GUEST POST: Why printed photos will always be important

How many times did you take your phone out today to take a photo of something cute or funny your child just did? That first baby step, or a birthday cake smash that you’ve captured on your phone. Yes? Okay, now imagine an apocalypse just hit us and all digital data has been corrupted!

Okay, far-fetched I know, but I’m a movie fanatic and I like to start off with some drama! Heehee. 

I think we can all agree that we’re guilty of taking numerous photos in a day. Pictures of our kids, what we eat, our pets, and yes, selfies, included. I know I do too because my phone album’s storage is forever full of images of both my children, their crafts and, well…plants, and being a mummy blogger,  the images continue to explode on my social media channels too. 

However, while most of us are busy taking these pictures how many of us are also guilty of not really preserving them. Parenting in this ‘digital-age’ myself, I admit it was until recently that I realized the importance of having hard copies of my children’s memories in real albums.

As parents, we’ve all heard that saying, ‘The nights are long but the years are short’. I’ll be the first to raise my hand and tell you that it’s true because one day I was cradling my firstborn, and before I knew it she was ready to wave me goodbye on her first day of school.

My kids are growing fast and making new memories every single day. Seeing how they’ve grown from tiny babies to the little people that they are today, makes me emotional and proud. And although I can relive those memorable moments by quickly scrolling through a small 3 x 3 photo grid on my phone, it really isn’t comparable to when I am turning through beautifully printed high-quality pictures of them in an album.

Preserve those memories

I still remember looking through my parent’s photos from their younger days, turning each photo to read my mum’s writing at the back. It would have details informing me when and where the photo was taken exactly. I love seeing pictures of their holidays, their fashion and the various details in every photo even after all these years. Imagine if these photos were not printed.

The special moments you’ve captured are only good and valuable if preserved. With the help of technology at our fingertips, we are able to document those moments so easily in the form of digital files. Resourceful, yes, but years down the line will these digital files be easily accessible for our children and future generations? Do we really see passing on a USB of photos to our grandkids?

Printed pictures offer access to those preserved moments and experiences of being relived again and again. In this ‘online’ world, there’s just something special about being able to touch a photo, see it hanging on a wall, or sitting in a beautifully printed album.

Allow the children to enjoy the memories

My 5-year-old loves going through her photos in her first-year album, which actually starts off with fuzzy black and white pictures of my ultrasound scans. The immediate reactions and expressions on seeing the photos together is priceless. It starts conversations.

Printed photos give the children a sense of security and belonging, especially when the photos are displayed throughout their own homes. Not just that, printed photo albums are so much easier for children to look through than working out how to scroll through a digital album on a password protected phone or tablet, which hopefully is charged beforehand, and may need a parent to help out. *sigh*

Technology cannot be relied upon

We all love what our smartphones can do. Agreed? However, we can’t expect the technology we have right now to be around all the time. Photos on your iCloud or GoogleDrive may not always be in the right format and passwords may be forgotten. Tagged pictures on social media will not always be our property. Photos saved on hard drives or cameras may be lost due to physical damage of equipment. Also, technology may change, for example how many of our laptops or PCs actually come with a CD drive anymore?

We just need to look in the mirror to realize how quickly things are changing. I know it’s easier to convince ourselves that we will get round to printing the photos someday soon, than sort through the million images stored on our phones. It can be a time-consuming task, but printed photos can bring so much joy and give you the ability to time travel through all those memories. It will be a visual story passed down through families, so that those special moments last and bring joy for generations. And honestly, it’s never too late to start the process of keeping your beloved memories alive.