The long game: my approach to every Omaha family and senior picture session
Have you ever stopped to think about where you’ll be a year from now, 5 years, 10 years, or even 30 years? What about your photographs? How often do you think about those photos you took of your child last month on your phone? If you’re like me, my phone fills up quite fast with pictures of moments that I don’t want to forget, but soon enough, they fade away or in some cases, get deleted or backed up to the cloud because I need to clear up space!
But senior pictures or family pictures are different. I say this right on the homepage of this website: a professional portrait session offers something different that your phone cannot provide. And I promise you that when it comes to your portraits, I’m literally thinking about where they’ll be decades even hundreds of years from now. The portraits I take of your family, child(ren) or senior…they are special. Heirlooms. They’re meant to be enjoyed by you now, but also by future generations. Some day, they’ll be passed down in your family, and it’s my job to make sure that the pictures you take today stand the test of time - not only through the way you’re posed, or how I edit, but the final product that you receive. Your photographs are powerful, and they’ll tell your story not only today, but decades from now. Which is why I want to share with you 3 things that I’m super passionate about:
Taking your images from digital form to tangible art
Trust me, I realize the digital world that we live in. And I want to share pictures online with friends and family just as much as anyone else. But I also believe in the power of a print, and I truly believe that your portraits should be viewed as art. Take any famous painting, for example. Yes, we have the internet that we can see what that painting looks like with a quick Google search. But seeing it in person at a museum…that’s a whole other level! An elevated sense of appreciation. Not to mention, when you have photographs on display in your home, they are there for you to enjoy every. single. day. I have many images of my family printed and hung throughout the walls of my home. I get to see my kids as newborns every time I sit down at my desk! I don’t have to pull up the files on my computer, or swipe through on my phone. They are right there for me to enjoy as I go about my day. They make me smile. They are priceless to me. Why would I hide them in a folder on my phone or computer?
The pictures behind me are of my three kids when they were babies! Babies don’t keep, that’s for sure!
Quality will stand the test of time
I am going to say it. Printing portraits at a drug store makes me cringe. Yes, it’s cheap. Yes, it’s convenient. And there is a time for cheap and convenient. But I don’t believe that time is with senior or family portraits that you’ve invested time and money in. I will be the first to admit that I’ve used cheap and inexpensive labs and prints for my own photos before. But those cheap books I ordered are now falling apart. Prints have yellowed. Some consumer labs I’ve gotten lucky with and some pictures are still holding up ok, but I don’t want to leave your precious heirlooms to luck. Every lab I use for clients I have tested and ordered samples. I’ve vetted their practices. There are dozens of labs that I’ve tried, and I’ve willingly put my dollars into samples because I want to find the best for you. Some samples haven’t even seen the light of day after receiving them because they don't meet my standards. And every product offered is carefully chosen with longevity in mind. Just a small example: You won’t see wood boxes on the product menu. Why? Because wood is naturally acidic and photographs should be stored in an acid free environment. Another example: this year, I’ve started offering matted prints and typically will suggest those over mounted prints. Why? Because when you hold a matted print in your hands, the oils from your hands are touching the mat, not the photograph, thus helping to maintain the longevity and integrity of the print. It also cuts down on the possibility of scratching or damaging the edges of the print. The mat also creates a barrier when placed in a frame with glass or acrylic to protect the print. It is all with the idea that your photographs should be printed and made to last. These are all things that perhaps you don’t even think about or wouldn’t even know the difference - and that’s ok! But I do. Because this is what I do for a living!
The easiest heirloom to pass down in your family
I joke in this Instagram video about passing down a computer CPU to family members (towards the end), but it’s so true! Who wants to sift through your passwords and electronics, through the thousands of photos that you’ve saved on your devices to get to the portraits that they’re looking for? Not me! Sometimes, I don’t even like scrolling through my own phone to find photos. (I did this just yesterday looking for something in particular and it was maddening!) And while you may have your passwords all saved somewhere for YOU to remember, you may not have shared them or may not want to share passwords with your loved ones right now. Lastly, who knows what technology will look like even 25 years from now! Remember floppy disks? Yeah….
A print, album, or wall art - it’s right there in front of you, and it’s easy to hand down to someone. It will never become outdated, the technology will never change. A photograph is always a photograph.
Isn’t my mom gorgeous? This is her senior picture and I’m so glad that I have a print that I can display near my desk.
Do you believe in the power of a printed photograph?
If the answer is yes, then I’d love to work with you! Click on the button below to get in touch and we can start planning your one-of-a-kind portrait session with artwork that will last.