Online, a lot of photographers share their frustration that in this digital day and age, the vast majority of clients just want the digital images. No albums, no prints, no unique artwork for their walls. Just the digitals. To view on tiny cell phone screens, or on computer screens that aren’t calibrated and so make the images look a sallow green or putrid orange. Just the digitals.

I have a slightly different take on this, because I was once that very “just the digitals” client. I can understand the client’s point of view: If you don’t know what you want to do with your photographs long term, it seems silly to spend a lot of money on products you might not want, but if you have the digital images, you’re safe because you have access to enjoy all your photographs at any time, and you can make your own products whenever you decide what you want.

That’s all true, at least to a certain extent. But I would strongly, strongly encourage everyone to not keep all their photos locked away on computer memory. These are your memories. And they’re meant to be shared, they’re meant to take their place in your day to day life where you can relive them every time you see them hanging on the wall.
Danny and I don’t force our clients to order products through us, but we always hope they will end up with canvases for their walls and prints for their desks and albums for their grandchildren who will one day be able to relive their grandparents’ memories through those pages. The thing is, we don’t really care of those canvases and prints come from us. Albums are a little trickier — we haven’t yet found any album company that will produce top-quality albums for end consumers; the best albums companies work strictly with professional photographers. But all this is to say that our goal isn’t to always have our clients order products from us. We just want our clients to end up with products they will cherish.

It’s something I was talking about with a couple of our brides recently. A home just feels homier when your photographs decorate the walls.

This applies to personal snapshots as well as professional photography — because if it’s a memory you cherish, you should view it often, not sequester it away in digital storage or in an old shoebox full of negatives. Our bedroom dressers hold a couple favorite memories snapped spontaneously: All dressed up for a Christmas party, and soaking in the tropical evening on a sailboat in St. Lucia. A side table in our living room holds a favorite wedding portrait. On our TV console we have a picture of us with some of our best friends, and we have two large family portraits — one with Danny’s side of the family at New Year’s and one with mine at Easter dinner a couple years ago — framed and displayed in our house. And we can’t wait to keep adding to the collection.

So please, bring your memories out from the dusty old paper photo sleeves they came in when you picked them up at your lab. Start looking at your digital images inside the frame you hang over your mantle instead of only inside the frame of your computer monitor. These are your memories. Let yourself relive them.

~ Laura