May 25, 2018

Preserving Your Legacy: Prints, Albums, and Products

Do you remember when your mom first showed you her wedding photos? She probably had big poofy sleeves and teased bangs or something, and you laughed as you thumbed through the prints, looking at your dad’s feathered haircut. Maybe the photos were in an album– one of those ones with the clear plastic sleeves that you slip the little polaroid-shaped images into.

You want to know something that scares me? I’m worried that someday, we won’t do this kind of thing anymore. That someday we might not sit down with our families looking through old photographs and talking about our lineage. In decades past, family legacy seemed so much stronger, so real and something that people were proud of. It was something you were known by. As I’ve grown as a photographer, the idea of leaving a legacy has really left a mark on me. Taking beautiful photos is a wonderful experience, but what really makes me feel like I’ve made a difference doesn’t happen until after the wedding day.

What makes me really feel like I made an impact is knowing that my photos are hanging on someone’s living room walls. Thinking about my couples in years to come sitting on the couch (when maybe the marriage has gotten harder) looking up and seeing their wedding day and being reminded of why they started this journey– that makes me feel like I did my job well. When I can imagine a mom looking through prints with her toddler, saying to him, “look, this is when you were in mommy’s tummy.” That makes me feel like everything is so worth it. When I think about one of my brides being 80 years old and picking up her wedding album, dusting it off, and opening the pages looking at the best days of her life, that is what really puts passion into my work.

So today, I wanted to write about legacy. I believe that one way we preserve our legacy (that I am directly involved in) is through printed imagery.


I believe in printing your photos. Honesty moment: in the past, I have struggled with the idea of encouraging my clients to purchase prints and albums. I was worried that I would come across like a salesperson instead of their photographer. But that’s all changed since shooting film. You know that photo album at your grandma’s house? The one that has those pictures of her in her wedding dress with your grandpa? I can almost guarantee those photos were shot on film. Timeless. Archival. Film has changed my thoughts about prints. They’re not just products you can add on to give to family for Christmas. They are heirlooms. They are your legacy. They are important. In our digital age, I get it. Our photos are on Facebook and Dropbox and our phone lock screen, so we feel like that’s enough. But please, in all ways, I mean this: don’t just view your life through a screen.

Albums and prints can feel like an unnecessary item, or like something you’ll “do later”– but really, it ends up being something that you’ll just wish you did back in the day if you don’t do it when you’re in the season of enjoying your images. So here’s my encouragement for you: if you’ve had photos done recently, give yourself a reasonable budget (even if it’s small) and pick out the photos that you’ll want to see and remember in 20 years. Purchase the prints, buy the album, however you want to encapsulate the memories, and then place it somewhere special, like on a nightstand, wall, or a box where you keep special things to look back on. And then, you can rest knowing that someday, you’ll be able to go back to those photos with your children, grandchildren, even great grandchildren, and be able to share your legacy with them.

Trust me, you’ll thank me in 20 years.

*If you interested in ordering print products through Shea Brianne Photography, shoot me an email at shelby@sheabriannephotography for our Product Guide.

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We're Shelby & Jared, Springfield MO wedding photographers passionate about meaningful living. We document timeless moments for free-spirited, elegant couples across the Midwest and beyond. As fine art photographers, we strive to create work that will leave a legacy of love for years to come.

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