Operation: Get them PRINTED!

I have resolved that 2011 will be the year of getting my pictures printed!

I know that I am not alone in admitting that I have hundreds… scratch that… THOUSANDS of family pictures… cherished memories… JUST SITTING ON MY HARD DRIVE!

Yes… it may be surprising given I’m a photographer and all… but it’s true.  I’ve been terrible about getting my own family memories printed.  In this age of facebook I upload, share, enjoy all the sweet comments of my friends and quickly move on to the next day of capturing memories.  Sadly… many of my walls are bare and most of our pictures exist only as digital files.  Yes – I have a photo collage here… a photo wall there… but they’re out of date and old.  I admit it… I gave up scrapbooking the day my twins were born because – really – who has the time??  I’ve created a few photobooks along the way but I’ve been inconsistent… and I find that I often only get around to making those photo books when I need them as a gift for someone else.

NO MORE!

It is my GOAL in 2011 to print my family memories – and to encourage and inspire you to do the same!

I mean… seriously… WHAT IF MY HARD DRIVES CRASH??? Yes… I have back-ups but I know that many people do not… and regardless… I would still have heart failure.  Thinking long term… and remembering the way of the floppy disk… what if one day we just don’t use CDs and DVDs anymore?  What if the .jpg file goes the way of the floppy drive?  Who knows what the technology future brings.  I want my most cherished memories printed out.

Besides!  Looking through my old photos makes me happy.  For one… I was skinny back then!  (lol… just kidding… sort of…)  Seriously though… I’ve spent some time this week looking through old Christmas photos and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve smiled – my heart has smiled - seeing my baby girls with no hair and huge grins posed on a pillow beneath the Christmas tree or looking at my husband all covered with flour the first year of our marriage when we decided to make our first batch of Christmas cookies together.  I want my children to be able to flip through our books and see the value I place on our family and the times we share together – and to see the love captured in those photos.

Good photo or bad… it really doesn’t matter… so long as it makes you smile.

So I will be spending 2011 searching for ways to get my family memories printed, organized and displayed and I’ll share anything I try here with you.

I started today with a gift given to me by my parents for Christmas.  They gave me a photo serving tray with slots for four pictures (I believe they purchased it at Bed, Bath and Beyond in case anyone would like to know – search for serving trays on their site).  Now in the past it probably would have sat at the bottom of a pile in my closet because I wouldn’t be able to decide which pictures to put in it or take the time to print them out.  But… thanks to my 2011 resolution I made it a priority to put this tray to good use!

I’m working on setting up a natural light newborn photography studio in my home and decided this would be the perfect accent piece for serving water and lemonade to my clients during those long newborn sessions.  I also hadn’t printed any copies of my favorite newborn portraits for myself yet… so I chose 4, placed the order and am so happy with the result.

A couple helpful hints: I chose black and white pictures so they would blend nicely together and with the surrounding rich wood.  You can often use the stock photos they come with as a guide for what to choose – this tray came with black and white pictures in it so I knew that would be a safe place to start.   I also printed about 7 images and then played with them until I finally decided on the four that I liked best together.  I’m thrilled with the results and can’t wait for my next newborn client so I can whip up a pitcher of lemonade and put my new tray to good use!