5 steps to ensure you get the most value from your family photos
So, we’ve had our family or newborn photography session together and you’ve gotten your images back.. but, now what!?
I truly believe professional family or newborn photos are an investment – and like any good investment, they need to be taken care of!! So, in this blog post I’m going to run through 5 steps to ensure you’re looking after your family photos once you receive them
You’ve received your gallery of newborn photography images, but what do you do with them now!?
STEP 1 – DOWNLOAD YOUR IMAGES
OK, so this probably seems like an obvious step – but actually, it’s an easy one to forget🙈
Look how much fun I’m having at my computer making sure my precious family memories are downloaded and meticulously backed up… what a hoot. Image credit: Sister Scout Studio
If you booked a session with me, you would have received your gallery online, via Pic-Time. I love online galleries, as it enables you to share your photos really easily with friends & family and it’s just far more efficient and reliable than putting a USB in the post.
BUT, you still need to ensure you download your images. You can download them in both high resolution (which is best for printing) & web sizing (best for sharing online).
Please make sure you do download the high-resolution images, as these are what you will need when you go to print your images. Depending on your internet connection, this may take some time, so if that’s an issue for you, I suggest letting it download overnight.
STEP 2 - BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS
Ok, I’m considering making this step 2 and then just copying it word for word and making it step 3 as well... because it’s so SO important!!
I’m in a LOT of photographer groups, and it is SO common to hear about photos being lost forever simply because they weren’t backed up properly (or if they’re not lost forever – it costs a small fortune to pay someone to retrieve them!).
The key here, is ensuring you don’t just back your photos up in ONE place – you have got to have a safety net, so that if one back up option fails or is hacked or has coffee spilt all over it (yes this last one happened to me….), you have your images safely stored somewhere else.
The common rule of thumb, is the “3-2-1 rule” – which means you ensure you have THREE copies of your images (and any other important data), with at least one of those copies being offsite. You can read more about that, here,
But essentially it just means that, for example, you might have a copy of your images on;⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1) your computer⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2) an external hard drive⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3) cloud based storage⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But for extra bonus points and to win the whole entire game, move onto to step 3 …
Yeah an iphone library filled with 1000s of digital photos is nice…but when was the last time you printed your family photos?! ThoImage credit: the talented Sister Scout Studio
STEP 3 – PRINT YOUR FAMILY PHOTOS
OK, so now you have peace of mind that your photos are backed up and stored safely – but we don’t just want your photos to live out the rest of their days as JPEGs do we!? No, of course not! We want to ENJOY THEM! The best thing about having all these special moments captured by a professional photographer, is being able to look at them and to be reminded of all of the joy and love your family have for one another.
When you receive your online gallery, you will have an online store attached to your gallery where you can purchase prints & products via one of the best professional print labs in Australia. However, you are under absolutely no obligation to use this service, and can print your photos anywhere you want.
Please please please though (let me just go ahead and put this section in bold), AVOID the super cheap department store printing options. I have had clients get their photos printed through these places before and the results are generally pretty terrible (and if nothing else, very inconsistent with no quality control). You’ve invested so much in these photos, it’s worthwhile spending a fraction more to get quality prints and honestly the super cheap places are cheap for a reason.
A couple of quality DIY printing you could try and order online via (that honestly are still perfectly reasonable price wise), are -
Prism Imaging
Presentation Place
Nushots
Digital Works
Alternatively, find and support your local camera store!
PHOTO BOOKS
Another great option for printing your family photos, is to make photo books with them. I have a detailed blog post with tips for putting together your own photo books which I highly recommend looking through if you’re interested in this option!
STEP 4 - DISPLAY YOUR PHOTOS TO ENJOY DAY AFTER DAY
I know some people believe that walls exist in homes for privacy or structural reasons… personally, I believe they exist purely as somewhere for me to hang my photos on.
I have shared in the past how I go about putting together gallery walls and how I display photos throughout our home, so if you’re looking for some inspiration and answers to some of the most FAQ I get about printing & displaying photos, I highly recommend checking out those blog posts here -
What would you rather look at ? A JPEG or a beautiful fine art print!? The moral of the story here is pleeeeease print your photos 💕 Image credit: Sister Scout Studio
STEP 5 - TURN YOUR FAMILY PHOTOS INTO GIFTS
Family photos really are the gift that keeps on giving! What grandparent doesn’t love a gift with the face of their most treasured family members on them!? Whether it’s a beautiful framed print, a coffee cup, a calendar – the options are seriously ENDLESS. Some of my favourite companies to use for turning my photos into gifts are -
Prism Imaging (for their incredible framed prints)
Arlo & Co (I LOVE their bamboo photo magnets & wall decals)
Memorable Moments App (beautiful calendars & framed collage prints)
On Stone (unique fine art prints on stone)
Blurb (I’ve been using them for photo books for years now)
Ultimately, your family photos should be shared, enjoyed & preserved for many years to come. my hope is that this post has given you some inspiration to do just that.
As always, if you have ANY questions at all or would like to connect with me, please get in touch - I’m always happy to chat!