Today I want to share something that is near and dear to my heart as a photographer. The art of printing photos and not just leaving them on your computer to die. I’m guilty of this myself but reading Rebecca of Rebecca LaChance Photography’s print manifesto spurred me into real action. It’s beautiful. Read it below:

"

I believe...

in photography - but more than that I believe in photographs. Printed photographs are tangible.  We can hold on to them, pass them around, frame them and hang them on a wall. We can make albums to be treasured and looked through by children for years to come. I am without a doubt passionate about creating photographs - real pictures - printed on professional papers - and made into beautiful wall portraits and albums. I want your children, their children, my children and future grandchildren looking at and holding onto tangible photographs.

I believe...

the best way to provide exceptional service to all my clients it to present them with beautiful professionally finished work.  Handing them a flash drive or a DVD and sending them on their way is not the best representation of my work or the value I place on photographs.

I believe...

printed photographs are essential for families to gather around and reminisce.  It is difficult to relive and retell family stories huddled around a flash drive, or a DVD.  You have family photos of your grandparents...will your grandchildren have photos of you?  Will they be able to recall their times with you when cradling a flash drive or a digital file?

I believe...

in printing my work professionally by professional labs. The photographs I create are not only precious to my clients but they are precious to me. It is my work, a lifetime of work that deserves to be printed. Can you imagine a floppy disk, or a DVD, or a flash drive sitting in a frame representing your family portraits? We can't touch a file and the truth is we don't know the longevity of a file or if we will even be able to find it someday.  A digital file is a mystery - it it's lost, where did it go? If a drive is damaged what happens to the files? How many people truly back up all their images or ever print their digital files?  When was the last time you printed your own pictures? How many pictures do you have on your computer that are still not printed?

I believe...

not all labs are created equally.  Quality printing is not something the corner drug store or big box store offers. Professional labs have strict quality control and print my work to my standards. Correct color and density and professional mounting are important to the final product.  As an artist I am a perfectionist when it comes to cropping, color, density, and print quality and I choose to maintain control over these variables. "

Head HERE to read her whole print manifesto.

Thank you Rebecca for sharing this. Rebecca is an artist and photographer, please view her work here:

http://www.rebeccalachanceartphotography.com