Photography :: Why Print Your Work?
“ Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life...”
Over the past 10 months since launching my business, nothing has brought me greater joy during the process than seeing my work in print. Taking a session that I have put all of my heart and love into and turning it into something physical, something tangible is what makes me feel like a true artist. In the digital world, it can be difficult to make a real mark as a photographer. Staring at a photograph on a screen can take away the raw beauty of an image, the colours are never the same, the photograph looses texture and depth. Only when you see an image in it's physical form can you see the artist's vision, the completed piece of artwork.
I have been intending on getting some of my personal work printed for some time, it is always at the bottom of my list, but this week I finally found the time to invest in of some of my favourite memories in the past few months. That is what photography is. An investment into your memories. My parent's have a bottom drawer in the bureau in their front porch stuffed full of photographs from their childhood and their life leading up to having us three children, baby photographs and photographs of us as toddlers. But that is where they stop. Looking at family photographs went from flicking through an album to crowding around a computer screen. I decided that I didn't want all of my memories to be stored like that. I wanted my walls to be filled with my memories and a bottom drawer jam-packed with images of my time spent with my husband, my family and my friends. True, having photographs stored digitally means less space being consumed and a lot more photographs, but as a photographer I need something more.
In the film world, you have an option to purchase proof prints on scanning your film, a selection of small prints of your scans to show you how they appear on paper. This is because film labs recognise the importance of showcasing authenticity when it comes to colour, exposure and depth. For this reason, I make it a goal to supply all of my clients a few small prints so that they can see my creative vision completed as something tangible. I always encourage my clients to order prints, not for my benefit, but for theirs. If you are a photographer yourself or you have recently had some photographs taken, I truly encourage you to print your work and enjoy it in the best possible way.