats, you are losing bits of information which results in slowly degrading the quality of the images.

You can see the loss of quality of a JPEG here where a photographer opened and saved a photo 99 times in order to demonstrate the level of degradation that occurs.

By printing your favourite photos, you will ensure they do not become pixelated allowing you to share high quality images with your loved ones over and over again.

phone with photos

Technology isn’t always reliable.

These days, younger generations are having their childhood photographed much more than any other previous generation. We are trusting our digital technology (e.g. phones, computers, cloud storage, etc…) to be our memory keeper and preserve these moments for us and for our children.

But technology can fail or get stolen. I don’t want to be melodramatic but often our visual keepsakes of childhood are lost forever. Having prints can give you peace of mind knowing that when your technology fails, because someday it inevitably will, your visual keepsakes are safe and sound in print form.

Prints are more accessible.

Kids often love to grab parent’s phones to scroll through to find photos of themselves. But you are busy and your phone isn’t always at your child’s beck and call.

By having prints or albums, you have images that are always accessible if the young ones want to see photos of themselves. Plus you have the added bonus of not having to worry about the images being accidentally deleted! (Fun fact: The prints I offer are all fingerprint resistant so you don’t have to worry about those grubby fingers getting the prints messy).  

Your photos deserve better. 

You’ve invested time, energy and, if you booked a professional family photographer, money into getting photos of your family taken. When I work with families, the intention is not for the images to only live in the digital world but also that your favourite photos are displayed proudly in your physical world.

This is so important not only because having prints displayed around our homes are beautiful to look at, but by seeing images of our family members and different memories we have created, they can actually change us in small but meaningful ways.

Mom playing with sons in the water
The EMOTIONAL Importance of Printing Family Photos.  

If you had to guess, roughly how many photos do you think you have on your phone? Hundreds? Thousands? And if I were to ask you to describe as many of them as you could to me, how many would that roughly be?

Okay, now how about your home.

How many of the photos displayed in your home could you describe to me? Maybe you could even tell me where they are located throughout your house. The photos that are hanging on the living room wall, sitting on your bedside table, clinging to the fridge with a magnet; these images that you and your family members see on a daily basis are the ones you remember and they can have a positive effect for both you and your children’s mental health.

It is good for children’s self-esteem.

When children see their faces and genuine family moments displayed throughout their home every day, it has a positive influence on them. Cathy Lander-Goldberg, a licensed clinical social worker and professional photographer states that, “Displaying photos prominently in the home sends the message that our family and those in it are important to one another, and we honor the memories we have experienced.”.

This is also supported by David Krauss who co-authored the book “Photo Therapy and Mental Health” with Jerry Fryrear. He states “It’s important not only to be photographed in ways that indicate caring, nurturing, love and success, but also to see those images and take them in.”.

It is another way that we can help strengthen children’s self esteem and give them a sense of belonging and an understanding of their place in their family story. With printed images, your home turns into a specially curated space filled with unique memories of family celebrations and everyday activities where you celebrate the people and the memories that mean the most to you. These prints are daily visual reminders to the kids that they are loved and are in a supportive and stable environment.

Prints add a level of connection and emotion.

When you bring a photo from the digital world into the physical world, your world, you change how you interact with that image. Rather than scrolling past a blur of images, you can slow down and linger on them longer.

You can hold photos that have been thumbed through by family members, friends, or perhaps yourself even who may have lingered on these years ago when life was very different. It can be a humbling and beautiful experience. 

 

Printed photos

While digital images have their value and place in our daily lives, I believe that prints have a unique and important value that digital files cannot be replicated. By bringing prints into the home, we add a level of connection, emotion and better sense of well-being within our families.

Learn more about prints & products