How to decide which photos to print & where to print them!

The amazing thing about having your phone with you at all times is that you also can carry your memories with you, but that only gets you so far. Often our favorite moments are lost in the midst of all those photos we don’t actually want to keep (click here if you’d like to learn more about how to handle yoru photo storage issue once and for all!). While reviewing your photos weekly is an important step, nothing is more valuable than taking the time to print your favorite images! There are an unbelievable number of companies ready to help you do this, so here is a “get started” guide on how I like to think through which images actually get printed and how/where I do that.

What to Print

1. Which photos from the past quarter would make the highlight reel?” If you’ve been reviewing your photos weekly, this should be fairly easy. If not, you can simply scroll back through and “heart” the images you love most. Then, go back and review your hearts. What are the images that make you smile when you see them- or mean something to you? Those are the images you want to print.
2. How long do you want them to last? This is an often-overlooked but critical part of the process. If you want your photos to last a year or two, then you can print them at home, if you like. If you want them to last a little longer, you can use a bulk print shop like Shutterfly or xxx. But, if you want them to last many years, then I encourage you to use a higher-end printer like mpix.com.

How to Print

Now that you’ve determined which images you want to print and how long you want them to last, it’s time to explore how you want to print them! There are endless ways to print your photos- I’ve seen everything from memory games to socks printed with photos, but the most common are traditional prints, photo books, and wall art. Check out our annual photo gift guide for more info on the less common ideas, but read on for the more traditional options:

1. Where will you display them? This, in addition to the questions above, helps determine the quality of the print you want to create. While I always advocate for my clients to purchase high-quality prints of the high-quality photographs from our photoshoot, not all photos need to be done at that level. And, if they decide to use one of our images on a holiday card, for example, that should obviously be a much lower-quality print both because of the shelf life and because of the display. Similarly, a print on a refrigerator magnet doesn’t need to be the same quality as wall art hanging over your fireplace mantle.
2. How do you want to display them? Do you want to place them in a frame on a bookshelf? Do you want to add them to a photobook as part of a larger story of a vacation or the last year? Or was this a singularly important moment you want professionally printed and framed so you can display on a wall?

Where to Print

Finally on to the best part, where to print your memories! Below are some of our favorite photo print companies- and some might surprise you (they surprised us!).

1. MPix– Mpix is a professional printer that makes it easy to print via their website. The quality of their prints is impressive for a consumer printer and both the color accuracy and the longevity of their prints are wonderful!
2. Pinhole Press– Pinhole Press is known for their beautiful papers and they produce beautiful prints, as well. In addition to standard prints and framed prints, they also offer creative options like memory games and removable wall stickers.
3. Artifact Uprising– Artifact Uprising has been a favorite of Karissa’s for many years. They produce prints that are displayed in a wooden base (which is cut from beatle kill trees in Colorado). This is the perfect hostess gift, as well as a great way to print photos from a vacation or event so they are displayed together but you can easily see them all.

For more ideas, visit our annual photo gift guide which comes out each November. In it we highlight our very favorite photo print ideas of the moment and which companies are going above and beyond. In the meantime, if you’re a client of the studio, feel free to reach out to Karissa directly with any how to questions!