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Do you remember a simpler time when all we had to do was drop our throw-away camera or film off at the photo department and the next day we could pick up our printed photographs? Today, it seems like printing photographs is somewhat of a hassle.
Most people carry digital cameras nowadays. We can’t just drop off our digital camera and pick up the prints the next day. Now, we either have to upload all of our photos in the store or upload our pictures to a CD or website. However, if you are like me, now it isn’t good enough to simply upload my photos and click print because there are so many options such as:
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- Red Eye Removal
- Zoom/Crop
- Color Tones (black and white, sepia, etc)
- Borders/Text
These options make me feel obligated to make all of my pictures “the best they can be!” This means no red eye, cropping the photos, and changing some of the color tones. Maybe this is why I haven’t printed any pictures in over three years. It seems to be a time consuming process and is always the last thing on my to-do list.
I decided this summer I need to catch up on printing my photos. Currently, all of my pictures are on about three different memory cards. All of the photos have been uploaded to my computer; however, I just can’t seem to make it to the photo department. I back up the photos on my computer regularly in fear of catching a virus. I would hate to lose all of my photos, especially the ones that have not been printed.
Instead of ordering my pictures in the store, I decided to upload my photos and order them online. This way I can take my time editing the photos without worrying about the person waiting behind me in line to use the machine. I can either pick my photos up in-store or have them shipped directly to my house. Mail-order photos are cheaper; however, by the time shipping is added to the cost, picking the photos up the next day in the store is the better deal.
I believe technology is great. However, I fear it is making us lazy. I never thought I would be three- plus years behind in printing my photographs. Another issue is the cost. (Trust me, printing three-plus years of photos isn’t cheap, but if I didn’t do it now, I would only fall more behind).
It is nice to see all of my pictures on the computer or on my digital photo frame; however, it’s not quite the same as holding the picture in my hand, looking at it in a scrapbook, or in a frame on the wall.
What do you think? Have you fallen behind in printing photos? Do you still prefer to look at your photos printed on paper or do you prefer digital copies of your photographs?
