The importance of printing your portraits and photos cannot be overstated in my opinion. Growing up a Xennial (a person on the cusp of Gen X and Millennial generations) I experienced the rapid transformation from analog to digital in pretty much all forms of media. While I didn’t grow up in a house with video games, Academics didn’t buy their kids Nintendo NES’s for Christmas in the 90’s, I did experience the introduction of something called the World Wide Web in elementary school, AIM in high school & text messages in college. I have VHS tapes with childhood ballet performances, mini DV tapes of my pregnancy & daughters birth and an entire iCloud packed with her preschool years to current.
It’s been said that we’re the most documented generation of all time. Let that just wash over you for a moment. Remember that iCloud I referenced before, are you at the stage where you’re paying Apple monthly to hold onto all those memories for you? It’s ok, don’t be embarrassed because I’m right there with you! And maybe photo storage needs to be a whole other blog post next month! I think we can agree that we have all become experts to some degree of documenting ourselves or having someone else document for us, our lives & families. I love that, I think its a beautiful thing! It’s a huge reason why I decided to become a photographer!
What good are all those photos and portraits that you paid to have taken of your sweet family if they hardly see the light of day. They are just living inside the dark, cold machines that we carry around? We might share a post here and there on social media showcasing them, which is lovely, but they can have such a huge impact on you and your family if you print them!
Studies show that just by the simple act of hanging photos in your home you accomplish the following things for you and your family:
- trigger positive memories and emotions
- bring about a stronger sense of self confidence & sense of belonging
- create visual affirmations of love, self worth and value in relationship or family
I recently refreshed my office space and found that I had the perfect wall to display a gallery of our family’s fall portrait session. I knew I wanted gold frames and a variety of sizes so IKEA was the prime spot for me to find what I needed for this project.
They have recently launched the LOMVIKEN frames that are gold in color and come with mats which lets face it, that’s an automatic win. Here is the breakdown of which ones I purchased:
- Lomviken 19 ¾x27 ½ “, fits a 16×20 photo
- Lomviken 16×20 “, fits a 12×18 photo * a little overlap so having good margin at the top and bottom is a good idea
- Lomviken 12×16 “, fits an 8×10 photo
- Lomviken 8×10 “, fits a 5×7 photo
Creating your own gallery wall at home doesn’t have to be complicated. While I was in the store I laid out the frames to get an idea of the arrangement I wanted for the wall. When I came home I did the same thing and then measured the full height and width of the arrangement to know how much space I needed on the wall. Then I took painters tap and created a cross section on the wall where I wanted the frames to go. From here I drilled holes with a single screw for each frame, measuring the distance from the edge of the frame to the actual hanger on the back.
I’m thrilled with the final product and love these gorgeous images that my friend Tara took for us this past year. We only have short time left with our high schooler before she’s off to college and living on her own. These are moments we want to remember and live in, this part of life right now. Displaying these images allows us to do this! I hope you see the importance of printing your photos and feel inspired to do the same.
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