If you know me or have been roped into a conversation about photography with me before, you know I’m a huge advocate for printing photos in all forms - frames, albums, Valentines, you name it. I’ve always enjoyed a good photo collection. As a child, I frequently combed through my “baby book” - a photo album made up of sleeved 3x5 prints. I was probably 9 or 10 when I got my first film camera and began framing pictures of my friends and little sisters to display in my room.[1] The photos that weren’t quite frame-worthy went into an album or box, a collection of memories that I referenced often.
By middle school, my bedroom walls were covered in 4x6 prints, and my shelves of framed prints grew and grew. Scattered among my photo walls and boxes were handwritten notes from my best friends, old movie tickets, and other mementos from everyday life. I occasionally built scrapbooks and mini photo gifts and albums for friends — I guess I really was always an arts and crafts enthusiast.
Fast forward twenty years, ten of them spent shooting freelance photography, and I still find myself building photo books and albums and framing my favorite photos. Most of my personal photography doesn’t make its way to social media, but I try to get most of it printed in some form. I talk to my friends and clients about printing photos often, and thought I’d share my approach to documenting life and printing photos to build family photo albums and photo books.
[1] A glimpse of my earliest work
Documenting life through photography
My passion and eye for photography certainly doesn’t disappear when it comes to photos of my family and everyday life, but I have a wildly different “standard” for my own personal photos. I use my phone way more often than my “big camera” and have developed my own little set of guidelines over the years.
- Be in the moment. I enjoy capturing photos of big moments, mundane and everyday activities, and everything in between, but I also try really hard to pick and choose when to snap and when to simply enjoy the moment. There are plenty of experiences I have no or very few photos of. Vacations in particular tend to be on the light side as far as photos go and I usually opt not to bring along my big camera.
- Observe first. Don’t get me wrong - I’ve done my fair share of informal photo shoots and hire a photographer for family photos at least once a year, but when it comes to capturing everyday moments and special or first experiences, none of my favorite photos involved me saying “hey, look at me and smile!”
- Use “big camera” selectively. This one is very subjective and involves many factors that change often. Sometimes my decision is based on how inspired I feel in the moment, sometimes by the amount of light available, and sometimes by sheer practicality and the fact that I’ve not mastered the ability to multitask parenting and photographer-ing.
- Live Photos are your friend. Kids move fast - and so do pets. Editing a live photo to select a slightly more perfect moment has saved me more times than I can count.
- Print liberally. Of course I love capturing magical moments and finding the most perfect light and angle, but I don’t let that stop me from printing the photos that come out with weird shadows because of poor lighting or a bit of blur because of too much excitement and movement.
A handful of my favorite everyday life photos from the past few years
How I build photo albums and books
For day-to-day iPhone photos
For now, I print most of my photos in one of two formats. I use Chatbooks to build photo books with all of my favorite iPhone photos. I have used Chatbooks for years now and I somehow become a bigger fan every year.
Any issues I’ve ever had with the app or with the books themselves, including one time that I’m pretty sure was my own fault, have been managed quickly and easily with Chatbooks’ amazing customer service team. And my favorite part is how these books have become a part of our daily lives – a way for us to connect and tell stories about the moments and memories they hold.
My husband has gotten into the habit of sharing photos from his phone with me more often so both of our perspectives are included, and my daughter loves picking out new and old books to read at bedtime. I love displaying the books throughout our house, and they often end up scattered among Murphy’s bookshelves too. I love the science behind family photos boosting children’s self-esteem and other meaningful uses of photography in early childhood, and I absolutely love watching it happen for my daughter and family.
How I use Chatbooks
I have my subscription set to pull photos from my camera roll that have been marked as favorites. Once an album is full – 60 photos – I get a notification and have three days to review and edit before it goes to print. There’s also a feature in the app to extend the print date by a few days, and only once have I missed the opportunity to review before my albums went to print, which resulted in not getting to choose the cover photo or add captions. It’s super simple to use and most of the time I don’t worry about adding many captions or doing much editing because the photos tell the story themselves and the date shows up on each page automatically.
For professional photos + big moments
For my “big camera” photos, yearly professional family photos, plus some iPhone photos with special meaning or first-time experiences, I build photo albums for my daughter the same way my mom built mine. The standard print size has changed since then from 3x5 to 4x6, but I really enjoy the simplicity of the 3-ring album + clear photo sleeve approach. I can add small notes and other mementos in as well, and occasionally add in 12x12 sleeves to house artwork and other milestones.
These albums are kept out of reach from tiny hands for now because they’re a little more delicate and the temptation to pull them apart is just too great, but that makes it extra fun to pull them out on special occasions and browse them together. I also follow my own “print liberally” rule with this book and print every photo from our family photo sessions (usually around 100!) and most of the photos I take on my big camera as well - even the ones I don't love right away. When I look back through the photos all printed out, I often find new favorites, and it’s also a great way to help me decide which photos I want to enlarge for the wall or add to an existing wall gallery. I use and strongly recommend mpix.com for prints of any size. The quality is far superior to big box stores, shipping is fast, and pricing is fair and affordable – plus they always have great sales going on.
My Approach to Photo Framing
In addition to books and albums, I love using photos as artwork throughout my home. Aside from smaller desktop frames, my approach here is the opposite of liberal. I take my time finding the right photo and frame or format to fit with the space in my house, and still have plenty of empty walls to fill up over time. I unconsciously follow the same approach as my 12-year-old self and rarely swap out old photos for new. I have photos of my niece and nephew (now 9 and 10) in our living room from when they were in diapers, and a stairway wall gallery built from photos before Murphy was born. Most of the other pieces of artwork or home decor have special meaning or significance as well – and must pass the “no junk” test that Danny and I agreed to years ago. I plan to share more as I build more – but we’ll save that for a separate blog post.
More to Come
It’d be a lie if I didn’t also share that I sometimes fall behind on my own plans for photo printing and album building, but I am really enjoying the end result so far. I love getting new ideas and learning from others, so if you have an approach that’s been working for you, I’d love to hear it! I’m sure my approach will evolve as our family and life continue to grow. To be continued…