Why Prints are important | Minnesota Family Photographer

February 03, 2025  •  Leave a Comment

Why I believe in Prints

When my dad passed away, my brother and I had the hard task of going through a lifetime of memories.  Old cake decorating books (my moms), fire fighter memorabilia (my dads) and boxes and albums full of pictures...  Some people that I knew, most that I did not, but each image was a moment caught on film for the future to see.

A Black and White portrait of a couple celebrating their 25th anniversaryCarol and JakeThe importance of prints. A 25th anniversary portrait of the writer's maternal grandparents

(Carol and Jake, my maternal grandparents in 1953.  I was named after her and chose to honor them by getting married on what should have

been their 62nd Anniversary)

For me, this look at the past was a treasure.  There were formal images of my maternal grandmother dressed in her christening dress at a few months old.  I knew the story that she had an older sibling that died from the flu in 1907, so this dress (that I also wore, as did dozens of cousins) became a part of history.  There were images of my maternal grandfather as a three year old with his 2 older siblings in 1910.  I found pictures of my dad as a toddler with his own maternal grandfather (Great Grandpa Beilby) and picture of his mom with her 4 siblings.

A black and white portrait of three siblings taken in 1920Dorothy, Theodore and baby RalphA family portrait from 1920. Images that show why prints matter

(My paternal Grandmother, Dorothy and 2 of her brothers)

These images were gifts that my ancestors gave to me.  I cherish them.

But what if they didn't have them printed?  There would not be pictures of my mom with her dog, Skeezik. Or images of my dad in Naples, Italy while stationed in the Air Force in 1954. 

Black and White Wedding Portrait of a young couple taken in 1953Joyce and Don get marriedWedding Portraits of my parents, Joyce and Don

(My parents formal wedding picture, March 1953 before my dad shipped out)

These images are old but every image inside was in tact and perfect. All of the moments right there in print, preserved for decades. My parents had saved so much.  Pictures of my brother and I at various stages of our lives. Pictures I had sent that I took during our visits, pictures of my parents with their grandchildren.  I saw pictures of anniversary and birthday parties that I couldn't attend because of money and distance and it made me image what the event was like and rejoice at the ones I could attend.

A black and White portrait of the writers family in 1968, when the writer was 3 years oldMy FamilyA portrait of my family taken in 1968

 (For the record, I have NO IDEA why my dad looks so mad here!!)

I believe in prints, for all the reasons I mentioned and so much more.  No one really remembers floppy disks, nor do most computers have the ability to play a disc.  Who knows when thumb drives will be obsolete?  Or when computers crash losing all of the saved images?  I want to give you prints so that in the future your grandchildren can laugh at your hairstyle and clothes, or be in complete awe at how incredible you were.  I want to give you cherished Memories.

A sepia toned portrait from the 1960's of a young mother holding her 10 month old daughterCara and JoyceA Young mother hold her 10 month old daughter

(My mom and I when I was about a year old)

 


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