In our predominantly visual social world, there’s a medium that has retained its glamour, charm and appeal. Even though digital technology has altered the way in which most people choose to take photographs these days, physical photo prints still possess the power to evoke intense sentimental emotions and feelings of nostalgia.
Whether you’re browsing your favourite images stored, displayed and preserved in a classic photo album or book, or your preference is for scrolling, swiping or viewing online, there’s no getting away from the fact that photos are incredibly mesmerising.
The everlasting qualities of photo prints
In 2000, Kodak reported that 80 billion photographs were snapped that year. The charm of printed photos has yet to decline. Smartphone technology can certainly take credit for the meteoric rise to over one trillion photos captured in 2017.
Like all forms of art, printed photographs can elicit powerful emotional responses in the viewer. The stunning or striking image that is frozen in time has the power to make you laugh out loud, cry, or seethe with anger. It can also attract, repel, persuade and sell. Besides being a memento of the past, photos are the tools that we commonly use to form impressions and make evaluations of other people on social media, dating apps, and job applications.
Tangible photographs have the ability to bridge the gap between the past and present day, and to help you access memories that were long forgotten. When you hold a physical photo in your hands, or leisurely browse a collection on display in a luxury photo album, you momentarily lose track of time as your mind enjoys a meandering trip down memory lane.
The power of printing your photos
Printing your favourite happy memories on high-grade photo paper allows you to create instant daily reminders of your loved ones, and the joy in your life. The images can encourage you to share stories with your nearest and dearest, and to inspire future generations of your family.
When you print an image that you’ve captured with your analog or digital camera, or a mobile device, you begin a journey that impacts on your memory and senses. Images look different printed on high-quality photo paper than they do when they appear on a screen. In a finished printed form, a special moment captured through a lens transcends all space and time and alters your perspective.
If photography is a hobby, you’ll be able to examine your work closely to find potential areas of improvement, and to check if your colour grading or sharpness levels are off.
If you simply enjoy taking tons of snapshots of happy events, social occasions and breathtaking scenery, you’ll appreciate the power that a photo print has to enhance your life experience.
Sharing your photo prints
While it can be exciting to edit and upload your favourite digital images on social media, and waiting for the Like count to climb, the whole experience is somewhat lacking in emotional fulfilment.
Social sharing simply doesn’t have the ability to elicit a strong emotional response of joy, happiness, pride or nostalgia, like a physical printed photo can. Seeing your images beautifully arranged in a stylish photo album, or blown up to a large size that is perfect for framing and hanging on an interior wall, is incredibly satisfying.
Adding captions and comments to each photo on display will bring your images back to life and entice you to browse time and time again. Loved ones will also appreciate and enjoy viewing the snaps that you’ve archived and curated for preservation. Because printed photos are physical objects, they have the benefit of being more future-proof that digital images that can be lost forever.
Creating printed photo art
Sentimental photographs can become important family heirlooms that last for generations. This doesn’t mean that you have to store them in a vault for preservation sake. It’s important to enjoy the medium of photography every day.
Photographs make wonderful, and affordable, home décor accessories that can enhance the mood and ambience in any interior space. Your favourite images don’t deserve to be hidden away in a luxe photo album that is only viewed occasionally. Stunning printed photographs create amazing wall art. A printed image on display, in an elegant picture frame, offers an opportunity to reconnect with a cherished memory of a past event on a daily basis.
Memorialising special once-in-a-lifetime moments like your wedding and honeymoon, the birth of children, and milestone birthdays is easy to do. Simply browse your collection of favourite print images and select the best for public display.
Preserving photos for future generations
If you love the idea of creating a legacy for your children, grandchildren and their offspring, it’s worth investing in a premium quality photo album for your most prized snapshots. Go bespoke and choose a luxurious hardback, softback or fabric covered photo album filled with high-grade paper pages.
To mesmerise the viewer of your carefully curated collection of favourite images in the future, it’s best to present the snaps in a chronological order that tells a story. Add text in the form of comments, captions and anecdotes, to identify people and describe what’s on show in the prints. You can also embellish the gorgeous photo prints with an array of paper mementoes, to make the viewing experience intensely nostalgic and sentimental for your direct line descendants.
