Where do you keep your most precious photos?  Are they hanging on your wall, placed in a scrapbook, or displayed on your mantle?  Or are they stuck on your phone or computer hard drive where no one can see them?  Before the age of the digital camera, printing was the only way to see the photos we were taking, and once printed, unless we lost them, they were available forever.  Granted, depending on the quality of the paper and the ink, they may not have lasted forever, but they had the potential to.  Contrast that with today's photos, which largely go unprinted.  With almost everyone having a digital camera on their smartphones, there are more pictures being taken than ever before, but most of them are not being printed, and run the risk of being lost for future generations if we don't begin to change our ways, and consider the importance of those photos to future generations.

Have you ever held a photo in your hand that was taken two or three generations before you were even born?  Did you see a resemblance to your family members, and find it intriguing to connect with these people you had never met?  Wasn't that a great experience?  Now, what if that photo had been taken two or three generations ago, but no one had ever bothered to print it?  How would you have made that same connection?  Pretty impossible, right?  Now consider what your great-great grandchildren will have to look at years from now...will there be any photos of significance for them to hold in their hand to imagine what life was like for you, and make that connection?  Probably not, unless you make a habit of regularly printing photos. 
 

Most people taking photos with their cell phones never bother to download or archive them in any way.  And, even for those of you that do, where are you storing them?  What is the likelihood that the technology you are using to store your photos today will still be around in the next 10 years, much less three generations from now?  Can you say 8 track, or even CD for that matter?  Unless you print out physical copies of your most precious photos, future generations may not ever be able to enjoy your photos or get a glimpse into your life.
 

I used to do a ton of scrapbooking, and have always embraced the idea of preserving and archiving photos for future generations.  I enjoy looking through old photos - they can transport you back to a time and place, whether you were physically there or not.  As a photographer, I can help you capture those important moments in your life, but it is just as important to me to help you find the right way to print and display those photos today and to preserve them for future generations to enjoy. 
 

This is why my client collections include both prints and digital files.  I understand that many people today want to have the digital files to share with family and friends electronically, but I want to make sure that they get at least one print of each image they purchase so it doesn't get lost in the digital wasteland, unable to be found by future generations.
 

So, back to the first question...where are your photos hiding?  Are there things you should you be doing differently to preserve your story for future generations?  If so, take the steps to ensure your great-great grandkids can hold your photos in their hands and make a connection back to you.  If you need help getting started, contact me, and I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.

Make it a great week!