Remember the feeling you got the first time you took a photo? When you wanted to capture and seize that moment so that it could last for a lifetime? It’s that warm fuzzy feeling when we get to have a memento of the people we love.
Back in the days when we couldn’t view the images immediately, we had to wait patiently until we use up all the 24 or 36 frames in the roll of film before we can send it in to the lab for processing and printing before we can even see the finished photos.
We would compile all of the prints in those albums that came together for free with the prints. The more artistic ones will take the trouble to put them in nicer looking albums instead of the ones that the lab give to us free :D The even more artistic ones will take more time to turn the prints into a photo album or scrapbook by adding some text or story in the album – where it was taken, when it was taken and what was the occasion…
The best part about that is it becomes a tangible memory for us. It is one of the main reasons why I became photographer myself. Being able to witness a family make time to come together for a photoshoot, gets us emotional inside and we just want it to be able to last forever for them.
Even though photos are more easily taken these days with smartphones, we don’t seem to print photos as much as we used to. We do post them on social media to update friends and families what we’ve been up to lately, by sharing what we have eaten to sharing beautiful moments with the family. Aside from that, it is also partly to “archives” the photos in social media platforms as a back up just in case the computer crash or we lose our phone. The only back up left is the preview resolution of those stored in social media. Social media is known to be notorious in compressing the image so they save some space by allowing you to use the platform for free. When you need it, and when it is time to print, the compressed resolution images looks good from far… but it is far from good once you see it up close!
It’s always easy to convince ourselves that we will print the photos soon, someday soon… but there is never really a good time. We are pretty occupied with our daily tasks, caring for our own kids, running the household, juggling work, and caring for parents. Sorting photos and printing photos from the gazillion number of images stored in our phones is time-consuming and we tend to procrastinate on this task. I just had several clients who only keep “digital copies” on their computers and ask if we still keep them after many years as they have lost their images due to computer crashes.
Memories are like money, there is no purpose of it until you need it. Like when someone has passed on, or when our kids need a shot of our family for school the following week, or you need those pictures for a birthday announcement coming up. It is easy to not do anything now… only to find yourself in dire situations when you need it.
So here are my top 3 reasons why we feel printing photos are important:
1. It becomes a tangible memory
A printed photo becomes something our future kids can touch and look closely into. It’s displayed, its on the wall, its on the desk, its inside the album. You don’t need to search through the various files, folders and deep archives to find the images that you took years ago in the computer. Its there! Printed and hung on the wall or compiled in an album.
Just like when our parents showed us their old photos, it creates conversations about how our families were like when they were younger – how they used to climb on trees or went for a swim in a the Vaal river. Who would have thought our fierce aunties were that playful!
Mini details like these, helps to paint a picture of how our loved ones were once like and bring us closer to them. It’s very heartwarming to see my little Emily taking out the family albums or even those school photos and making jokes about what a big baby I was when I was born(9.7 pounds back in the day).
Plus, printed photos are more accessible for our non-tech savvy parents and our very young kids who we want to limit their screen time to the ‘wonders’ of phones and computers. They wouldn’t need to reach out to the phone or computer to find the files, its just there everyday.
Worst case scenario when you need them in a digital copy, have them converted.
Enjoy your photos every day you when you walk past where the images are being displayed.
2. It ties people to places, experiences and emotions
When we look at the image taken the first time, we might notice things like how we used to look. But as time passes, what we get to see are the moments, the emotions, and the experiences that we had with people that was with us.
The first few seconds from just looking at a photo immediately brings us back to our old homes, our old playgrounds, our old treasured memory. Sometimes when we pause for a little while and just take a look around us, we get to see how far our families have come and remember how we first started out. It ties us back to our roots and our purposes in life. Small things that we see on a photo, like that blanket we used to hug to sleep, reminds us of even the atmosphere, feelings, and scents of that particular time in our lives.
Our world is so fast-moving and there isn’t time to look for the images in our phones or our laptops; have it there ready every time and its great to just stop and re-live those moments…
3. It strengthens us
Lately with the fast-paced life, we get too pre-occupied with our work and we lose sight of our purposes in life and why we do what we do. Sometimes when days are low, we forget about how fortunate we still are to be where we are now. Some people place photo frames on their work-desks, some along the walls of their house, just to remind them of who we are and the people who have made the person we are today… and that even when we have bad days, we will always have our family behind us and in our hearts to push us through in life.
My vision with Finding Light Photography is always to help families preserve their memories.
Memories is an essential part of us. Memories brings people closer together. Memories grows the love stronger.
I will always strive for that no matter how fast the digital world is changing. That is the reason why I offer prints, canvasses and photobooks, to keep those memories alive.
If you need ideas on how to turn your soft copies to tangible photos, do let me know and we can work with you to come up with something.
Or are you thinking of buying a personal and lasting gift for your loved ones to remind him/her of the milestone in their life? I have gift vouchers available that can be personalised to include your personal message and the recipient’s name.
If you are interested in having your photographs printed to hold onto those memories please pop me an email at findinglightsa@outlook.com or give me a call on 0844591662
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