Print your images!
I know, a photographer wanting you to get prints done, complete shocker right, but hear me out on this one.
Cameras, they are everywhere, in your phone, in your tablet, in your point in shoot, some of you might even own a DSLR. People posting their pictures on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat. People today are taking more pictures than ever before. Some have estimated that there have been more pictures taken in the last 5 years then all prior years combined!
What is incredibly sad is that few of these photographs will survive beyond a year. After the “moment” has past people care very little. Parents what to take a photo of every little moment of that new baby. Grandparents what to see everyone of those too. You want to show off your new pet, you pull out your phone, take a few pictures then in a week or so none of these have any real meaning and might even get deleted just to make room for more.
So what will become of all these pictures that are being taken today? This is the reason that 99% of the photographs being taken today will soon be totally gone. Digital images are no longer important enough for most people to actually keep let alone print.
There is even a warning that the 21st century could become a second “‘Dark Ages” because so much data is now kept in digital format. The issue is our technology is advancing so fast future generations will struggle to understand our current technology. Making old files being inaccessible. Even Google’s vice president has warned internet users to print out treasured photographs or risk losing them forever.
Here are some facts to think about:
- 67% of smartphone owners do not regularly backup their image files for safekeeping
- Only 33% of Americans aged 30-44 still print and store physical photos.
- 113 smartphones are lost or compromised every minute!
- Data stored on physical media suffers from bit rot, cd and dvd’s have a shelf life of 20-100 years depending on quality.
- Availability of devices to read these older technologies are getting harder to find. Most new laptops don’t even come with a dvd drive.
- Online storage business come and go
- More than 40% of business that utilize cloud storage have lost data while using it.
- 68% of those businesses could not recover the lost data.
- Properly printed images can last for hundreds of years when stored correctly.
How many of us remember 8-tracks, floppy disks, VHS, cassette tapes, Zip Drives? All of these have came and gone. If you had your memories on these types of media you would have to take the responsibility to migrate to current technology.
Printed photos make great gifts, Grandma is the happiest person when she receives some prints of your last vacation, your kids growing up, your life. Nothing beats having a old fashioned photo album out for others to flip through. What makes a house a home, framed pictures up on the wall, could be your kids at school, family get togethers and trips or that landscape photo.
Print your photographs! Preserve them for future generations to see what we enjoyed today, lived today, cried today, and laughed over today. Sure I would love for you to buy prints from me, if not from me please get prints done.
Barry Cruver
Cruver Photography
Sources
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11410506/Print-out-digital-photos-or-risk-losing-them-Google-boss-warns.html
The Most Photographed Generation Will Have No Pictures in 10 Years!
https://fstoppers.com/education/trouble-tech-or-why-you-should-print-your-photos-else-risk-losing-them-forever-59454