Post Summary: Why print your photos? Isn't digital good enough? This blog is dedicated to the top 6 reasons why you should 100% most definitely times infinity print your photos over leaving them just a digital product.

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Print vs. Photo, a war that has waged since the dawn of the digital age. Where do you stand on the battle lines? On one side, the millennials aim their smartphones, tablets and Instagram filters like loaded weapons. On the other side, hipsters with ancient film cameras manually adjust their apertures to capture their foes’ images in artsy black and white.

Where do you stand?

Actually, that was all hyperbole. There’s no real war. There’s just basically everyone on the digital and a few people who adamantly defend film like their lives depend on it.

Instead of creating an us vs. them scenario, I want to propose a world where we don’t have to choose one or the other. We can choose both. They each hold their own value, but printed photos and albums are one of the most underrated forms of photography.

So, I’m just going to be blunt and say it straight: You should absolutely have a wedding album and print photos and I’m going to convince you to do it because there is nothing in the world like holding a photo in your hands. You should also have a great digital gallery and absolutely back up all your pictures in multiple locations. 

You can have both and I encourage you to do so. But don’t place all your photos in one (digital) basket. Here’s why...

Reason 1: Photos are works of art

With everyone holding a pretty nifty camera in their pockets or purses at all times, it’s easy to forget that photos are (or can be) works of art. Yeah, it would be hard to argue that yet another celebrity selfie is art, but when you have a professional photographer who treats their work as an art, then you most definitely have an artful photograph. 

Art is meant to be displayed. Yeah, it’s great to have a picture on your phone that you can show your coworkers, but would you take a picture of a Monet painting and then place the original in your closet? I don’t think so. Art should be hung up on your walls, framed, admired, talked about. And your art — the photos of you on your wedding — is even more than art. It’s a living keepsake, a memento that reminds you of the love of your life and the best party you’ve ever been to. This is a piece of art that represents you!  You should find a way to make that art physical.

And real talk, you paid good money for a photographer on your wedding day. It might be the most you ever pay for photography in your life. Don’t you think those photos are worth showing off? You hired a photographer with an artistic vision to hold your memories safe and save the beauty of your day in heartfelt photos, treat your photos as art. Hang them up, create and album, even if you slap them on your refrigerator, it makes your day and your love that much more tangible and reminds you of one of the best days of your life.

Reason 2: Weddings tell a story

From getting dressed and hair and makeup down to the last lone dancer on the floor, your wedding day is a story. From the photos of your wedding rings to the tears shed during your toast, photographers are capturing everything as natural storytellers. So it only makes sense that your wedding day be captured in the form of a story, with a wedding album. 

Creating a wedding album is also a way of saying that your story matters and deserves to be remembered. In your hands you can hold a treasure trove of memories, a well of emotions and an endless backup supply of love that you can go back to again and again like a pantry that is magically stocked forever with your favorite foods (in the post-Coronavirus world, I think we can all appreciate this sentiment). 

Through photo albums you can relive your day like you were right back there again. Online galleries can't do this in the same way. There's just something so special about holding those moments in your hands.

That wedding album will be with you forever. You can take it out on holidays, anniversaries, any special occasion. And, not to be a downer, but relationships have their ups and downs, so you know you can take it out when you're in a rocky patch or in a fight or just need that extra reminder of how the two of you fell in love and said your vows.

The story of your love doesn’t boil down to one day, it’s always evolving and with that photo album you can remember your own growth as a couple.  

Reason 3: Wedding albums are living, breathing mementos

Do you remember seeing pictures of your grandparents’ or parents’ wedding? Isn't there something just so nostalgic and special about holding those photos in your hands, eyes drinking in an old photo? Don't you want to give this same feeling to your children and grandchildren? That is the power of printed photos.

In the same way that you hope to hand down special family heirlooms like silverware or jewelry, photos are an heirloom that will last for lifetimes. They are a powerful way to connect with future generations.

And, hey, it's sort of morbid (oops) but it's true, photos are how you're going to be remembered when you're gone. We all have family members that have passed. Think about the photos of them now and what life would be like without them.

Nostalgia also plays a huge piece in the power of photos and wedding albums. Think back on those photos of you as a three-year-old blowing out your birthday cake. Remember the amazing haircuts and clothes that your parents wore when they were teenagers? Remember that family vacation to Florida when it rained the whole time but somehow you had the time of your life? Yup, it’s photos that hold all that magical power of memory, nostalgia and emotion in a simple rectangle of shapes and colors.

Reason 4: Prints are forever

They say diamonds are forever, and while they certainly do last, do they hold the same emotive power of even a single precious photograph?

The first photograph was printed in 1826 but we've been trying to preserve memories for much longer than that. We've used sculptures, portraits and art of all kinds to try and remember people and events in history. Nearly anything that has lasted through the centuries stands as a priceless work of art now. In the same way, your photos are priceless to you and they're also timeless. 

Who knows what kind of technologies there will be in the future? The digital age has produced many wonders, and photography is one of many among them, but print is never going to go away. Not for 100 years, Not for 1,000. 

Think of your photos lasting that long. And since we don’t have to choose between digital and print, you can know that if your print photos ever get damaged or worn down with time, you can print more! You can have your photos and eat them too (figuratively, unless that’s what future technology holds. Mmmm, edible photos...). 

Reason 5: Online galleries are not forever

Sorry, but gallery links expire, and sometimes couples forget to download their photos. Well it may be impossible to believe right now, but Facebook will not be around forever. Your photos deserve more than a Facebook album or an Instagram post. 

Future-proof your moments with print! Prints and photo albums protect your photos in a way that digital albums cannot. Files can be corrupted, technological slip ups can and do happen. I am not at all saying that you shouldn't back up all of your photos (remember, we don’t have to choose one or the other), but you can have a lifetime backup with a physical photobook. 

Remember floppy disks? Yeah, no else does either. Even CDs and DVDs are like dinosaur fossils to us now. Who knows how we’ll look back at our external hard drives and computers in the future? Even the cloud isn’t foolproof. 

Ironically, one of the oldest forms is our safest bet for the future. Print is the only future-proof method!

Reason 6: The power of touch

I want you to try something for me, if you can. If you have a print copy of a picture and a digital copy of the same picture, I want you to hold them both side by side. Now, depending on the quality of the print, you may see a sharp difference between the images. But even with quality aside, what do you get from the feeling of holding that photograph in your hands?

The sensation of touch is the way that photos were meant to be experienced. Why, oh why, would you spend thousands of dollars on photos just for them to live on your computer desktop? That’s no place for art! That’s no place for mementos! Let them live, darnit! Let them live!

Psychologically, touch is a powerful thing. It's one of the first senses to develop and it can literally affect our minds and bodies. It remains central to our emotions for our entire lifetime. We connect deeper to things when we can touch them and hold them in our hands. What a picture of a puppy does for you, actually petting and cuddling with a puppy can do tenfold, a hundredfold. And since we photograph things as a way to remember how we felt, it only makes sense that we should want to feel the photograph itself.

You get the most out of your photos by holding them in your hands. Being able to touch your memories and interact with them, that’s no small thing, it has unparalleled value.

Well, did I do it? Did I convince you that photo albums are both the way of the past and the future? Have I convinced you that you should have prints in addition to digital photos? I sure hope so. If not, you can send me a message and I’ll answer any questions or address any concerns you still have. 

For the rest of you who do decide to go with printed albums, a word to the wise. With prints and albums, just like with photography, you absolutely get what you pay for. So if you're thinking of a momento that's going to last for a lifetime, don't go with the online bargain, go with a trusted company. Or better yet, find a photographer you love and trust (like meeee), and ask them to print your album for you. They typically have connections to the best printers and can get good pricing. 

And since we’re on the subject. Guess what? I personally offer prints and albums. I help design and print your albums with suppliers I know and trust to provide premium, luxury work.

How does it work? You choose your favorite 50-75 images from your wedding day and I will design an album for you. Then you pick the size, cover, spreads, debossing options, etc. and I’ll send you back a draft. Once you're happy with the product, I put in the order and you will get your album within 3-4 weeks. 

How does that sound? If you’re interested, check out my album page for more info. 

And whatever you do or whoever you choose to go with, I do hope that you make the choice to print your photos and/or a wedding album. You will have 0 regrets and never live with FOMO again. 

Prints are forever!

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