The Importance of having your Photographs Printed

Photographs are meant for paper not on screen.  Now this may see a bit contradictory since you are reading this on some form of electronic device, but it's true.

An ancient definition of photography is to "write with light" 

Photos just have a better look and feel when they are on paper.

I am not a photographer that shoots and burns images, I am not a photographer that will have a $50 "mini-session"  special with all images "edited" on a disc ( and by the way it is disc, not DISK) people!

I have delivered thousands of images to various clients and there is absoultely no better feeling in the world to see the look and reaction on a clients face when I reveal a 24x36 image of the them.  I have see reactions of jumping up and down to tears of joy when they see something they have a true emotional connection to.  Simply put you cannot capture the impression or emotion that a large print gives you.  It cannot be captured in a smaller print and that emotion surely cannot be found on a CD.

In studies dating all the back to 1975 have shown that a very powerful aspect of photography is how prints hanging on the wall can boost the self esteem of children in the home.  Again something you cannot measure in a digital image.  It let's children, teens and young adults learn who they are and how they fit in. 

When researching this topic myself I came across this powerful quote, 

“My personal and clinical bias is there is something very powerful in touching your fingers to an actual print,” says Craig Steinberg, a licensed psychologist who works with children ages five through 13 near Eugene, Ore. “Touching the photograph where a face is smiling or on the shoulders, it is the same thing as touching a book when you read it. There’s a lot of stimulation of the brain when you have that sensory experience. That is a bit lost in the move to digital. You are touching a keyboard, mouse or a touchscreen but you are not touching the image.”

You may be wondering why I posted an old image in this article?  The answer to that is quite simple this image is 69 years old.  It's a PRINT of my wife's parents when they got married in 1947.  

I was able to restore the image by scanning and doing the necessary fixes that can be made in the digital age.  In fact we had the image printed as gifts for her siblings.  

I realize that the digital age and computers and discs were not a thing in 1947, but the emotion of holding a nearly 70 year old image in hand is powerful.  There is emotion and even though none of us were there we have a connection to the day.

I see it this way if you don't print, memories that once were special can and will be lost forever!

Thank you all for your continued support and inspiration.  None of this is possible without all of you!

Kind regards,

Ryan