Well, I have now personally experienced purchasing digital files. I had another photographer do my daughter’s newborn photo session. And, I bought the digitals. I figured I would have time to print, make albums, etc. And wouldn’t you know, last week she turned six months old, and I have had ZERO of those newborn photos printed! There is not a single newborn photograph of her hanging on my walls or display in my house. I have been busy with the baby, work and life. I did her 3-month photos … three months ago. None of those have been printed either! I always suggest clients order a few prints or products because you never know when you will have time to print your own. For me, it is not the first time. I have yet to get any of my wedding photos up on the walls either. I did make an album, and I have tons of snapshots from our wedding. But again, no photos up on the walls! Needless to say, I have a plan of attack come, Winter, when business slows down for me. I am designing a wall gallery of wedding, baby, pet and family photos to get up on the wall. But 6 months and especially 10 years is a really long time to get around to printing my images!

Digital files are great, for archiving purposes. You know you will always have access to those photographs when you want to make reprints for yourself or family members. But I know when life gets busy, I don’t have a chance to sit at my computer and work on personal photographs. I have clients that have contacted me a few months after their session, they have lost the files, didn’t make a backup and decide to just order prints. So I know I am not the only one who forgot, didn’t have time, etc.

I wish I would have had a canvas made of my favorite wedding photography. I wish I would have just purchased a large wall print of my family photograph from my daughter’s newborn session. The good thing is, since this is what I do for a living, I can order them myself … when I get around to it. I don’t hate digital files, and I do offer them to my clients. But having experienced it myself, it definitely gives me perspective on having that heirloom product printed right after the session, not just thinking about it getting done at some point.

Since no post is complete without a photograph, here’s one of my daughter’s 3 month photos I did at the studio. Still not printed!