The Lost Generation
We are living in a very interesting time right now. Every day, everywhere we go, most of us are fortunate enough to have a camera in our hand [or pocket, or purse, or backpack, or...]. We can document every little moment of our lives, and share those moments with the rest of the world, with the click of a button. It's really awesome, if you think about it. But...there's a catch. We are all taking soooooo many more photos than any generation that came before us, but we aren't doing anything WITH those photos. Most of us leave them on our devices [not properly backed up], or on our social media pages...just sitting there. So, have you ever stopped to think about what would happen if your computer crashed, your phone got stolen or destroyed, or any of your accounts got hacked and altered? All of those photos...those moments...those memories...could be gone forever. Poof.
Whether it's learning how to properly back up and store your digital photos, or whether it's making the effort to actually PRINT your photos [what we recommend], you have to do SOMETHING to protect these memories so that your story can continue to be told for generations to come. Whether you are getting married, are taking lots of fun photos of your travels or your friends, or are documenting your children's lives...whatever stories and moments you are telling with your camera, need to be taken off the camera and devices, and put in a format so that they will live on forever.
For us, as wedding photographers, while we know it is fun to have the digital files of all the photos from your big day, it shouldn't stop there. Those digital files will be very helpful and probably used regularly for the next couple of years. But after that, they will be put away somewhere, or even possibly lost when you clean out your basement or move to a new home. And even if you do still manage to have them after a few years, will they be usable? Not if you haven't continually upgraded and updated them to the newest technology. We should know. Our wedding video is still sitting on a VHS tape, somewhere in the deepest depths of our basement. But we still have our story at our fingertips, and our children have now had the joy of seeing it too. Well, we think it's joyful, they just think we look funny...but whatever. How? Our wedding album. It took our story out of our photographer's camera, and put it on paper, so that our kids...and their kids...and their kids...and their kids...will know where they came from. We all should have the privilege of knowing that. We will talk in a bit more detail on another day about albums, but for now, grab a beverage and enjoy this TEDx talk, by Kevin Gilbert. The whole thing is really good [seriously, just take a 16 minute break and watch it], but if you are really in a hurry, 14:00 gets straight to the point and tells you what to do in 5 steps. But really, just watch the whole thing.
Again, it doesn't matter what your photos are, or whether you took them yourself or had them done by a professional. Get them backed up and organized, and for the love of all things holy...PRINT THEM. The future generations of your family will thank you.
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