I love our wedding photos!
I want you to love yours too.
I was always sceptical about plastering my walls with photos, I think I goes back to being a kid and my mum would have pictures of me and my sister all over the house, going up the stairs it was like a gallery with photos of us both in various 70's/80's outfits. I think that kind of put me off as an adult and I always liked that minimalist look, nice clean walls with maybe one piece of modern abstract mass reproduction artwork from Ikea. It was only as I got back into photography that I started to appreciate that seeing a photograph in print rather than left on a screen, especially on a 6 inch smartphone, it's like comparing night and day. From my own person!al and maybe a little bit selfish view whenever I've retuned to a previous couple's home and have spotted one or more of my photographs up on the wall or on the mantlepiece, it really is a very special feeling knowing I'd been able to that for them. So aside from the fact that a photograph is always better when it's printed why else should you print your photographs?
If you're like me you'll remember being a kid and your parents would have half a dozen old shoe boxes and metal biscuit tins with tons and tons of photographs in them, it would be quite an event getting them all out and have a flick through them, bringing back so many memories of days out and holidaying at the seaside. Passing those prints around between yourselves you'll all bit remembering those funny stories that spin off from a memory sparked by a photograph. I've got found memories of looking back through my old photos, cringing at some of the clothes my mum would put me in but the conversation flows so easily when you're remembering the good times you had, captured forever in print.
Sure your phone can hold a million photos but are you really likely to sit together and passing your phone around the way you do with a print in your hand, I reckon there'd actually be quite a lot of people that would be worried about someone accidentally swiping left or right and seeing something they'd really rather they didn't.
What will your kids do without those memories to show them and probably embarrass them too when they're older? I can't imagine them digging an old iPhone 5 or Samsung out to have a scroll through the photos on there, I'm not saying they're likely to be going through boxes of photos all the time but the next time they're having a sort out and come across a box of old photos, they'll stop, get distracted and have a look through them, every time.
So that's my pitch for simply printing your photographs, I'm not saying printed by me, take them whoever you like, Max Spielmann /Tesco (shudder) but just print them!
Being a photographer I'm lucky enough to be able to pick from a range of suppliers and products and have some fantastic samples and demo products. It gives me the opportunity to see the quality for myself. My main supplier is called Graphistudio, from my very first sample demo pack arrived I was absolutely blown away by the quality, detail and customer service of Graphi. The strap line on their website states-
Thousands of professional photographers around the world trust us to print and bind their tailor-made books, albums and wall art, using state of the art technology in combination with the finest materials and Italy’s world-renowned craftsmanship.
When you see and hold one of their products in your hands for yourself you can see why there's myself and thousands of other photographers supplied by Graphistudio,
It's great whenever they bring a new product out and chance are I'm going to be ordering more samples to show off. So as I said right at the start I love our wedding photos, there's so many great moments caught by our own photographer, we looked at them over and over again on our phones or on the laptop or streaming them to the smart tv and inevitably, we eventually stopped putting them on. We ordered a wedding storybook album-from Graphi of course!
I'll be doing a blog about our album and the demo album / samples I've already ordered, including updating the 3D generated photos on the wedding album page on my site too.
Anyway as I said we ordered our album from Graphistudio and as the novelty looking at the photos on a screen began wearing off, our album arrived after a few weeks and it was great looking through it, it was like seeing our photos all over again for the very first time, all 400+ of them in one big album! We had actually had something tangible to take around to show our family and friends, reliving the memories of the day. It was like having that old biscuit tin out again. However, like the biscuit tins and shoe boxes the album is now stored safely away in the wardrobe and the next time it comes out it'll probably be the next time we have a sort out. As I mentioned before I'm lucky enough to be able to order sample products and after getting my hands on some from Garphistudio I knew I wanted some artwork of my own with our wedding photos and the best bit is we don't need to dig out the wedding album or turn on the laptop to see them.
The first one I knew I had to have was the Amalfi Panel as seen in the first two photos, it's gallery wall art, a framed print, a handmade print on HD Fine Art Paper and mounted on a fabric panel and matted with Amalfi Handmade Paper and best of all because it's handmade, every piece is unique. There's more information about the Amalfi Panel over on Graphistudio's website here.
Another piece of wall art I wanted to order for our home was the Acrylic Pro, that's what we have above the stairs, a large 30x40 inch print from our Lake District Wedding and the colours and the detail in these prints are stunning. It's customisable in a range of textures and colours and comes in a matt or gloss finish and a large range of sizes so you can order one to fit your size of room, even if you only order one piece of artwork for your wall, go for this one you won't be disappointed, it's an absolute WOW piece.
You could be forgiven for thinking that Gallery Walls are a modern instagram trend but they've actually been around for hundreds of years as far back as 17th century Paris.
So what is a gallery wall? Well it's basically a collection of framed artwork, photographs and sometimes including personal items hung in a group.
My wife Donna had always liked the idea of having a gallery wall running up stairs, but with matching frames in different sizes to give it a more modern look and feel to it, a busy wall that somehow still looks minimalist and stylish at the same time. After finding out the frame sizes that were available, we planned it out on the wall with bits of paper cut to size and some blu tak to get the layout right, once we'd decided on the layout we headed off to Ikea to grab the frames we needed. The hardest part was actually choosing and narrowing down the photographs we wanted to put up! There was no other choice but Graphi's matted prints to go in the frames though!
Although I probably go up and down them dozens and dozens of times a day, I do still pause on the stairs to stop and have a look at them now and then, more than I ever do with the album and definitely more than I bother looking at them on the laptop or iPad. Looks like my Mum and Dad might have been onto something after all!
Don't leave your favourite wedding photographs on a USB stick in a drawer somewhere!
If you're not convinced already, what are the reasons for printing your photographs and putting them up on the wall to be seen?
• Tangible memories:
Printing your photographs can provide you with tangible, physical copies of your memories. Unlike digital files, printed photographs can be displayed and enjoyed in your living space or shared with friends and family.
• Preservation:
Printing your photographs can help to preserve them for the long-term. Digital files can become corrupted or lost over time, but a printed photograph can last for generations.
•Artistic expression:
Printing your photographs can allow you to showcase your artistic expression. You can experiment with different sizes, framing options, and finishes to create unique and personalised pieces of art.
•Personalised decor:
Printing your photographs can be a great way to personalize your home decor. You can choose images that reflect your personal style, interests, and memories and display them in your living space.
Ultimately, the decision to print your photographs is a personal one and depends on your individual preferences and circumstances. If you value tangible memories, artistic expression, or personalised decor, printing your photographs is a great option for you. Whatever you decide to do with your wedding photographs, just bear in mind...