John was so excited about his holiday in Croatia that he couldn’t stop talking about it. He tried to describe it to his friends, but his words didn’t seem to do it justice. Eventually, his friends asked to see some pictures, so John whipped out his phone and began to scroll… and scroll… and scroll. Where were the pictures? Had he deleted them by accident? Then, his phone pinged with a notification from his bank, and an urgent message from his wife arrived. By the time John found the compressed photos in a folder, he had lost his passion for the story, and his friends were underwhelmed.

In our all-consuming embrace of digital, we have lost touch with something powerful. The printed photograph, in all its glory and permanence, is unrivaled by a collection of pixels on a small screen. Luckily, more and more consumers are remembering the importance of printing photographs.

With our smart devices, we take more photos than ever before. But the quantity is so overwhelming that we rarely have time to look at all of them properly. Instead, we let them build up in our devices or share the occasional pic with friends and family. A 2015 nationwide survey conducted by the Professional Photographers of America concluded that 67% of people – that’s two out of three – store all of their photos on their phones and computers.

Four years later, that number is likely to have risen even higher.

As a photographer, you should stress the importance of printing photographs to your clients – not only because it makes good business sense, but also because you’ll be delivering a better product in the process. The PRINT movement understands the value of prints for photographers. They explain how “professional photographers should learn how to sell prints, price them, and upsell the benefits of offering professionally printed works. Participants have access to marketing tools to help educate their customers on the value of preserving their family’s history with high-quality prints and display products.”

3 Reasons Why Photographs Should Be Printed:

• Photographs simply work better on paper than on screen – that’s what they were made for in the first place. Jpegs on social networks are compressed and too small, and they degrade as they are moved between devices and folders.
• Printing a selection of images forces you to look at them critically and select the best ones. You begin to curate your memories and preserve them. By choosing a few of the best, you can discard the rest – which is beneficial for your phone’s storage and greatly enhances your memories of the experience.
• A photograph that is printed and displayed in a home holds undeniable power and beauty. It is a memory that will be cherished for years, and in some cases, it will be passed down from generation to generation. A digital photo relies heavily on the device where it is stored. If that device is lost, the photos are often gone as well.

When you are running a photography business, you should always try to extract the most value from every frame you shoot. That means offering your clients a better product that will last longer, deliver you a higher profit, and give you the opportunity to sell associated products such as photo albums and picture frames alongside the photographs themselves.

Check out this valuable PPA article for 7 Tips for Prepping and Printing Photos or this one on The Case For Prints: How to Present the Value of Print to your Clients.

We’re passionate believers in the power of printing, and our website PRINTmovement.org contains invaluable tips on getting the most out of printing.

With over 30,000 members, the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the world’s largest photography non-profit organization. For a wealth of great insights, connections, and tips on being the best photographer you can be, join PPA today.

Sources:
https://jetline.co.za/the-importance-of-printing-photos-in-the-digital-age-photobooks/

https://bambiniphoto.sg/top-3-reasons-why-printing-photos-are-so-important/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/importance-of-printing-photos-in-digital-age/