Printed Photos Are In-Vogue – Why?
Do you print your photos? It seems to be a lost art over the past couple of decades. And yet, it’s making a comeback. Something about holding a physical photo is simply different. We explore why we’re all turning our Instagram snaps and selfies into physical copies.
Solid and tangible proof
Did you know there is such a thing as the “digital graveyard”? It’s where our photos go to be abandoned, never looked at, clogging up the data of external hard drives.
We’re taking pictures whenever we hang out with someone or go somewhere interesting, and then what? Maybe they get added to a social media account. Maybe they get a few likes, and then it’s onto the next one.
Holding a physical photo changes your relationship to it. You are no longer swiping past something temporary but holding proof.
What are we proving? Anything. Anything the camera can capture. That we existed. That we were in the same place at the same time. That we had a relationship. That we crossed this milestone. Considering the rising trend of researching our ancestors, this will become important in the future. What will your grandkids refer to when they ask what grandma was like? Your, likely closed down, Instagram account?
There is a solution there. Create your own photo albums online using photos from your social media accounts. Keep it amongst your belongings for the future or sit it on the coffee table as a conversation starter.
A purer photo
There is something disingenuous of the photos today, and it’s simply due to overexposure. Have you ever heard a top 40 song and the first time thought nothing of it, but as you started to hear it everywhere, suddenly it’s so grating? Well, you should, Let It Go, maybe.
In a slower sense, we have the same thing happening with photos. Everyone is becoming an amateur photographer and an amateur model. We’ve got our poses nailed to hide that flaw and accentuate those legs, and we play with filters, perfectly curate outfits and settings, and more.
Have you ever looked through the photos our parents took of us, or each other just a couple of decades ago? They inevitably start conversations around the horrendous wallpaper we had, that haircut that we didn’t realise was a risk, the fashion of the time, and the genuine smiles of people who perhaps didn’t even notice the camera was in the room.
Social media marketers are worried because users aren’t interested in big influencers anymore, finding them disingenuous. It’s arguable that this ease of taking a photo is contributing to that.
Décor
The thing that digital photos and art in general can’t replace is its decorative quality. No one is going into a home décor store to pick up an NFT. The initial point of art, to decorate, has yet to be replicated by the digital space. That’s not to say it isn’t coming.
In the meantime, you can print photos of memories or buy artistic photography as a means of keeping your home looking stylish. The famed photo of Audrey Hepburn, New York skyline and a million other examples are gracing the walls of homes around the world, and are not about to be forgotten anytime soon.
