“I’ll Have the Family Photos Printed Myself” and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

Fun Taylor Fact: My wedding was a full-blown carnival. We had funnel cakes, balloon animals, a merry-go-round, and everything. Our cake? It had Josh as a strongman lifting me above his head—talk about perfect symbolism, right? It was seriously the coolest day ever, bursting with color and fun. Our photographer totally nailed it, capturing all the vibrant, quirky moments. Those photos? They would’ve looked amazing framed in my house—if I had any of them printed.

But here’s the kicker: the only wedding pictures I have from this epic day are on Facebook. Just Facebook. I can’t remember if our photographer didn’t include printed photos in our package or if I was just procrastinating. But I do remember thinking, “I’ll get the photos printed myself when I’m ready.”

Fast forward seven years. We moved twice, had kids, and juggled the chaos of adulting. The CD with our wedding photos (yep, I’m that old) traveled with us, tucked away with our stuff. And then, the crushing plot twist: when I FINALLY got around to being ready to print those photos, the CD was broken. Unreadable. Totally destroyed. Who knows how it happened, but it was toast. By then, our photographer had moved on, and all my photos were long gone from his server. So, the only images I have from the best day ever are the ones friends and family shared on Facebook or the sneak peeks with the photographer’s watermark.

So what’s the point, other than that I throw the coolest parties? Most of us aren’t going to get those photos printed ourselves. Like, ever. We don’t mean to be full of it. The world of digital photography has made it way too easy for family photographers to offer digital-only packages. And since it ain’t cheap to begin with, I completely get the logic of thinking you’ll save money by having the photos printed yourself on Snapfish or at Walgreens. But seriously, don’t.

Lie #2: My photographer is going to pressure me into buying things I don’t need.

I don’t know why, but right now, I’m imagining one of those over-the-top serious portraits, probably 36 by eleventy billion inches, staring at me from over a fireplace. You know, the kind that we assume all the rich people have in their libraries. Lord knows I don’t want one (I don’t even have a library!), and I’m going to guess that a lot of you don’t either. That’s cool—I’m not going to sell you one. I can’t speak for all family photographers, but when I talk to any family during the planning phase, I ask them how they imagine displaying their photos.

Are you a lover of a gallery wall? Awesome—let’s get you a single canvas or framed photograph that you can use as a focal spot for the gallery. Into three large images side by side? Me too! I’ll make sure we have images that go well together to make that happen.

My point is, I want you to go into the session knowing what kind of family photos printed or artwork you’re looking for, and I’m not going to show you things in the gallery that are outside of what we discussed.

Lie #3: It isn’t worth the money to have my photos printed by my photographer.

This is one I told myself for YEARS! I totally believed I could print them while I shopped at Target and the quality would be just as good. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Like, not even a little bit.

My photographs are taken and edited with a matte finish in mind. Some of the specific touch-ups and color corrections that are done can get really squirrely when printed using lower-quality glossy paper and ink. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I was truly blown away at how beautiful and art-like photos become when printed by a high-quality company that works with professional photographers. It’s hands down worth the higher price point to have family photos printed professionally.

Lie #4: It’s fine, I only want them for Instagram anyway.

Really, Becky? Reallllly? Social Media is great. How else would I avoid adult responsibilities by looking at painfully millennial cat memes? But let’s be real. Social media isn’t real life. Someday, your grandkids aren’t going to ask to see old photos of their mom in your FYP. And if you think social media platforms will be around forever, you must be too young to remember MySpace.

Jokes aside, your children’s childhood is too important to document solely on Facebook or Instagram. Your family legacy deserves to be treated like a work of art because it IS a work of art. You created these tiny little people. Hanging them up on the walls of your home shows that they are important to you and is, quite frankly, important for their sense of self and security.

Please, friends, let’s not kid ourselves. Printed photographs are as important today as they were when we were children. I understand the instinct to procrastinate. Truly, I do. But it is exactly why I recommend you always choose a photographer who includes family photos printed and artwork in their collections. All three of my family collections come with both digital and printed photographs. Allow me to make it easy for you—you deserve it.