Almost every single full session client asks me about photo printing. And it is a BIG subject. I definitely will not be addressing every aspect and I’m actually not a print expert anyway, so I’d never dare but I do have a couple things to say.
Firstly, not printing your professional photos is criminal!
Alison McCarney, my bestie who has a million photos (and not just by me!) and zero printed, I’m looking at you. Anywaaayyyy, my number one top tip with your professional photos is just throw them all in a photobook. It’s sooo quick and easy, you don’t need to add captions because there’s no long story to tell. You can just pop the date, location and photographer on the front page, let the program arrange the photos, and you’re DONE. Within 5 minutes you have a beautiful memento ready to print and enjoy on birthdays or maybe Christmas Eve. We love to look at photo books on family occasions and it’s a bit of a tradition. I promise you will treasure this and the kids will LOVE looking at it. You can do this very cheaply at big box stores (like Kmart, Big W, and Officeworks), so it needn’t break the bank either.
When I went for a second session at this clients house, they showed me the photobook they’d made of their first session we’d done together and it was so lovely! and here are a couple of my photobooks also.
I really do like to see photos on the wall. Personally I find it really comforting to be surrounded by beautiful, loved things, and we do have a lot of art here, and I love photos obviously too. Don’t need to say any more about that! You can see our ridiculous number of art walls and huge photo display in this blog post. But, if you don’t want to put a million frames up like I do, you could try what Anne does! She just prints everything she likes and pops them into a large frame. I was honoured to see a couple of these dotted around their house on my recent visit. You can see their sessions (and watch Jack grow from baby to big brother, bless!) in this blog post here.
Ok, ok, I’ll print some photos. But where?!
Like I said, I really am no expert. I don’t offer expensive print packages as part of my service, because I just feel that it’s outdated. I think a couple of faves on the wall and the whole session in a photobook is the way to go. For the wall, I personally have printed lots of photos at big box stores for small frames (and my frames are from Ikea). But if you’re enlarging something, or doing a canvas print, I strongly recommend you use a professional printing service. The quality difference is very noticeable in larger images and store printing can make your photo, that your photographer spent time slaving over, look pretty average. Choose a professional printer for these items. Something else worth noting is that professional printing will still look good in 20 years, store printing just won’t. Not a concern for every frame. But for those big ones, those special images, you need to choose your printer wisely. We had one huge photo up at the old house where wall space was at a premium, and it was professionally printed.
Here are some local professional printers I recommend:
They offer online services just like the big stores do too. You won’t pay those big store prices, but you won’t get that average quality printing either.
And what about photobooks?
Photobooks really are the easiest way to print photos. Just throw them in and at least they’re printed! No need to spend forever doing things to them if you don’t want too, and they make the most wonderful mementos and way to share family history. I have used regular store printing for photobooks (like Big W, Kmart, Officeworks), better store printing (like Camera House), online services and others. I also canvassed my friends for you so here are some opinions and experiences:
- Zno is not recommended. Avoid.
- J thinks Blurb is ok, can print a little dark but quality is good. The paper stock is a bit cheap but there are paper choices. Upgrade.
- Two friends mentioned Artifact Uprising has a great reputation.
- B has used Mojo Pro over and over for years for photo books and canvases. Repeat customers are happy customers!
- My Aunty recommends PhotoBook Australia and they’re super fast. She also likes AlbumWorks. They’re a little more expensive but they seem to have a higher print quality.
- ChatBooks is the company I’ve used most recently. If you have not seen the ads you’re deprived, haha! I’m happy with the quality for the great service and reasonable prices for little flip books. I have a personal Instagram that I print books from, it’s quick and easy which I appreciate however many online services offer similar things now.
I really hope that this post has been useful and inspired you to, at the very least, chuck your professional photo sessions into a photobook to bring out and share at your next family gathering or just a regular Wednesday. As soon as I got ours out to take a quick photo, children appeared out of nowhere and a lovely little trip down memory lane ensued. Highly recommend.
And if you have a printing service to recommend (or not, eek) please, feel free to email or get in touch on Facebook and let me know and I will update the post!
Look forward to capturing your story soon xxx
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