PRINT your memories!

Don’t just leave your precious family memories on your hard drive, phone or (worst) “in the cloud”. This generation is the most documented of all time and yet, 5-10 years from now, they will likely have nothing to show for it. YOU can change that and print your memories…

I figured out a system that works for me and I’d love to share it here. I wanted a way to preserve our family’s memories in a streamlined, organized way that didn’t consume thousands of hours of my time (because really, what mom has “extra” time).

1. PHOTO ORGANIZATION – I like to use iPhone photo Albums for organizing my photos. I make one album per month and label it with the month and year. At the end of each month, I edit my favorites on the Lightroom App (lots of other options out there) and dump them all into that month’s Album.
2. IPHONE PHOTOS – All my iPhone photos go into a monthly Chatbooks album. I chose the 8×8 hardcover book series. It has 60 pages and so I typically have two books per month. I like to make them per quarter. I dump 3 months of my iPhone photo albums into my chatbooks series. I can then adjust the cover photo and press order! You can also set this up for auto-order too. Voila!!
3. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS – Each year I have a few special sessions set up with other photographers or do my own photos with my “big camera”. I also drag my big camera along on big family vacations/trips! I like to make separate albums for these that are a little more high quality than Chatbooks. I like to use Milk Books or WHCC for beautiful linen covers and thick pages (if I have limited images). I typically do these in the winter season when I have more down time.
4. BLURB YEARBOOK – Each year I also compile all my favorites together (iphone and professional) for one BIG yearbook album. This should be pretty easy since you have all your photos organized in folders. Blurb can print up to 240 pages so its the best option for LOTS of images. I also wait for one of their sales and can get 30-50% off which is awesome.
5. FRAMING – I now offer framing services especially for my Heirloom Portraits. These portraits are meant to be printed on high quality paper and framed in your house. I work with a few different professional labs and framers to find the best quality and pricing. Any of the “best of the best” get framed in my house too!

I hope this step by step system helps you easily print your memories and get your images off the hard drive and into your hands!

Photo credit: Laura Klacik Photography