I am a print-based photographer, and I don’t think I will ever be able to go back. It was a choice I felt compelled to make, because I am an artist at heart, and everyone deserves to have Fine Art prints that celebrate the people they love hanging proudly on their walls. Booking a session with me offers you an array of beautiful experiences, and as your curator, that means giving exceptional service to the very end.
What is a print-based photographer? It means I believe in the power of printing Fine Art photography for your walls on superior archival papers that you cannot get anywhere else. Fine Art prints look and feel luxurious. Listen, I was an art teacher for twenty years and opening packs of richly textured paper was like Christmas morning for the students and I. The paper screamed to hold their beautiful creations. The students KNEW the good stuff was precious, so it became revered and highly cared for. The very same is true when my clients pick up my sample works of art during their Reveal and Ordering Session. Most people make a soft, little cooing noise and then let out a sigh or great exclamation because the colors are incredibly rich. The paper is thicker than cardstock and you can feel the difference. It is nothing like what you have had created for you before.
What about digital images? I still offer them! In the education world, when every other classroom switched to chromebooks, I held out with my shelves of art supplies and paper filing cabinets. I was made fun of often at staff meetings when I brought my art paper and a sharpie to take notes. Now that doesn’t mean I can’t get with the times. I do know the value my clients have in being able to share their images digitally through social media. I do know how critically important it is for many to own the images of those they love, so with every Fine Art print my clients purchase, they still get the corresponding image in a digital format as well.
But why is printing so important? I believe in the transformative powers of seeing yourself celebrated on your walls in a place of belonging, AND that my friends, is true at any age. It’s a form of storytelling, and storytelling is what humankind has done since the beginning of time. It is how we relate to each. It is how we pass down our legacy and our heritage. When someone passes away in my family, the first thing we do is pull out albums and tell stories. Oftentimes, I learn things I never knew about the person I loved so much. With so many people using a phone as their only camera, and very few people actually printing those images, it worries me what that looks like in the future. Beyond that, I can’t tell you how many times I have had a client come back frantically to ask if I still happen to have their images archived for printing after an untimely loss. In those tough moments, NOTHING else in the whole world means more than having those printed images.
I believe in printing with my whole heart. It is a soapbox I will stand on until the end of my time. Picking out companies who created products I fell in love with took time, and I was more than willing to go through the ringer to find them. Every time an order is placed on my front steps, I get excited to peel back the packaging as fast as possible, and if the excitement over my creation is that palpable for me, imagine how you will feel when it is someone you love looking back at you through that image! I will always want to give the best I have to the people I serve, and for me, that means celebrating you through exceptional printed products.
