Oh I just want digital files, no prints.  So this topic came up in conversation with a client the other day.  And unless you're a photographer or some lost of your precious photos, it's probably not something you've really thought about.  These are some reasons I think it's important to print your photos.  It may not change your mind right now, but hopeful it'll stop and make you think about all the digital photos you've accumulated.

Reason #1:

Digital files don't last forever.

If you're old enough to remember regularly using a film camera, then you always printed your photos!   But with the advent of digital cameras and smart phones, it doesn't seem as important anymore.  After all, we can just save them up on our computer, post them on Facebook and Instagram, and they'll always be available, right?  Well maybe not... Digital files don't last forever.  Have you have saved a document on your computer only to come back later and find it's "corrupted"?  Or smart phone crashes and you weren't backing up your photos to the cloud properly.  Or, maybe your computer crashes and you can't recover anything on your hard drive?  And don't even get me started on technology changes.  Remember diskettes?  These things happen all the time.  They may never happen to you but I've experienced them all in my lifetime, either directly or through a relative.  

Granted prints are susceptible to their own problems, such as exposure to the sun or water.  But they're a lot easier to maintain.  Even if you decide you'd rather keep most of your photos digital, please save them in more than one location.  So that you always have at least one back up, especially for those photos that are very special to you.

Reason #2:

You're not just printing for yourself, you're also printing for your children and grandchildren.

But I don't even have kids yet, let alone grandchildren!  That's not what I meant.  What I mean is that you're printing photos so that future generations will be able to enjoy them.  Do you remember looking at old family photos with your parents and grandparents?  Do you remember how much fun it was to see them when they were younger?  How funny their hair looked and those clothes they were wearing?  Were you lucky enough to see your great-grandparents and possibly your great-great-grandparents?   If you don't print your photos, chances are the next generations of your family won't have that opportunity - see reason number 1.

Reason #3:

You just paid to have your portrait taken, why limit it to a tiny image on Facebook?

So you just paid to have your family portrait taken, what are you going to do with it?  Did you really just want to share it with your friends on Facebook?  Or do you want to hang some of the best photos on your walls, so that you can enjoy them with your family and show them off to your friends?  Your photos were meant to be enjoyed in a larger format and not just on the small screen!  

Reason #4:

Ok, so this one isn't a reason necessarily for just printing your photos.  It's more of a reason of why you should choose to have your photographer print your photos.  So yeah, you can print your photos at a drugstore, office supply company, and even bulk-discount stores.  But these places don't offer the same quality of prints.  They also don't offer the same range of products that photographers using professional printing services can.  Purchasing prints through your photographer also takes all the work off of you.  After all, that's why you hired me right?  That's especially true for albums, trust me on this one.