I want you to come back with me, back to your childhood. Think about that rainy Saturday where you were board out of your brain. Nothing to do...not a thing to do on that cold cold wet day! (Name that book! :)
Then a thought occurred to you... Hey! What did (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa...fill in the blank!) look like when they were my age? Do I look like them? Do I have their nose/eyes/hair/dimples etc? What kind of clothes did they wear? What did Mom and Dad look like when they got married? What did I look like as a baby? Now I want you to think about what you did next...Where did you look to get these questions answered? Oh yeah, you know the answer - the family photo album!
So, you've gone and taken the time to get professional pictures of you or your family. Awesome! You post them ALL online because you love them so much, and so do your friends! A few weeks pass, then a few months pass...and your digital files start to get lost in your Facebook/Instagram feed, and collect dust on your hard drive. Fast forward 40 years.... and your grandchildren start to have the same experience you had on that cold cold wet day... Where will THEY go to find answers to those questions? Scroll endlessly through your Instagram feed? Who knows, Instagram might not be a thing by then (GASP! HEAVEN FORBID!!) But seriously. I want you to think. Where will they go??
I'll level with you, I know we're in a digital age. I know how important it is to have the digital copies from your session. Isn't the saying "if you don't post it, it didn't happen?" As sad as I think that is, now it's your turn to level with me. After you had your professional pictures taken, and you got that AMAZING shot where your 3 year old was grinning ear to ear while holding hands with her older brother as they frolicked through the woods.....Did you print it? Is it hanging somewhere in your house?
I see you. I see how you long to remember whatever phase your kids are in. You want to remember the dimples on their knuckles, their curly q hair, how perfectly they fit in your arms, or their child like curiosity about the world. But be honest, will it be easy to remember all of that in 40+ years?
I have a new suggestion to the saying : "If you don't preserve it, memory will fade, and you will forget".
Now it's my turn to teach you something. There is a HUGE difference between prints made at Walmart/Target (fill in the blank) vs prints made at a professional lab. Prints from a pro lab are archival quality. What does this mean? It means that they are printed on special paper that is resistant to the effects of time. It means that, on average, they have a standard archival value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage. It mean that when your grandkids want to see them, they will still be a vibrant and beautiful as the day you first hung them up.
Yes, Walmart and Target prints will be much cheaper, but they will not last. The colors will not be accurate, and they will fade over time.
This is why I firmly believe in having something tangible from your session, something to show your children and their children. Professional prints provide accurate color, realistic saturation, and I would hope you take advantage of this great opportunity to create something beautiful, something to show the next few generations.
Want some visual proof of the difference between a pro lab and Target? Check out this Pinterest board I made : https://pin.it/choy77irakmxi2
Now, go print your pictures!!
Hugs,
Morgan
PS. Be sure to check out my blog post about how to style and hang your gallery wall! (CLICK HERE)
