There's a lot of reasons to love photography.
Not only does it give you the means of recording important events in your life and the lives of those you love, but it also allows you to tap into your creativity to make something that you can look at and enjoy for years to come.
But what gets lost a little in the digital age is the value of actually holding the photos you take.
There was something special about getting prints made back in the day at the photo mart. I loved flipping through the package of prints because it was such a tactile experience.
Today, I get that tactile experience in another way - by having large fine art prints made of my photos.
Editor's Tip: Before you hang another photo on your wall, explore the mistakes people make when hanging prints.
Why You Need to Print Your Photos
As I noted above, the ability to actually touch and hold a print that you created is quite the experience.
That alone is reason enough for me to get prints made.
However, there are other reasons why printed pictures need to be a part of your life.
For starters, when you get a high-quality print, the colors of the image have a gorgeous contrast and beautiful richness to them that can't be replicated on a computer screen.
Secondly, when viewing a larger print, you can see all the little details in the photo that you work so hard to perfect...the texture of foreground elements in a landscape, the sharpness of the focus on a portrait subject's eye, and so forth.
And as a result of that, your composition skills and your ability to get things like white balance and focus spot-on have to grow at a rapid pace.
Why?
When you have your photos printed as a large format fine art print, every little mistake is plainly evident.
Yet another reason why printed photos are the way to go is that you begin to think about the photo not just as an opportunity to capture something with your camera, but as an opportunity to create a piece of art.
For example, when you're out shooting, you consider how this scene or that scene might look in a print hanging in a specific area of your home.
And that allows you to consider the composition, framing, colors, textures, and so on in a new way - how they interact with one another in the image and how they would look hanging on your wall as well.
In other words, having your images printed allows you to have a more complete creative experience, and that's a great way to learn and grow as a photographer!
Learn More:
- Easy Portrait Photography Tips for Taking Great Photos of Your Kids
- 3 Beginner Photography Mistakes That are Ruining Your Photos
Printing a Photograph Simply Feels Good
As a separate topic for why you need to have printed photos, it just feels good.
It's one thing to slap a photo on Instagram and see the likes and comments roll in, but it's a totally different kind of feeling when your print is delivered to your house and you unwrap it to set eyes upon it for the first time.
It genuinely makes you feel like a true artist to unbox your prints!
In today's day and age in which posting a photo online takes just a few seconds and people only spend a few seconds (if that) actually looking at the images in their feed, it's a nice change of pace to actually have a physical print that you can see, touch, smell, and hold.
It's an even nicer change of pace to have something on your wall that you created and that you can look at over and over and over again as the years go by.
Editor's Tip: Don't have another print made until you see why fine art prints are so much better.
The Printer You Choose Matters - A Lot
Of course, when we're talking about printing photographs, the quality of the image you take is just one part of the equation.
By that, I mean that you can take the most stunning photo in the world, but if you then go with a bargain-basement printer, all that hard work and effort you put into creating the image could very well be lost.
Trust me on this - I tried some low-brow printers in years past, and it was just a huge waste of time and money on my part.
And then I found CanvasHQ...
As always, nothing but pure professional perfection from the team at CanvasHQ! Keep up the great work! - Mark C., Ankeny, IA
I remember when I got my first batch of canvases - an occasion marked in the image below.
I was completely blown away by several things:
- The speed - I got my prints within a few days, even though I ordered a lot of prints.
- The quality - After experiencing a lot of disappointment with previous canvases from other companies, the quality of my CanvasHQ prints was a welcome surprise.
- The customer service - Every question I had was answered by a real, live human that treated me like the only customer they had. It was awesome!
On top of all that, what also impressed me was their commitment to creating a quality print through and through.
Not only does CanvasHQ use high-grade inks to ensure that your canvas has gorgeous colors and contrast, but they also hand make the frame behind the canvas.
That means that your prints will not only stand the test of time without folding or warping, but they'll look darn good while doing it.
Great work on the canvas. I am quite impressed with your touch up and refining skills. Thank you. I highly recommend Canvas HQ. Fast delivery as well. - Kim S., Boerne, TX
I was skeptical about having canvas prints made at first - it seemed a little old school at the time.
But I have to say that I love how my canvases look in my house.
There's a wonderful texture to the canvas that brings the images to life in a way that other substrates just can't match.
In the end, the process of taking a photo is one that I love. The creativity of it all is an escape for me.
But the payoff is so much better when the final product is a big, beautiful canvas that I can display on my wall and share with my family and friends.
Now that's a great reason for printing a photograph!