I recently shared a story on my Instagram page that encouraged printing out pictures that have been taken. I had a number of friends respond to my story to share that it inspired them to add printing pictures to their to do list, and I had a number of friends who reached out to acknowledge that printing the pictures is the hard part. And, I agree.
Our phones make snapping pictures super simple. And what a gift! The ability to easily capture moments in time is a simple joy in this life. Similarly, our phones make it slightly unnecessary to rush to print our images. We can so easily share them online.
As a photographer, I have more photos than I care to admit. So, I have spent a great deal of time searching for various ways to display these images throughout my home. I thought I would share some of these ideas as many of them would also make fabulous gifts for friends, children, grandparents, etc. I also have some exciting news for clients of mine tucked in at the end of this post!
- Chatbooks (www.chatbooks.com)
Chatbooks makes it nearly foolproof to print images that you have saved on your phone. They send you reminders to add your photos to your project each month, and they have a variety of options for monthly books. For a very reasonable price, you can create a collection of memories to stack on a bookshelf or sit on a coffee table for easy browsing. I can’t tell you how many times my boys sit down and flip through one or a few while just hanging out.
2. Square Photo Prints (www.artifactuprising.com)
I love these square photo prints from Artifact Uprising. They come on a heavy cardstock, so they can sit in a stack or be set on a stand. They are unique, the most beautiful quality, and would make a fabulous stocking stuffer or grandparent gift!
3. Magazine (www.blurb.com)
I have been known to take some pictures of my boys playing baseball. I just absolutely love to document them playing the sport that they love, plus it helps to calm my nerves if games are close. Often times, I will document moments throughout the season and share those images with our whole team. The seasons fly, and they grow so much with each passing one.
Our family has used a variety of methods for displaying our sport pictures, but one of my favorites is this magazine. I created this magazine after a really exciting summer of baseball when my oldest was eight years old. He has taken it to school with him when he was the ‘star student’, he still will pull it off of his bookshelf and flip through it, and I embedded QR codes throughout to include videos captured during that memorable time as well.
It is a different way to organize a large group of images with room for explanations rather than simply placing them into an album (still a lovely option!). You do also have the option to publish a large quantity of these magazines if you felt compelled to create one for a larger amount of people.
4. Mini Brag Book (Now available in my client’s galleries!)
Last, but absolutely not least, is the mini brag book. This darling book is 2.5″ x 3.5″ with a cloth cover. It allows you to include up to 12 vertical images (six on the front and six on the back). Horizontal images take up two vertical spaces. This would be the ultimate grandparents gift full of images from a photo session, memorable trip, etc. The size is precious and allows for displaying it nearly anywhere – even tucking it into your purse for easy sharing.
This mini brag book will be available in galleries for all of my clients this season. If you would like to create one from a past year, simply send me an email!
While the idea of sitting down to compile what prints to order, what sizes to select, how to display them, who will receive one or more can definitely be daunting, I have never gone through the process to feel that it was not worthwhile. I often send prints to family and friends with a little note, my littles have used smaller albums to include the many images that are captured each year to share with family who we visit each summer, I have blown some images up into posters for my children’s rooms, I have included photos on gifts during the holidays instead of name tags, and the list is really endless. Photos are timeless, and I am always so honored to be a tiny part of every client’s session as I know the images captured are gifts that they will treasure for years to come.
Happy printing!