Why Print?

This post was originally published August 17, 2015.

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was look through the boxes of photos my parents kept in our hall closet. Each box had a little hook, and when you pulled it, and entire flip album pulled out. I spent hours pouring over those photos, remembering birthdays and Christmases, family reunions and vacations. There were photos of dance recitals and Easter egg hunts, ones of my sister and me contently cuddling up to read with our grandparents, and ones where we were clearly mad at the world (or at least our little part of it). I could see my dad building a little red wagon just for me and my mom carrying my sister's homemade birthday cake. There were hundreds of these photos in those boxes. Hundreds.

You would think, as much as I loved those boxes, I would have the same for my boys. Or maybe, as a photographer and a mother who wants to gobble her children up on a regular basis, you'd think I'd have tons of printed photographs around our house. But I don't. I have only a handful. 

Oh sure, I have thousands of photos on my phone, computer, and external hard drive.

But printed?

The number is embarrassingly low. 

A few months ago, I read a blog post about a study done in 1975 on how photographs influence children's self esteem. 

The take away was that printed photos help children learn who they are and where they fit. When we display these images, it sends the message that the people in our family are important to each other, and that we honor the memories we share together. 

That is BIG stuff, you guys.

And it's the reason I decided to make the change to full-service photography when we moved to Albuquerque. 

I truly believe the images of our families should be seen, shared, and touched by those we love the most. I intend to start here, in my home. 

Between our move, opening my business, and the start of the school year, it wasn't until last week that I finally sat down to edit this year's vacation photos. After my husband and I narrowed down our favorites, I ordered a display box and prints of our favorites. It will go in our living room, where our boys can look at, touch, and relive memories of one of the best weeks of 2015. I can't wait for it to arrive.