This journal entry has been a long time coming, and even as I type it I struggle to find the right ways to talk about our printed products. Truly, I’m kind of ashamed to admit it but one of the reasons why it feels so strange to talk about the importance of print is because it took Amanda and I nearly a year to print our wedding photos! It wasn’t even remotely that we didn’t like them, we actually loved them and that was part of the problem.

I suffered from choice paralysis. There were just so many good pictures to choose from! And on top of our wedding photos there were our engagement photos, pictures from our honeymoon and other wonderful adventures that had never become a priority. And with so many images to consider, I was overwhelmed with how to choose.

If the sheer volume of photos I wanted to print wasn’t enough, being a photographer granted me nearly unlimited options to professional labs offering an equally large number of options regarding paper types, finishes, and other product options.

It was this mountain of information that prevented me from moving forward until a year had passed and our bare walls were starting to mock me. We even had frames on the wall with the stock photos still present. Those stock photos were there so long we even named the dog in one of them (his name was Jake by the way, and he was a black lab).

I’m not sure what exactly it was that finally motivated me to get the job done, but one week I forced myself to sit down and spent the time needed to consider every option. I ordered samples of all the different papers and products I had been considering and spent hours pouring over various printing labs information pages.

The result of all that research is displayed in this journal entry. We offer the products we do because I know the effect they had on Amanda and I. Seeing pictures of us in Ireland everyday in our home reminds us of all the adventures we have shared so far and all of the ones yet to come. Seeing our wedding album reminds us of the promises we made and our commitment to keeping them every single day. And on the days when the future doesn’t look quite as bright, those images are there to lift our spirits.

I could never offer anything I didn’t fully believe in. Let me tell you, after years of contemplating and evaluating, I truly believe in the value and beauty of printing your pictures.

PS: As you may have noticed, I included a few behind the scenes photos that Amanda took of me while I was creating these images. I thought it might be cool to see what the process looks like right next to the finished product. What did you think? Is this something you’d like to see in more journal entries going forward? Thanks as always for being here! 🙂